Denmark-born independent artist Catya Maré is a violinist of rare talent and a multi-award winner who currently lives in California. In this interview, you will learn more about this incredible musician.
Cendrine Marrouat: Hello Catya, thank you for answering my questions. For those who do not know you, who are you?
Catya Maré: Thank you very much, Cendrine! I am an extremely creative individual, who finds herself wondering about life´s purpose quite a bit… But other than that I'm a songwriter, violinist and music producer from Denmark, now living / working in sunny California.
After my musical studies (including a master´s degree from the Munich Music Conservatory) and working as an alternating concertmaster with Aarhus Symfoniorkester in Denmark, I decided to leave the orchestra and do my own music instead: polyphonic solo violin performances, all over Europe at wonderful cultural venues, such as National Galerie Berlin (Germany) and Kunsthaus Zürich (Switzerland). And then, in 2005, I started to fuse the violin with electronica and world beats and soundscapes, collaborating with two fabulous Danish music producers, Jakob Gadegaard and Henrik Koitzsch.
I relocated to California in February 2008, and immediately started garnering awesome music awards (nominated for Hollywood Music Award 2008, winner of Billboard World Song Contest 2009, winner of Hollywood Music in Media Award 2009, and now, a few days ago, I even won the USA Songwriting Competition!)
I released five albums through the last three years, which feature the violin more as a voice than a usual violin, woven into dreamy, poetic and at times majestic Celtic New Age, Electronica / Classical Crossover soundscapes).
I love to compose and produce my songs myself, too. I am working on having my music placed in more TV shows, films and commercials. So Los Angeles is just the right spot to be.
CM: How long have you played the violin? Why did you choose this instrument?
CaM: I started to play the violin when I was 4 years old (quite a few years ago…). My parents are classical cellists, and my dad used to play in a chamber music ensemble together with a great violinist who, I guess, inspired me to take up the violin.
I played my first concert as a soloist with a symphony orchestra at age 10 and remember it as a lot of fun!
CM: Tell us about your latest albums, "Talk Talk Talk" and "Tell Me Why." What makes them different from your previous releases?
CaM: In July this year, I did another funny and wacky video clip, and was in need of some sensuous voice. Never having sung before I thought, why not give it a try? And I found out that my voice is actually great for sexy, funny and slightly wacky music. So I did those two new EPs, which are quite self-deprecating, flirtingly humorous and sensuous.
Doing the bass lines was the most fun. Funky and catchy…
CM: Your music is a unique blend of world, orchestral, Celtic new age, electronica and pop genres. How do Canadians usually react to it? Have you noticed a difference with American audiences?
CaM: I think the majority of my fans are located here in the US. But according to Canadian radio airplay Canadians seem to like my music a lot, too. I have to admit to never having done any live shows in Canada yet though…so this needs to happen sometime soon!
End of part 1.
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Cendrine Marrouat is a freelance writer/reviewer, published author and translator living in Canada. Official Website: http://www.cendrinemarrouat.com
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