Last week, up-and-coming Brisbane-based artist MAYAH delivered her debut single 'Pray', which is also her first release via Island Records Australia. On her catchy single, she presents a fusion of R&B, hip hop and electronica, all of which inspired her when experimenting with music when she was younger and studying her craft. To celebrate the release of her single, MAYAH explores the story of 'Pray' for us below.
I wrote ‘Pray’… while on a flight to Melbourne for a studio sesh last year. I started writing a scramble of words then sentences and paired them with a melody that soon formed the chorus for 'Pray'. The next day I had my first proper writing session in a studio. It was with Rob Amoruso, an awesome producer I hadn’t met before and I think we were actually teed up as a bit of a creative experiment! I remember us getting stuck on one chord for about two hours and we were definitely getting deep into some weird melodies. For a good minute, I thought we were both gonna start charming some snakes but we figured it out. The rest was easy, organic and mad fun. I still absolutely love creating with Rob and 'Pray' has been such a cool start for us.
The story behind ‘Pray is… the idea of a ‘curated reality’ and social media culture. It talks about social pressures, comparison and the snippets of reality or ‘highlight reels’ from others that we see on the daily scroll. 'Pray' comes from a place of vulnerability and self-reflection, questioning why time spent on social media can often lead to feelings of discontentedness and self-doubt, or does it come down to a matter of perspective?
My favourite lyric is… “Maybe I just need that simple life. Not silly Billy with his Fyre lie”. I actually chucked that lyric in this year after I watched the Fyre documentary on Netflix. The doco was a massive lol and shows just how something can seem so legit on the outside but be totally wack behind the scenes.
It was made… to leave listeners with a fun track and something to think about.
My main inspiration was… ummm probably the life jacket under my seat during my flight but no definitely the beast that is social media and those thoughts around that.
It sounds best when… summer is just around the corner and you’re getting ready for chilled bevvies and a cheeky bop!
Check out 'Pray' by MAYAH:
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