10 Questions For: Maraaya

INTERVIEW

This Monday, we are traveling to the beautiful Slovenia, where we had the pleasure of talking to one of our biggest surprises of 2014, the artists who created a masterpiece song which just made us fall in love. These are our 10 questions for Marjetka and Raay – or, simply, Maraaya:

Sounds European!: The duo Maraaya exists for a very short period. But we know you guys have been working together for longer than that. Can you tell us your full history with music? When did each of your start your music career? How did you guys meet? How has your work develop since then?

Marjetka: Whooh... it seems we could spend all the space of this interview only with those four questions... (laughter)

Raay: After we became a couple about ten years ago, our first music experience was in a totally different style – it was our "teenage" music life. Short skirts, cleavages, two girls, two boys, accordion, a pop-party group with an accordion. Really popular with people who love Slovenian folk music. Later, we established the more mainstream pop group Tangels, and all of the released songs got a great airplay. At this time, Marjetka graduated as a professor of Music at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, and she also started to give pop vocal lessons to the new generations. In these years, she developed her own distinctive vocal style and interpretation, always following new discoveries with singing. After we became parents for the second time, we got a new creative power to establish something totally different and new – with the new "knowledge" that we got over the years, after collaborating with so many people, singers, musical editors... We felt it was time for just us, all the way. A lot of what we've learned about production and musical-wise was from writing music for the Japanese market, with several writers and producers from Sweden and Japan.

Marjetka: We met at a music academy. Raay was already producing stuff at the time, like Popstars and Pop Idol projects in Slovenia and I was singing opera when we met... But you know how guys influence girls... Opera was gone really fast (laughter). It was always our advantage we create and do this stuff together.

SE!: What kind of music did you listen to when you were growing up? As musicians, what are the artists which influence your work?

R: I was listening to Slovenian and Croatian pop music and haven't developed this "love" to listening to chart hits until high school. At that time, I started to listen to Destiny's Child, Westlife, Alicia Keys, Neptunes (Pharrell Williams) and other popular stuff. The number one was Destiny's Child for me at that time.

M: I was always listening to stuff which was high on charts, and became a fan of singers like Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Krall and Eva Cassidy when I started to study.

R: We are both really chart oriented when it comes to taste, but because of listening to a lot of music, we are open to different styles. We, for example, learned to love J-pop, which is something totally different from European or American hits – but it's interesting how different cultures accept different styles. As a producer, I always check for new stuff as well. I have a fantastic team of people who are filling me with information about what's happening on the music market at the time, so I can see what is the direction of the world music style. Of course, when doing music for Maraaya, we always look for something catchy but a bit new, different, something fresh. And it's how "Lovin' me", our first single, was born. We tried to do something alternative to all the hits on the radio, but still in the vein that could fit amongst them. I think the most unique part of our music is Marjetka's distinctive vocal and her interpretation. It's what inspires me when I produce the songs that we write.

SE!: Both of you have worked with several other Slovene artists. Can you name some of them? What could you learn from them? Now that you have Maraaya, will you stop your work with other artists, or will you find time for both?

R: Bepop, Unique, Nuša Derenda, April, Manca Špik, Tinkara Kovač, Alya, Nika Zorjan, Ula Ložar, Lina Kuduzović, Tina Maze, Victory... from each artist, you learn something – sometimes just based on their mindset, sometimes how they feel music. But, most important of all, every single collaboration brings me new experience for my music work.

M: I know I learn a lot from my students, although I am the music teacher. When you have a chance to work with great people, it's really unbelievable how much you can learn from either a 6-year-old girl who never sang before, or from an experienced 50-year-old opera singer who would just like to learn some pop tricks.

SE!: You guys are married. How is it to work with the person you are married? What's easier and what's harder?

M: Most of the time, it is an advantage. Especially when you understand that this guy in the studio isn't yelling at you because you are a bad person, but because he wants something great out of you... right, Raay? (laughter)

R: It's true – the thing is that sometimes I expect more from the person who is close to me than from someone that is "just" a singer. But working with the person you are married mostly brings advantages – like, all the time talking about ideas, music, image, performances, production... we can create at any time we want. It's really a lifestyle more than business or career.

