Profile: Maia Hirasawa
Name: Maia Hirasawa
From: Stockholm, Sweden
Sounds like: A sweet and tender singer/songwriter with a strong background in jazz.
Listen: Roselin
Discography:
2006 - My new friend EP (self-released)
Links:
www.maiascase.com
www.myspace.com/maiahirasawa
A lot of people (myself included) first heard of Maia Hirasawa when she began playing in Hello Saferide's band, but those of us who listened to her solo material knew it would only be a matter of time before she was in the spotlight herself. Even without ever hearing her music, you will know how poised and confident she is just from reading this short Q&A. It's no wonder she won the Roland/Sami Music Awards. We'll be hearing a lot more from her soon.
Who are you and where are you from?
Well I'm Maia Hirasawa and I'm 26 years old. I come from Stockholm, Sweden. My mother's from Sweden and my father's from Japan so I'm half Japanese, but I have always lived in Sweden. I've been singing and writing music in a lot of different bands before, mostly jazz, but this is the first time I've done something completely on my own.
What makes you special? Why should anyone care about Maia Hirasawa?
Listen to my music and see of you like it. Everyone can't love my music, but I also think my biggest strength is on stage. That's where I belong.
What's one record that you used to love, but don't want to hear ever again?
That's a very tricky question, 'cause all my records got stolen about a year ago and I miss them all so much. I liked to listen to all my old CDs 'cause they bring back old memories. When I was 10 years old my I was a big fan of Eros Ramazotti, I don't know if I would love that record now though...
If you weren't playing music, what would you be doing?
I've asked myself that many times when I've been doubting if this is what I really want to do. But I realised that I have to do this. I'm still figuring out what I want to become when I grow up... but until then, this is all I want to do.
In what subject would you consider yourself to be an expert? What subject would you want to be an expert on?
I can't see myself being an expert in something other than music... I'd love to be better in writing. Just to be able to write my own biography and things like that so it sounds interesting. I'm a bit jealous in Annika Norlin (Hello Saferide) - she certainly has that gift.
You play music with a lot of different people. Name a few of the things you've learned from some of the experiences.
I've been lucky playing with such great musicians and they teach me new things every time we play together.
They make me more self-confident and show me that I shouldn't take music as something deathseriously - just see music as something great and fun. Before that I put such big pressure on myself all the time. Now I'm thinking that it's just music, the whole wolrd won't be destroyed just beacause I played the wrong chord... They've also inspired me to pickup new instruments and learn how to play them.
One last question: what does the future hold for Maia Hirasawa?
Well, next big gig is on Hultsfredfestivalen with my band. Than I hopefully will start soon with my debut album. I have all the songs, but I haven't decided yet how to do it and with whom. In the meantime I will play loads with Hello Saferide at all the Swedish summer festivals. Looking forward to this summer a lot!