One artist Loverboy cannot wait to see take to the stage as soon as is humanly possible is DJ/Music Producer Maya Jane Coles. Be it under her own name or one of her aliases, MJC has been consistently making bangers whether it be House (as herself), Techno (as CAYAM), or Bass/Hip Hop (as Nocturnal Sunshine). #ChooseYourFighter

She has been making such massive tracks that her influence can be felt from the most-niche areas of Dance music to some of the biggest pop artists in the game – Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga have all sampled or taken great artistic inspiration from Coles’ 2010 track, ‘What They Say.‘

Coles just recently hooked up with MFS: Observatory and Kid Enigma for a pair of collaborations on a Double A-side ‘Know About’ EP – two massive tracks that demand to be heard at a rave. To celebrate, Loverboy caught up with MJC to discuss her new album, the LGBT music scene and the importance of staying true to yourself.

Maya Jane, great to speak with you. I’m loving these two new tracks ‘Know About’ & ‘Watch & Learn’. How did you come to be collaborating with M.F.S: Observatory & Kid Enigma?
Thanks 🙂 I had been playing out M.F.S: Observatory’s productions for years and always been a big fan of the duo’s work. Mattia (one half of the duo) and I met some time ago at a London gig. We clicked and would always share music and hang at my gigs. I don’t usually collaborate with other producers but during lockdown I had time to work on lots of new projects so it was a fun one to do. I was also always into Chicago-based Kid Enigma’s vocals and one day decided to hit him up to see if he would be able to record a feature for me. One of the top lines he recorded ended up making its way onto one of the collaboration tracks and it was a perfect fit.

What do you look for in a collaborator?
The most important thing for me is how talented the artist is and the sound they create, not really how successful they are. If they have their own unique thing going on then that’s what I look for. It’s also usually if I happen to meet someone in person first and we happen to get on really well. That’s also important to me. I like collaborating with friends and am less likely to just work with someone that randomly hits me up unless I’m really obsessed with their music or it’s something quite different to what I do. Sometimes I’ll just get in touch with a vocalist I really like and see if they’re up for doing something.

I’ve been reading that your third album is coming very soon…
Yes, I’ve pretty much finished it. I’ve named it Night Creature after the intro track. It’s kinda moody night time music, so it felt fitting. It still needs to be mastered and I’m working on the artwork right now. I’m so happy with it. It’s my favourite piece of work yet.

You have several different aliases and release different genres under each of them. Your main genre is House then you produce more Techno as CAYAM & Bass/Hip-Hop as Nocturnal Sunshine. As time goes on would you like to bring everything together and just experiment in these different categories under your name?
A lot of the stuff I work on is so different so it’s easier for me to have different aliases and compartmentalise it, but sometimes it gets complicated and the lines separating the projects can get blurry. I think if I just released everything under one name, Techno one day, Hip Hop another day, Housier stuff another day, atmospheric downtempo stuff another day, it would be quite confusing and random for people and make it more difficult to access the specific things of mine they want to listen to.

Do you have any other aliases out there that we don’t know about?
No, just the ones that are currently out there! Although I’m working on a ton of new tracks with Cha$ey Jon£s and we have so much material now we’re trying to decide whether to create a new name for us as a duo or just release as collaborations.

I started Loverboy seven years ago but my interests have changed significantly over that time. I’ve actually been debating whether to slowly manoeuvre this change within the brand or just start another platform. As someone who diversifies their music under different monikers, do you have any advice?
I love seeing the evolution of an artist, it gives me a better insight on them which makes me feel more connected to their work. I think it’s the same with any business or product. People change and tastes change over time, evolution is always a part of the journey. I’d say just always stay true to yourself and your interests and it doesn’t matter which direction you go. You might lose fans and gain fans when you move onto different things but that’s part of the journey too. Authenticity is the main thing that matters. All my aliases evolve over time, they have their own thing going. My sound will always gradually change from when I first started and that goes with all of my projects, it’s part of the growth.

What are your personal favourite top three tracks from your back catalogue to date?
That’s a tough one, the answer would probably change on a daily basis! Right now I’d say ‘Everything’ ft. Karin Park – it’s one of the early tracks that just fell into place at the right time and never gets old. ‘Cherry Bomb’ – I like to create a certain kinda nostalgic feeling in my music sometimes and this one does that for me. ‘Run to You’ ft. Claudia Kane because it’s one of my favourites tracks I’ve ever worked on. We shot an incredible two part video for it recently which I’m super excited about.

Your 2010 track ‘What They Say’ is huge in its own right but it’s also been sampled in some major LGBT pop anthems. I’ve seen different sources citing it as being sampled by Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry & Lady Gaga. Can you confirm or deny? 
Nicki Minaj sampled ‘What They Say’ on ‘Truffle Butter’. Katy Perry’s ‘Swish Swish’ doesn’t directly sample the track but I’m listed as a writer. I was approached about producing a couple of tracks on Lady Gaga’s Chromatica album ages ago which I never ended up doing. I couldn’t quite make it work with my sound. So I was surprised when ‘Sour Candy’ came out as I didn’t have anything to do with that track, but they didn’t directly sample any audio from ‘What They Say’.

Having such pop heavyweights sample or take some serious inspiration your track – has it ever made you want to work with a major pop artist on something new from scratch?
I’ve always wanted to produce for pop artists. If the right thing comes along I’ll definitely do it. It would have to be with an artist that isn’t afraid to try new sounds and willing to create something unique rather than following chart trends.

We’ve just finished Pride month. As time goes on, I sometimes find myself less connected to the LGBT music scene than I used to be. How do you feel?
I never felt much of a connection to the LGBT music scene when I was younger. I remember in my early 20’s really trying to find gay nights that played music that I liked and they few VERY far and few between. Most of the time I would go out for the music and not go to LGBT events but would always wish that there was something that met in the middle. I think that’s changed now with nights like He.She.They which focus on more underground electronic music but still embracing the queerness.

Lastly we are named after the biggest-selling single of 2001, so we always ask what is your favourite Mariah Carey track?
‘The Roof (Back In Time)’ because that Mobb Deep sample is forever KILLER.

The singles ‘Watch And Learn‘ & ‘Know About‘ are out now
Maya Jane Coles: Instagram / Soundcloud / Spotify