"a very fresh and unique sound"
Bill White, music critic for the Seattle PI and Seattle Sound Magazine

“Paula Maya's latest CD Paula is a collection of pristine pop that flirts with rock, electronica and even ska”
Chris Gray, Houston Press

(to keep reading this review of Maya's new record "Paula" please go to www.cdbaby.com )

BIO
"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. Following a friend's invitation, I flew to Miami and took the Greyhound bus, a 3 days ride, to Houston! After 4 months in the summer heat of the south, I once again followed my friend Denise and moved to the 'MECA' for music, as Seattle was being called during the 90's, when Nirvana was still around. I must admit I always had a fantasy of living in a cold place, like London, where the rock groups traditionally came from. 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! I was the kind of teenager that would rather play music than go to the beach. Now, indeed, I miss looking out into the vast Atlantic ocean, and smelling the summer breeze."

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. Her band includes Pat Hewitt on guitar (Sonics), Ben Smith on drums (Heart) and Dave Pascal on bass (5th Ave Theatre).

Paula Maya moved to the US to pursue her recording career. Her latest release on Yellow House Records, Paula, produced by Pat Hewitt, was pre-selected for the prestigious TIM Brazilian music awards 2008, AKA the Brazilian Grammies. She celebrated with a show at the re-known Rio de Janeiro jazz club Mistura Fina, and was joined by Grammy winner drummer/producer Teo Lima (Dionne Warwick, Ivan Lins).

DISCOGRAPHY
Paula Maya has released four albums. New Perspective, 1995, through Wow Mom Records (Houston), Resurrection - 2003 and Paula - 2007, through Yellow House Records (Seattle). And her EP, Resurrection 1st Half, released independently in 2000, from which the title track is featured in the movie “The Learning Curve”. Some of her songs can also be found in a few CD compilations, including the NorthWest Heavy Hitters series, sponsored by Disc Makers.

CONTACT: Burle Niemeyer burle@yellowhouserec.com . 310-597-2646 (cell)