T.H.E Interview – Shiah Maisel

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Shiah Maisel interview

Shiah Maisel’s new single, “Ruined My Life” is about the struggles of everyday life battling anxiety and depression.

The track features French producer Coopex, and Finnish producer EBEN who take the single to a place of many emotions with dark melodies and powerful drops.

We caught up with Shiah to learn more about him, his influences and the impact of COVID-19 personally on him.

T.H.E – First of all, how old are you and where are you from?

Shiah Maisel – I recently turned 22 years old. I was born and raised in Queens, New York. I am a city kid for sure. I spend time in Manhattan and also in Long Island.

T.H.E – For how long have you been producing music and why did you start?

Shiah Maisel – I am told that I sang before I spoke. I always loved music. In high school I had my first experience as part of the Acapella Group and was the lead singer of the band. It was so much fun and I loved the performances and competitions that we had. It really got me comfortable performing, singing and songwriting. It was (and still is) the best outlet for me. I am happiest when I am in the studio or playing the piano or guitar or just jamming with friends and singing. It relieves a lot of anxiety and tension for me and is such a healthy escape from times when I am going through something difficult.

T.H.E – Which artists inspire you?

Shiah Maisel – Wow, this is a hard one…James Arthur and Lewis Capaldi are huge influences on me. I also love Julia Michaels, John Legend and Tom Walker. Over the last couple of years I fell in love with EDM and I love artists that can really make me feel the emotions from their instrumentals. I am especially inspired by the many artists I have been collaborating with over the last year. They are so talented and they motivate me on a daily basis.

T.H.E – What are your plans for this year, new music coming?

Shiah Maisel – This year I have been releasing a new song since January 1st 2021 every week. This has been a great challenge for me. I am doing this for my fans to get a real feel for who I am as an artist and what I am capable of doing in different genres.

T.H.E – Where do you wanna be in 5 years?

Shiah Maisel – I want to be healthy emotionally and physically and continue to develop my craft. I believe that there is always room for improvement no matter how big you get. I hope to be able to travel the world and tour with my collaborators. I want to share my music with as many people as possible.

T.H.E – How has corona affected you and your career?

Shiah Maisel – I was balancing my music along with college and due to corona I took the year off. It has been such a rough year for everyone and I grieve for all the lives lost. But the silver lining for me was that I connected with so many musicians, producers and amazing artists through zoom and Facetime that I wound up making more connections than I ever had. It gave me time to focus on my music, write songs, and collaborate with my sister Shoshana who is a year older and also a singer/songwriter. Music is so healing for people and unites us all. I felt that it helped me to take this time to really spend time with my family and work extra hard.

T.H.E – What’s the best show you’ve played so far?

Shiah Maisel – I have to say that the best show I have ever played at was at a real dive bar in Brooklyn two summers ago. It was a small venue, sticky floor, beer on tap and just had a chill vibe to it. I had a lot of support from friends and family who came out to hear me. It was a great experience to play my original music on stage and interact with the audience. SInce it was small, I felt really connected to everyone and it was a great feeling.

T.H.E – How do you usually come up with ideas for new songs?

Shiah Maisel – I take a lot of my own life experiences and weave them into my music. I had an interesting childhood growing up in a very sheltered religious type community. I was able to break out of that and really find myself. My parents had a toxic divorce so unfortunately I have a lot of trauma from that and it comes out in some of my music. And then there is a typical break up that hit me pretty hard about a year ago. I also try to focus on gratitude and the kindness in the world. Some of my songs go to a dark place but there is always hope there.

T.H.E – Dream-collaborations?

Shiah Maisel – I would love to collaborate with James Arthur, Ryan Tedder- he does everything and it would be a dream to work with such a talent.

T.H.E – What are you up to when you’re not in the studio?

I am an avid basketball fan. I used to play and watch more than I do now, but in the last few months i have been keeping up with the Brooklyn Nets and that is awesome. I do miss going to games which I did a lot of pre-corona. I live right near Citi Field so I also went to tons of Mets games and hope to do that again. I started a pretty extreme workout to try and get myself in better physical shape, which is also great for my mood and energy level. I am blessed to be super close with my mom and my three sisters so we spend a lot of time together. I also have a tight knit group of childhood friends who are basically brothers so we will chill and hang out.

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