Q&A: meet Maina Doe, Sydney talent shows us why she’s one to watch

The Sydney music scene is in full bloom and Maina Doe has been caught dropping some mighty fine tracks over the last year and a bit. We first heard her solo debut with her track Delusion that straight up slaps. It’s the right amount of sexy that gives a taste of what’s on offer without giving too much away. The best way to describe it is “Space, but make it Soul”, it’s like a futuristic neo-soul space explorer song. Totally into it. 

The Sydney-sider has always had a taste for music but only recently decided to take a more solo approach. Her music is consistently tasty, it’s the perfect music to have playing while sitting in the sun and doing some work. The right balance of melancholy to keep you on point with work and soulful enough to give you that mad energy. 10/10 would recommend.

Maina has embraced the new normal despite 2020 being a year of mishaps and whole lot of nothing for most. She’s found that the solitude has opened up a new channel that has helped her find balance between making music and handling the business side of things. Geddit sis. 

We caught up with this boss to chat about her new release See Me, how important collaboration is and how underwear is completely underrated. 

Check out our chat below:

Hey Maina! So why music, what switch was flipped that made you want to pursue a career in music?

I'm unsure if there was ever an instantaneous switch that flipped - I think I always knew that I wanted a career in music but there were real life pressures outside of myself that made me doubt if it was the right path. After gigging for cash and working in the industry as a backing vocalist and writer for a few years I decided that I wanted to release music to take it to the next level and it's been such a blessed journey so far.

Let’s talk about See Me, how did that track come together?

Aywy is a dear friend of mine. He introduced me to Jay Cooper (who is a goat) while Jay was in town for a short time and we decided we should make a tune together. One night they told me to come by Jay's place before he went back to LA. I get to Jay's house and Selasie was there too - we went straight into it and came up with See Me. Shit flowed so effortlessly, it was really special.

Have you found this year to be productive despite the changed environment? 

Definitely. I found that the solitude during the height of the COVID lockdown actually allowed me to tap into a better balanced approach to making music and handling my business. I was very aware of our privileged position here to be able to stay at home and take time out during a pandemic and I milked it as much as I could to make music, re-strategise and check in with myself.

Is collaboration with other artists a key part of music for you?

100%. Collaboration is where I learnt the most about myself and my creativity. I track a lot of my vocals alone these days but everything I do is a collaboration from the music and the videos to the game plans that my team and I come up with. Collaboration fast-tracks growth! Everything in life is a collaboration and I apply that same belief into everything I do musically.

What would be your spirit animal and why?

Probably a whale lol.

If you were given a primetime spot on TV once a week to talk about anything, what would it be and why?

I'd talk about anything that would inspire people to look inwards more.

In your opinion, what is the most underrated clothing accessory and why?

Underwear. Just 'cause people can't see it when you walking down the street, doesn't mean you should wear gross underwear. Shit still needs to be nice.

Do you have any new music coming out soon?

I got a bunch of features coming out soon, a live performance video came out in September and a full project coming out when the time is right.

You know what, I wouldn’t have even thought about underwear but you’re totally right hey. Even though no one sees it, they need to be cute not raggedy. Maina has some fire vocals that get us sooooo excited. Can’t wait to see what comes out next.

Check out  her new track below or head to our Sunday's R 4 the Soul  🎷 playlist to hear more spicy songs like this one.

By Samuel Seedsman.