Maya Lane kicks off the flagship era of her promising career with ‘Still the Same,’ a thoughtful combination of pop, country, and folk that’s simply enthralling! At just 18, Maya has an impressively direct vision of who she is as an artist and a level of self-awareness that seeps through into her lyrics. ‘Still the Same’ is full of precisely-chosen details and mellow guitar strings that contrast the anxiety and sadness that accent the lyrics.
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Drawing from artists like Kacey Musgraves and Fleetwood Mac, Maya’s sound has a nostalgic yet modern feel we can’t get enough of. ‘Still the Same’ even gives us a similar vibe to Taylor Swift’s ‘right where you left me,’ another song about feeling stuck in the same place after someone you used to be close with moves on into a new chapter of their life.
Check out the ‘Still the Same’ music video below and keep reading to learn about the song and more from our conversation with Maya! Once you absorb her answers, we’re sure you’ll love her just as much as we do.
Congrats on your gorgeous debut single, ‘Still the Same!’ What made you choose this song as the song to introduce the world to your work? Thank you so much! I decided to release ‘Still The Same’ first as I feel so many people can relate to the feeling that everything around you is changing but you aren’t, whether that be in a friendship, relationship, or just life in general.
We love that ‘Still the Same’ has such vivid lyrics that really tell a story of heartbreak and a relationship’s spiral. Is there a certain lyric on ‘Still the Same’ that you’re especially proud of? I love telling stories through my songwriting. One of my favorite lyrics is ‘Dad would come and get me if I called him, he’d stop himself from saying I told you so.’ That lyric really highlights how we might be drawn back to the people we love when we are going through hard times.
Image Source: Alex Grace Jones
In addition to being your first-ever single, ‘Still the Same’ is your first-ever music video. We’re sure it was super fun to create that and bring the song to life! What was the planning process like? Filming the music video was so much fun. I’m a very visual person and I often come up with video ideas during the writing process. I have a Pinterest board of music video ideas for every song I’ve written. So when we were planning the video I was so excited, as I already had such a clear vision of how I wanted to further tell the story of the song.
You cite artists like Fleetwood Mac, Kacey Musgraves, HAIM, and Joni Mitchell as some of your biggest inspirations. Is there a certain song by each of them that you feel most influenced your views of music or how you approach your work? I grew up listening to Fleetwood Mac and Joni Mitchell, so I feel like I’m forever influenced by their music. I could listen to ‘Dreams’ on repeat and never get sick of it! I think the fact that people are still listening to their music decades later, shows how timeless and incredible it is. That’s something that really influences me when I’m writing and creating music, I hope people will still love listening to my music 50 years from now and still be able to relate to it. The album Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves really changed the way I thought about my music. I always felt as though I didn’t neatly fit into one genre of music, whether that be country, pop, or folk. Golden Hour showed me that you don’t need to be tied down to one genre, that you can cross boundaries and still have music that is well received and loved. My favorite song of the album is definitely ‘Slow Burn,’ the songwriting is amazing.
You’re releasing your debut EP later this year, and we can’t wait to hear it! Do you feel like ‘Still the Same’ is a good indication of what the project will sound like? Thank you! I think ‘Still The Same’ is definitely a good indicator for how the EP will sound. Each song on the EP sounds different. They all float across the realms of pop, folk, and country but with each song having a slightly different emphasis whilst still remaining authentic.
You wrote ‘Still the Same’ with Jonathan Quarmby shortly after the first COVID-19 lockdown. How do you feel you’ve grown as an artist since starting the song in 2020? I have grown so much as an artist over the last two years. I feel very lucky that I was able to use the lockdowns to experiment with my music, work on my craft and figure out what I like and what’s important to me when making music. I’m now in the position where I feel confident in what I’m creating and the decisions I’m making so my music feels really authentic. I’ve also been surrounded by so many incredible and inspiring musicians and writers (whether that be in recording/writing sessions or band rehearsals) which has pushed me to keep striving to be better.
You’ve loved music from a young age, and even “played” a tennis racket you got when you were four as a guitar. What did it feel like when you finally got your hands on a guitar? I remember being so excited, the first guitar I got was a mini baby pink one and I started guitar lessons at 7. I did spend the first couple of years being really annoyed that I couldn’t play it properly (as my hands were so small), but I’m so glad I stuck with it!
We love the covers you’ve posted on Instagram and TikTok, giving new life to songs by artists like Tina Turner and Billie Eilish. If you could collab with anyone whose songs you’ve covered, who would you choose and what kind of song would you want to make with them? That’s such a hard question! I would absolutely love to collaborate with HAIM, I think they are incredible and seem like the nicest, fun people. I would also love to collaborate with Harry Styles and make a very 70s, Fleetwood Mac-inspired song. I think that could be a great collab as we both love fashion and Stevie Nicks!
You’ve said that ‘Still the Same’ is about “the little things that are so important to you [that] do not change.” What are some of those little things that you value in your own life? I really value spending quality time with the people I love. It’s hard when life is so busy and everyone is on a different journey, but finding time throughout the day or the week to catch up with my friends and family is so important, whether it’s going for a walk together, out for dinner, or just sending a text message. I also value and prioritize taking time to reset (each day). For me, I find doing a workout or going for a walk in nature super therapeutic, it calms my anxiety, makes me feel 10 times better, and helps center me for the rest of the day.
At THP, we’re all about discovering new talent and finding the next big hit before it blows up. Who are some up-and-coming artists you’re digging lately? At the moment I love the band Trousdale, their harmonies are absolutely insane. I also have been listening to a lot of Tommy Lefroy, I really love their songwriting.
Thank you so much to Maya Lane for talking with us about ‘Still the Same’ and so much more! We had the best time learning about her music and can’t wait to see what the future holds for her magical voice.
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