Sundays, in my opinion are designed to do nothing but chill out and listen to music or at least that is what my Sunday mornings were like before I married and had children… Regardless of how differently my weekends pan out these days, music still plays a large role in my life; if it were not for music I would not have written a single word on paper as it propels me to be a stronger and more creative writer. House music and rock have been in particular strong catalysts to my work, which is why I feel it is important for me to interview the founder of DeepDownDirty (a UK dance music record label), Maya Stone. The music DeepDownDirty\’s producers create is best described as energetic bursts of whimsy and delight. Another thing that I must admit that I love about Maya is that she is very detail-oriented and has genuinely busted her ass to grow this business into the wonderful label that it is.
Please follow Maya on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube & Soundcloud. There are some gems in the soundcloud account in particular including as yet unreleased tracks.
RMMW: What is your first musical memory?
MS: My first musical memory is of kids’ songs in Hebrew… Like… Ha otto shelano adom ve yarok….
RMMW: What fuels your love of music?
MS: I am not sure I can articulate this. Music has always been in my life and whilst I love all music live the one type of music I am addicted to is electronic music. It was such a big part of my formative years and indeed in some ways my therapy… that my connection to this type of music is so… primordial… and emotional… I could not stop loving it if I tried.
RMMW: What are you listening to now on your device?
MS: I am ashamed to say that given the business of the label much of what I listen to is either related to the label or to people with whom I work with or support in some way. Plus, my iPod nano packed up and the mp3 player I bought to replace it simply doesn’t cut the mustard. IF I had a device I listened to music on however it would be full of music by Just Her, Reinier Zonnefeld, Stil Vor Talent, DJ S.K.T., Way Out West. Enigma, Lexicon Avenue and Dr Atomic (none of whom the label works with – unfortunately). Oh and maybe some of Boy George’s and Ian Ossia’s old mixes.
RMMW: I’ve been lucky enough to hear you present some of your shows and your set-lists are always spot on and you keep your audience entertained with your charm and thoughtful tracks. Are you still hosting radio shows? If yes, where – if no, when are you going to?
MS: I really miss doing radio. There’s nothing like knowing you are giving pleasure to people with the music you are playing to them. BUT I have a very labour-intensive way of doing the show prep which is very focused on supporting the labels and producers whose music I play so, I have had to give up the shows. I hope that instead we are touching people’s hearts with the music we put out through the label.
RMMW: Are there specific Artists that you were excited to sign and why?
MS: I think it was really amazing for me to sign artists whose music I had previously played on my radio shows, so I would say people like Rico Garcia (whose track started the label) and Cruster and soon we will be releasing techno by Ken Desmend which is a big deal for a small underground label as some pretty well-known underground DJs have played his music. In terms of well-known people, working with Phil Hartnoll of Orbital and having him remix Enlightenment for us… well… that’s just kinda mind-blowing. His support for the label since that time has also been second to none. It revitalises your belief in the music industry to be honest.
RMMW: What is Deep Down Dirty’s origin story? Including name selection?
MS: OK so firstly…. it’s DeepDownDirty. That’s kinda important because there are other brands around with spaces between the words ;). The origins are… well. When I started running underground events I wanted a sexy name that alluded to the type of music we were playing… deep… banging beats. That’s how DeepDownDirty came into being. Also, because I had the radio show DeepDownDance. Then when I stopped running the events I took that name for the record label :).
RMMW: Tell us a bit about the Artists you represent at DDD?
MS: Wow. I don’t think there is enough space for that. Are you sure? We work with a wide variety of underground artists. We prefer to work with nice team-players because we try and connect them with DJs and radio stations and other producers… I have the pleasure of working with a good bunch of people.
RMMW: Do you have a submission process for Artists who’d like for you to represent them?
MS: Um. No. I am… unstructured in my approach and often rely on my gut instinct!
RMMW: Where do you see DDD in 5 years?
MS: I don’t think about that. I just want everyone to be happy and creating now.
RMMW: What do you think is the one challenge facing musicians today?
MS: That people higher up don’t want to give you a chance unless you have money and social media and a marketable image. It’s sadly not about talent. Ever was it thus.
RMMW: Do you feel social media has enhanced or hindered your online presence?
MS: Wow. Without social media DeepDownDirty wouldn’t exist. Definitely enhanced.
RMMW: Running a label must entail a lot of work; how do you balance your work and home life?
MS: I don’t lol. I have a very understanding husband and an awesomely well-balanced son; both are very forgiving and like their own space!
RMMW: If you had a superpower what would it be?
MS: To be able to convince any established producer to do a remix for us ;). (I’m not obsessed, really, I’m not…)
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