Mayaeni

Certain artists are clearly going to be big stars?. Detroit born Mayaeni, the daughter of a West African mother and a Jewish father - a former guitar player who played with Sylvester, Carl Carlton and Jimmy Ruffin - has traveled far and wide, absorbing the many cultures she's experienced and bringing a depth to her music and lyrics that far belies her 26 years. After recording demos for other artists, including for one of her idol, Billy Lawrence, she released her first self-titled indie album with producer Shaun Fisher.

Detroit born Mayaeni, the daughter of a West African mother and a Jewish father - a former guitar player who played with Sylvester, Carl Carlton and Jimmy Ruffin - has traveled far and wide, absorbing the many cultures she's experienced and bringing a depth to her music and lyrics that far belies her 26 years.

After recording demos for other artists, including for one of her idol, Billy Lawrence, she released her first self-titled indie album with producer Shaun Fisher. The album was well received and resulted in shows throughout the United States as well as a tour of Japan. While in Japan, Glad News Clothing, a popular label in Japan, New York and Los Angeles, signed her to an endorsement contract, unheard of for an independent artist.

It was not long before Mayaeni caught the ear of multi-platinum producer/songwriter Toby Gad (Fergie's Big Girls Don't Cry, Beyonce's If I Were A Boy) - they co-wrote 5 songs together in early 2008. In the fall of that same year, Mayaeni signed a development deal with mega producer/songwriter Linda Perry's Custard Records and penned songs with numerous well-known writers/producers including Linda Perry, Boots Ottestad, Sam Bisbee and Martin ?Doc? McKinney. Once the development deal with Custard was completed, Mayaeni returned to New York where she incorporated her experiences of the last few years into new songs, resulting in a unique and fresh sound, with an immediacy and honesty too often missing in today's music.

She signed with All Parts Move management in August of 2009.

In 2010, Mayaeni was extensively featured in the Target/Converse ?One Star' Ad-Campaign as well as in the National Association of Broadcasters Radio Heard Here campaign and her first single The Right Way went without any real support to #7 on the FMQB playlist. Her song Bee (co-written with Boots Ottestad and Rosie Golan) was selected as one of the options for the German Eurovision entry and became a single and album track for Eurovision winner Lena Meyer-Landrut (the fifth biggest selling album in Germany in 2010).

Mayaeni continued to perform all over the US, including a very visible appearance with the Don Was ?Detroit All Star Revue' at the legendary producers' Concert of Colors in Detroit. In November her song Moonlight (co-written with Boots Ottestad) was featured on the prime-time ABC TV show ?Detroit 1-8-7'.

In May 2011, Mayaeni completed an acoustic (self-produced, self written) highly synch-able 6-track EP Cold Love with guitarist Steve Caldwell. It drew a lot of interest from both major and indie record labels. She did two showcases in London at the famous 12-Bar Club and in August 2011 signed a worldwide publishing deal with Sony/ATV.
In September 2011, her song Broken Glass was featured in the CBS smash hit Hawaii Five-0, (Season 2, Episode 2).

Mayaeni is currently finishing her 2nd album, which will include the track Nothing Inside, co-written with Justin Parker (Video Games, Lana del Rey). She will perform a dance version of the song with top DJ Sander van Doorn under the title Nothing at Ultra/Winter Music in Miami in March.

After years of building up to this moment, Mayaeni is now poised to be ?an overnight success'. She plans on keeping things simple though: ?I'm interested in making music that people can relate to and that is real?. And real is just what Mayaeni is. Her skilled blending of the old school with the new, promises great things.

http://www.mayaeni.com
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