MAIELI FOR BORNTORAGE VOL. 3

We are proud to present you with the third installment of our mix series by way of our LA sister, MAIELI! I couldn’t be more excited to include homegirl on our roster of dope female DJs, and when her mix landed in the inbox late night, I saw fireworks. Instead of turning in for the evening, her mix conjured the turn up inside of me. I powered through the mix with so many “Oh no she didn’t” outbursts- like did she really go from 90s nostalgia to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and back to ASHANTI?? Not to mention a tracklist repping Fade to Mind, that new Princess Nokia track that has me j.u.m.p.i.n., and that clutch Beyonce with a twist. Maieli’s aesthetic in this mix is a fusion of global and contemporary sounds that’ll knock you into a hypnosis- the perfect way to forget, or get in the mood, for V day and beyond.

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We asked her a few questions to get the scoop on the lady behind the turntables:

B: Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get into music?
M: I was born and raised in Los Angeles and I create under my middle name, Maieli. I’ve pretty much been into music since birth. My grandfather was an amazing pianist and my mother played the harp, so it was expected of all of us in the family to at minimum learn piano. I’ve been playing piano since I was 3 but I also play guitar and bass. I’ve always made music but just got into producing and djing a few years ago.
B: Did you find the transition from string instruments to producing and DJing a natural one?
M: The transition to producing was definitely a natural one but more because of my background in piano. I had this keyboard in high school that you could record loops on and I would make weird techno beats with it. Knowing chords and scales in piano is incredibly useful when producing. I still like to integrate my guitar into my tracks though, I usually add at least one layer of guitar to my electronic beats, I think it adds more life to it.

I think I always knew I wanted to DJ, when I was 11 I would make all these mixtapes, mainly hip hop/rap and house, just recording different tracks from the radio unto my tape deck (that I wish I still had!).

B: Tell us about what you’re doing in this mixtape?
M: I wanted this mix to be a little more eclectic and fun than some of my other mixes.  Sometimes I get too locked into perfection so for this I wanted it to be more relaxed but still me. I also wanted to showcase poc artists that I think are killing the game right now.

B: How do you describe your DJ style or what music you’re drawn to?
M: After one of my first live gigs ever I had a girl come up to me and say “I can tell you play for the ladies, thank you,” I thought that was cute and it always stuck with me. It’s not something I consciously try to do . I do think my style has a feminine quality, but I can still hang with the boys, you know? I’m just doing me a hundred percent of the time, never trying to be anything other than what comes naturally to me.

I’m drawn to all types of music! Seriously, from cumbia to metal, I think it’s kind of an exciting time in music because there’s a lot of fusion and integration between different genres, which is such a great thing in my opinion.  What I usually spin though is a mix of house, rnb, hip hop, and whatever else sounds good to me at the moment and for live shows I definitely keep it groovy because people want to dance!

B: What does Browntourage make you think of?
M: Browntourage makes me think of an artistic gang of diverse and talented people, supporting each other, like an extended family in a sense but I know its so much more, it’s a movement, so thank you for doing what you do!

 

 photo by Daniel Sanchez