SE!: Slovenia is a small country, in European terms. Is it harder to make a living out of music in a small country? And how would you describe the local music scene?

R: It is indeed hard. We work on several areas of show business so we can afford to "live" from music. Producing songs, teaching, singing, writing, performing, doing PR, managing artists, synchronizing cartoons, etc.... On the other hand, such a small country gives you perfect insight and makes you understand what music business looks like from inside, in all aspects.

M: As for the local scene – the folk music in Slovenia is really really strong. Although this style is not favored on urban AC or CHR radios, people love it. As for pop, rock, urban style – it's harder to get recognized, since there is a big lack of TV shows where you could perform and present your music, or where new young faces and artists would be able to get known.

"I think the most unique part of our music is Marjetka's distinctive vocal and her interpretation. It's what inspires me when I produce the songs that we write"

SE!: Your single "Lovin' me" is crossing the national borders. It is hitting other nations, such as Italy and Germany – besides being elected by Sounds European! as the second best song of 2014. This isn't something common for Slovene artists. How do you feel when you see what you are achieving? Do you have plans to boost your career internationally?

M: Firstly, thank you for that reward. We were really surprised and happy seing "Lovin' me" as #2 of 2014 in your chart!!! It's true, not a lot of Slovene artists have crossed national borders, but we do have some really great brands that are known outside of Slovenia... DJ UMEK, Laibach, Magnifico, Gramatik – and especially, on folk music, Slavko Avsenik. And did you know that Talking Tom was created by two Slovenes? :)

R: We don't feel really special because of that – it's just showing us we have chosen the right path. It is a great start, and we got a lot of positive energy because of that positive feedback of being charted in Italy or Belgium, so we look forward to releasing the next singles, and maybe an EP later this year. I mean, plans are always there, but the most important is the right moment, the right songs and, of course, a lot of hard work.

SE!: You have been involved with the production of Tinkara Kovač's and Ula Ložar's songs for Eurovision. Is there anything different about making a song for the Slovene audience and for the European one? And how was the experience of being part of such a big event?

R: The memories are still fresh and it has been a fantastic journey to me! Either way – European or Slovene audience – the "magic" needs to happen. Slovene audience differs from the European one in a way that, if you offer the Slovene audience something in folk music, they would probably go for it. But if you offer them a few songs in a direction of mainstream, pop or rock – they would probably go the same way as the Europeans.

SE!: You guys have just been announced as one of the contestants of EMA, the Slovene National Final for Eurovision. Can you tell us anything about your song? What made you take the step from being a composer and jury on previous selections to being candidates for representing Slovenia this year?

R: When the information about an "open submission competition" was out, and when national television released the information about the Slovenian preselection (EMA) date, we found out it was just in the time when we were planning to release the new single in Italy – well, a few weeks before that, but the timing was right. So, no matter the result, since we are also releasing Maraaya singles in Slovenia, it was a great opportunity to present it there – especially if you remember we were talking about the lack of TV shows... this is a great one! :)

M: It's not a ballad song and it's not a party song... It is a bit indie pop with soulful elements and with a catchy melody. You can hear our style there. We collaborated again with Charlie Mason, who wrote lyrics – and he did the lyrics for the winning song of Eurovision last year ("Rise like a phoenix"). We are looking forward to presenting the next single.

SE!: If you could choose anyone, who would be some Slovene and international artists you'd like to collaborate with?

R: There are so many. Both from Slovenia or international. We always get a lot of ideas of what we could do. It would be too hard to decide for just one. Probably Ryan Tedder would be the choice from both of us. ;)

SE!: We would like to post a song of your preference to close this interview. What is your favorite song, and why?

M: Our favourite songs changes from time to time – when I love a song, I listen to it so many times, that I usually need a break from it for a while. :)

R: Since we are both fans of One Republic and Ryan Tedder, let's choose the song we were both really excited about the minute it came out.