“So… Why did you move to Seattle?” Born in sunny Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
and raised in Copacabana Beach, Paula Maya gets that question a lot.
“Well, I moved to Texas first. After 4 months in the summer heat of
Houston, I moved to the ‘MECA’ for music, as Seattle was being called
during the 90’s. I must admit I always had a fantasy of living in a cold
place, like London. Although my background is in classical and jazz, I
remember watching a huge U2 concert on TV, and thinking: that’s what I
wanna do!

Maya studied piano at the Brazilian Federal University of Music and
graduated from the Brazilian Conservatory in Music Theory. In Rio she
started her career as a professional musician / performer, and shared
stages with high profile artists, such as Caetano Veloso, Leila Pinheiro
and Djavan.

Paula Maya’s songwriting style is unique and eclectic. “My true love is to
write songs that help me, and hopefully my listeners, to get in touch with
different emotions on a subconscious level, in a fun and deep way. And to
move our bodies in the process!”

In the US Maya has opened for, or shared stages with: The Presidents of
the United States of America; Tab Benoit; Cyril Neville (Neville
Brothers); Vinicius Cantuaria. Some of the venues and festivals that she
has been featured at are: Bumbershoot festival and The Triple Door in
Seattle, Rose Festival in Portland, San Francisco Gay Pride, Last Concert
Cafe in Houston, Texas Jazz Festival in Corpus Christi.

Paula Maya moved to the US to pursue her recording career. Her latest
release on Yellow House Records, Paula, was pre-selected for the
prestigious TIM Brazilian music awards 2008, AKA the Brazilian Grammies.