Maya Delilah has released her new EP ‘Oh Boy’.
Speaking of the EP, Maya said: “Recording this EP has been one big process of finding my sound. Learning how I best write lyrics and coming up with cool ways to incorporate my guitar playing as a main feature in my music.
“The EP goes through a sort of timeline of a relationship: starting to fall for someone, second-guessing the whole thing, thinking you are being played, throwing your doubts aside and figuring out what you like about that person, then feeling at ease when everything is FINALLY ‘perfect’. And there’s also a song about my cat…!”
To celebrate her EP release, we caught up with Maya to discover 5 tracks that influenced ‘Oh Boy’.
James Vickery – Until Morning | Listen via Spotify
‘Until Morning’ was the reference I used for ‘Tangerine Dream’. I found this song on the COLORS YouTube series, I find a lot of my inspiration there. This song especially inspired me with the way that he used a super SUPER slow and minimal beat but filled all the gaps with tasty soulful vocals and instrumentation. The soulful vocals add a big element of emotion to the overall song, something I aimed to have throughout the entire EP.
BENEE – Soaked | Listen via Spotify
BENEE’s music quickly became an influence of mine. I especially grew to realise that her style of lyrics (not taking them too seriously) was also how I wrote most comfortably and fluidly. I wanted to take some of the songs in my EP in a slightly more pop direction and ‘Soaked’ and another of her songs ‘Glitter’, inspired and helped me both lyrically and instrumentally.
D’Angelo – Untitled (How Does It Feel) | Listen via Spotify
This song has been one of my favourites for years and I have always said that if I could have written another artist’s song, it would have been this one. It’s filled with such soul and emotion. Throughout my EP, I have taken inspiration from the chords, the melodies, the structure (with the big build towards the end) – basically the whole thing as I really think it’s a masterpiece and I’m constantly inspired by so many elements. This song definitely got me into using acoustic drums in the EP and also pushed me to writing ‘Breathe Easy’ in 6/8 time signature (which I always find super tasty).
Leven Kali – Welcome | Listen via Spotify
This is the instrumental intro song to Leven Kali’s album ‘Low Tide‘. If you listen to the whole track, the beginning is a little strange, but once the vocals come in with gospel feel harmonies overlapping one other, it is SO beautiful (even though it does, unfortunately, last only about 20 seconds). This song inspired my intro and also the backing vocals I use throughout my EP as I have always been a fan of gospel music.
Khalid – Talk | Listen via Spotify
It probably doesn’t sound like this was much of an influence in my EP but it definitely was. I felt inspired the first time I heard this song. The beat, the melodies, the lyrics and production all drew me in at once. I also really liked the call and response nature of the song and used the inspiration in ‘U R U’ and ‘I’m Just Stupid’.
You can stream Maya Delilah’s new EP ‘Oh Boy’ below via Spotify: