Against All Odds, Creative Female DJ Arises in the Music Industry

Photo Credits: Julian Gigola

Maya Ayed (22 years old) was born in Tunis, Tunisia, North Africa and moved to the U.S to pursue her undergrad degree at University of San Francisco around the age of 17. After graduating, she worked at a tech company called Twilio as a marketing specialist. She believed moving to another country was one of the best decisions of her life because it taught her adulting at an early age and she quickly fell in love with the city. Growing up, she was exposed to music at a very young age. Tunis has one of the best nightlife and music scenes. The music scene in Tunis at the time consisted of disco and funky house. Her dad introduced her to Jazz and Blues as well as taught her how to play the piano. Her mom was into belly dancing and exposed her to arabic music which involved many sounds from the oud, flute, and guitar. Every time she heard those instruments, it would remind her of home. Having both influences from her Dad and Mom, definitely had an impact on the way she creates her music today. When covid hit, she felt inspired, she asked one of her friends to give her private lessons and teach her how to DJ. Once she got the basics of DJing down, she started playing a lot of tech house then later switched over to melodic house because of the slower bpm. Currently, she is making more oriental and tribal house music because of nostalgia. Maya is a very hard working woman who takes her career very seriously. She is always accepting opportunities wherever she can, but her main goal is to bring people together with her music. Maya’s philosophy lies in the power of bringing people together to create an energy bigger than ourselves. When people go to her shows, her audience can let go of their stress and worries. She strives to create a eudaemonic experience where people can connect to her music through their mind, body and spirit. From her perspective, “music is a way for us to communicate with each other.” A couple key things that set her apart from other artists is that she likes to play piano during her sets and the unique sets she produces are the combination of music her mom and dad introduced to her at a young age.

Aside from the content of her music, she quickly realized how difficult it was to be a female DJ in the music industry. With the music industry having a history of being male dominated, Maya found it hard to position herself amongst other artists. How could she bring value when there are so many other talented artists out there? As a result of bad experiences, she dealt with many internal struggles, but learned to persevere and not quit. Her confidence grew as she had her first gig which was called OuterBloom at Point Bonita Lighthouse. She played for her friends and other people while watching the sunset. Her favorite gig was at a wellness retreat called Cielos at Ventucopa, California. A friend had organized a retreat and invited her to DJ on a hill while the sun was setting. This time she played more Arabic and tribal music and to her surprise people actually enjoyed it. When asked to describe her experience, she said it “felt natural” to play what she liked but also playing music that makes people “feel good.” If you have good energy, it shouldn’t matter if your favorite song is not playing. “What matters is showing as your most authentic self” she emphasized. Maya is currently focusing on honing and perfecting her craft. She plans on releasing an EP single in the near future once it has been completed. I asked a couple questions to give us a bit more insight on her musical journey and this is what she had to say:

Where do you see your music career ending up in five years?

“Hopefully I will be releasing more singles by that time, playing at more venues around the world, and having a bigger social media presence.”

What is the most rewarding thing about DJing?

“Honestly it is seeing people filled with joy from listening to my music and really appreciating the moment I have with my fans and my audience.”

What is the most embarrassing moment you had while DJing?”

“One time I was performing for a party at the Santa Cruz Beach, and someone had asked me to play bad bunny. For some reason the bpm didn’t change so the audio sounded like a bunch of chipmunks.”

After speaking with Maya, I can say she is a very hard-working artist who loves music and just wants to get her name out there. For those looking for new artists, definitely check her stuff out! Link will be available below.

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