MAYKA

You might know Mayka as one-half of Stockholm’s dayglow electro-pop-rap duo Death Team who first shot to attention with the rampaging anthem ‘Fucking Bitches In The Hood’. Described by The Guardian as “the missing link between Abba and Eminem, Death Grips and Daphne and Celeste”, their fans included Charli XCX and Perez Hilton, while their Kanye West-referencing hit ‘Gold’ fired to #10 in Spotify’s Global Viral 50.

Now Mayka has launched a solo career. Citing Lana Del Ray and Miike Snow as melodic inspirations, Mayka’s sound leans towards trap and future bass, with a tightly focused pop nous in place of Death Team’s anarchic experimentation. At other times, however, Mayka harks back to her love of grunge and emo – while trap and grunge are very differently sonically, they share an inspiring raw energy.

Mayka’s first two solo tracks focus on the electro element of her sonic palette. A minimalist production heavy on bass and beats, Mayka’s immediately identifiable vocal delivers the insistent hook that embeds ‘I’ll Be Watching You’ deep in the mind, while ‘Rich’ boasts the dramatic atmospherics and anthemic qualities that have highlighted many of Nordic pop’s international crossover hits.

Mayka’s career started with big ambitions, little money and no real plan. She relocated from small-town Sweden to the bright lights of Stockholm and hustled relentlessly to land gigs and attempt to build up a network within the music industry. She travelled the world so she could define herself as an international DJ, playing her first gig at a warehouse party in Los Angles before heading to New York, Bali and India.

She soon became obsessively dedicated to learning everything she possibly could about production, mixing and DJing, but being a female in the male-dominated electronic music scene meant that she was all too often considered to be a novelty rather than an artist who deserved equal respect. Rather than break in the face of adversity, Mayka resolved to battle back against a culture ruled by mansplaining DJs.

While girl power, independence and stubbornness proved to be vital traits when kicking against the pricks, Mayka also came to realise that seeking help from like-minded collaborators is also a vital part of the collaborative process. As stellar songwriters such as M.I.A., Uffie and Yelle became her new role models, Mayka found that creative spark when she teamed up with Johen Rafael Till to form Death Team.

Now Mayka hopes to inspire a new wave of young female talent to pursue their own passion projects in the arts and beyond. The essence of her message is simple: follow your dreams, don’t be afraid to fail, be who you want to be, and carve out your own place in society.