Donna Maya

making a change

Donna Maya understands her art as a contribution to the political dialogue and a demand for a diverse society without sexism, racism and discrimination, worldwide! She is engaged to create an environment that offers equal opportunities and supports female artists to increase their visibility. In her live performances, that are accompanied by atmospherically modulated images and video sequences, she deals with social-political and gender topics that makes the audience reflect on their own positions.

being a female musician is not enough

When Donna Maya released her first vinyl album in 1998 under the name of her former dj- and producer collective called „The Godmothers Part II“, the public attention was focused on the fact that two women produce electronic music while mainly ignored the musical aspects. Extremly disturbed by that Donna Maya realized that, no matter how well she would make music, it’s about exclusion from a structurally male-dominated business. This strongly sensitized her to change something as well as take matters into her own hand.

tacking the chance

Started as a dj as well as playing drums and synth, Donna Maya was also keen to learn about studio technology and became a trained sound engineer. After her diploma she grabbed her suitcase and moved to New York and found a job as an audio engineer assistant in one of the biggest studio of the city, located at Times Square. At Unique Recording she worked together with Run DMC, Coolio, Easy Mo Bee, Tricky, Leni Stern and Joe Lynn Turner. Often working 12 to 15 hours daily she hardly found time to go out or make music. Therefore two years later she went back to concentrate on her own productions.

discovering the theremin

Back in Berlin Donna Maya set up a studio, released on various labels internationally and lately founded the label Sound Sister Records. She started to play live but somehow she missed the possibility to express herself more directly and felt not satisfied by moving sliders and knobs. When working for a record store and searching for used vinyls to sell, she saw a picture of a theremin, the first electronic instrument, as well as the only one that is played without touching it. Donna Maya knew that this was exactly what she was looking for. Immediately she bought a theremin and one week later used it in a concert. During the following years she developed her own approach to play the instrument and creates a unique sound that differs much from what is expected. Give it a listen!

DONNA MAYAS MUSIC

Donna Maya live @ ARTE concert / UWS

Donna Maya was invited to perform at the „Heroines Of Sound“ festival 2020 that highlighted a selection of cutting edge sounds from hero*ines of in the electronic music landscape from Berlin’s international scene. Donna Mayas stunning audio-visuell performance is a result from her journey to Detroit. Taking Detroit as a perfect example for what capitalism does to a social environment when cultural values where given up, she explored various sites that wrote industrial history and captured their sounds. Donna Maya transformed them into dense, artificial sound sculptures combined with electronic beats and a slightly dystopian vibe: Pure urban experimental electronics with theremin!

NEWEST RELEASES 2021

Nomads In Sound 04

Stockholm based label Meerkat Recordings celebrates 10 years of dedication to the dub/bass/d&b/breakbeat continuum. With the Nomads 04 compilation, the Meerkats have invited their favourite artists based in the UK, France, Peru, Germany, Sweden and the Canaries – with influences ranging from the Peruvian Andres to the Asian Underground. BASS is the common foundation on the journeys of the contributing artists.

Digital release: Meerkat Recordings, 11. Nov. 2021, vinyl release: Febr. 2022

Bandcamp

People Mover Remixed
Donna Maya

The Detroit People Mover is an elevated train that operates on a single track encircling Downtown Detroit. It is winding through glass palaces and ruins, crossing empty spaces before hiding inside commercial buildings where the train station are located in. The train ride provides many perspectives where the city might develop in the future.

The original track „People Mover“ from Donna Mayas album Lost Spaces → Detroit questioned how we value culture in a time during and after crisis. Detroit city stands as a symbol for that. Donna Mayas track got remixed by 11 illustrious female producers: Acid Maria, C00lm8, Caro C, CURL GURL, Gavanna, Gudrun Gut, KALEISS, Lena Renz, Mila Chiral, Monibi and Sonae. The result is a wide variety of remixes, from techno to samba beats, from electronic dancehall to voodoo drums.

Digital release, Sound Sister Record, 20201, Distribution: wordandsound

Release date: August 27, 2021

Bandcamp

Press

„The music part of the night was kicked-off by Donna Maya, a Berlin-based musician and the first Abelton certified trainer. She got the crowd moving with her live show …“
DJ Broadcast

Live concert history

Donna Maya was invited to play at

Heroines of Sound festival (unitedwestream/ ARTE concert, Berlin)
Sea Watch soli tour (Germany)
Sonar (Barcelona)
Transmediale (Berlin)
Pinakothek der Moderne (Munich)
Berlin Atonal (Berlin)
female:pressure Perspectives Festival (Berlin)
Sonoras III festival (Valencia)
Khidi (Tiflis)

SELECTED WORK

„Lost Spaces -> Detroit“, audio-visual performance and vinyl/ digital album release
Soundtrack contribution for „kurz und schmerzlos“ by Fatih Akin
„Blickfang/Blickfänger“, poetry-dance-performance with Anja Weber and Anne Duden, drei D poesie Festival, Uferstudios, Berlin
„Hear We Are“, concert for 3D electronic music, Berlin
Official jingle „AfD wegbassen“, Berlin
„Crossfade“ & „Philharmonic Phunk“, compositions for Kammerphilharmonie and dj, Hannover