Maika Rose Releases Debut Single

Interview By Lauren Elizabeth Campbell, Editor-in-Chief

Maika Rose released her debut single "Your Smile" March 12th, the first song off her upcoming EP that will be released June 4th. Maika is native to Hamburg, Germany and bilingual in English and German, and equally happy to sing in both languages. Having recently graduated Cardiff University in Wales, Maika now spends her time writing and performing her own music, working as a vocal coach, and leading music workshops. Get to know Maika:

How would you describe "Your Smile?"

"Your Smile" is very much following the journey of a person, who is stuck in an unrequited love. It's their journey through the conflicting feelings of loving someone and wanting to help them get past their prior conflicts, wanting to be seen, but knocking against a closed door. And then there’s the point of realization: they don’t have to be stuck on this person and that loving them is actually holding them back. In that moment, the strong thing is to be alone.

What is your creative process like?

It really varies from song to song. Sometimes I start with the lyrics, sometimes with a melody, sometimes with some chords. Sometimes I just sit at the piano and stare at it for ages, only to then give up. But it’s hard to describe, I feel like the lyrics influence my songwriting so much, that I craft melodies around what I want to say, sometimes even before knowing what that is.

I find that when I start writing a song, it's about a problem or something that's close to my heart, something that I don’t see a solution to at that time. So I write most of the song and then I let it sit for a couple of weeks. Because in that time I will have found a solution, even if it's just emotionally closing the subject, and that will enable me to finish the song in a way that makes the journey complete.

Who/what first got you into music?

That is a very good question. I don’t really remember, I think my dad is very musical and both my parents love listening to music, so I grew up listening to the likes of Queen, Kate Bush, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, etc. I've been singing for so long I don’t even remember when I started, but I used to be my family's radio.

I did musical theatre for many years growing up, was in school choirs, performances and the like and it just never left my life. My voice was the one instrument I ever really stuck to. When it came to decide what I should study, the choice was between chemistry and music and I just felt like I loved music more. It wasn’t the safe option, but it was what I was passionate about. So I went off and studied music and that’s really how I found my voice as a songwriter.

What is something you’d like everyone to know about you?

I love plants. I mean, I love music very much, but I just love watching my plants grow. I love how green they are, although they come in all sorts of varieties, and how they make every apartment feel lighter and more comfy.

What can fans expect next from you?

Throughout this year, I will be releasing two singles, in the lead up to my EP, which is coming out on the 4th of June. I’m currently working on the music videos for the songs and I am very excited about them, as they are partly the reason for me finding my genre niche. I had a lot of difficulty placing my music in any genre. I knew they were pop, but they weren’t the normal mainstream pop.

But, I’ ve been dancing for five years now and when I thought about it all, it just made sense to make Lyrical Dance videos. They're beautifully choreographed and I’m so excited I can't even begin to express it! There have been rehearsals happening these past weeks and the first video will be out shortly after my Single "Your Smile. "

I knew then that my music fell into the genre "Lyrical Pop" as it’s just so based around storytelling, which is exactly where Lyrical Dance lays its emphasis on as well. I just love how dance adds this other layer expression and interpretation to the music, something you can only really experience when you ’re in the movement.

Because I'm so involved already, I couldn't just leave it at one video, so there's going to be a crowdfunding campaign to facilitate the next couple of music videos. Exciting times are lying ahead!

Follow Maika on Instagram @MaikaRose _ and stream "Your Smile" wherever music is available.