by abby crabill
photo by maybelle thieu
Maya Cumming, also known as MAY-A, is a 19-year-old Sydney based singer-songwriter. Although she just started releasing music about a year ago, MAY-A has quickly built a large fanbase. She has already amassed over 250K YouTube subscribers, as well as having a sold out debut headline tour under her belt.
MAY-A recently released a new single on May 20th titled “Swing of Things.” This single follows others, titled “Time I Love To Waste” and “Apricots.” Together, these songs portray MAY-A's experience through the different stages of the same relationship.
What inspired you to get into music from such a young age?
MAY-A: “My dad was always playing guitar when I was a kid and I had a small collection of Taylor Swift CDs which I think had a big impact on my songwriting.”
What inspires you to create?
M: “All my ex-girlfriends.”
How would you answer someone who asks you to describe yourself/your style?
M: “Self-critical, distracted and easily excitable.”
Which of your singles did you find it the most difficult to write? Why do you think that is?
M: “All of the songs have been pretty free flowing and from the heart, so not that difficult to work on. I’d say probably the chorus of ‘Green’ since the first demo was me freestyling random melodies in the chorus and filling in the blanks later.”
Can you explain a little bit of the connection between your single “Swing of Things” and your other singles?
M: “The connection between the last three singles is that they take you through the different stages of the same relationship, they’re all snapshots of time I spent with this girl.”
Can you describe your new single “Swing of Things” a little bit?
M: “Swing of Things is about breaking out of bad habits and the struggles that come with that.”
How did you decide to have an all-female band with you?
M: “Because only 22.4% of artists are female, 12.3% are songwriters, and 2% are producers. We need to support our women in music.”
You recently sold out your debut headline shows! Can you tell me a little bit about how you are feeling about that?
M: “Super stoked, it was heaps of fun to perform with my band, I’m excited to play as many more as I can.”
What can we expect to see from you in the future? Any big plans?
M: “There’s a lot of cool stuff in the works, finishing up the EP and all the creative stuff, hopefully planning some overseas shows as well.”