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Me and my songs. I write about my life, my love. Music keeps me moving. Love keeps me singing. Singing keeps me living.
MAIKO WATSON - BIOGRAPHY
A friend once described Maiko's voice as “sweet, smooth, silky and sassy”. Maiko has been singing for as long as she can remember. She got her first solo in school choir in the third grade. At age twelve, she began writing songs over instrumental music. Her songs are everyday stories of love, heartbreak, optimism and strength. Her sound is a melting pot of earthy, vintage tones, where classic soul meets the twenty first century, layered with reggae and rock, and topped by jazzy vocal stylings. She lists some of her influences as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin and Betty Davis. Her soon to be released debut solo album is titled "Sweet Vibration".
No stranger to the music industry, Maiko got her first big break while still in her teens, beating out four thousand young women to become a member of Sugar Jones, Canada's first girl group spawned from reality TV show "Popstars" in 2001. Sugar Jones debut album went platinum and had 2 top ten singles on the Canadian Charts. Though Sugar Jones received critical acclaim, Maiko yearned to develop herself musically.
Since being in Sugar Jones, she has learned how to play guitar, bass, and keyboards, as well as drum programming and multitracking. She starred in the musical Smokey Joe's Cafe in 2006. She also immersed herself in Winnipeg's thriving jazz scene, winning a $25 000 award in 2007 from the Winnipeg jazz station 99.1 that was used to fund the making of this album. She wrote, arranged and produced all the songs on her upcoming release and is very happy with the outcome. "I learned so much about recording and arranging in the making of this album. It's not an easy process, doing everything yourself because it's very easy to lose perspective at times." The album was recorded in Winnipeg with engineer/guitarist(Moses Mayes) Mark Penner, who often acted as a sounding board in the studio. Other highlights of 2008 included a collaboration on Grand Analog's upcoming release and performing alongside nationally acclaimed funk band Moses Mayes.
Maiko is excited to make her solo debut and to share her music with others. "This is very personal album for me and I've enjoyed every minute of making it. But now I'm ready to let go and put myself out there."
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