Today we’d like to introduce you to Masha J. Davey. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Masha J. Davey is a New Orleans-bred pianist who specializes in composition and music production. Her sound is rooted in her New Orleans Black-American musical upbringing. Her love of the “deep-pocket” rhythmic fusion of Afro-Caribbean & funk-grooving genres, interspersed with the melodic soul of the Blues, is at the heart of her creations. Growing up in New Orleans, Masha was exposed to the traditions of New Orleans musical culture and current pop musical trends. This instilled in her what it meant to push the boundaries of new ideas while honoring the history and the elders that came before her and paved the way forward. From the moment Masha first laid eyes on a piano, she was immediately hooked and gravitated to music like a magnet. It became well known amongst her friends and family that if you didn’t know where she was, you were sure to find her at a piano. From the age of six, Masha was in music lessons on guitar; at the age of nine, she joined the school band on trumpet, as well as joining the middle school jazz band on piano. In high school, she attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts to further her studies in jazz and black-American music that greats such as Trombone Shorty and Wynton Marsalis attended as students. After high school, she was awarded a scholarship to double-major in sound design and film-scoring at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. While at Berklee, she fell in love with record producing in her junior year and finally fulfilled her dream of producing, writing, composing, arranging, and playing in collaboration with her peers on her first EP, “Into the Night.” She released her record in 2022 after the pandemic put a hold on her studies, but she is determined to continue her musical journey with a full debut album that is in pre-production and to be released in summer 2025. Masha J. Davey is excited to keep exploring and sharing her musical journey and has no inclination to slow down anytime soon. Her next project will feature a live 20-piece fusion band that will be a love letter to her hometown of New Orleans and its people that have rooted her in her musical identity. Masha is hopeful and excited to show you what she has in store. Hang on and enjoy the ride!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It wasn’t the obstacle of getting through a difficult music college program or struggling to learn a new piece of music, but it has been the struggle of finding not only my musical identity again but also finding and reconstructing myself through the many challenges that the pandemic brought. During the height of the pandemic, I made the really difficult decision to join the military so I could afford my last year of college once I finished my four years of active-duty service. I have experienced an immense amount of obstacles while in the military such as adjusting to a completely different way of life, a tough and many times toxic work environment, and having to fight every day to make sure I kept the Music and arts in my life while serving. At the same time, I also came out to lots of my friends and family. The people who were meant to stay in my life did exactly that and have supported me through all of the changes in my life. I promised myself, when I joined the military and when I came out that I would stay true to myself, my values, and my chosen friends & family. That no matter who/what tried to change me or influence the perception of my identity, I would constantly keep reminding myself of my “why” and my “purpose” and use that as my compass. My purpose in life is to keep discovering my Truth and to spread that joy of my Truth through music. Whoever wants to listen in is welcome to join in and collaborate!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have always been a composer at heart. From the age of six, when I first touched a piano, I knew exactly why I was put on the Earth. I love stories, and I love sound – to spread joy through sonic storytelling, it just makes my soul light up! For the industry, I market myself as a visual-media composer & sound designer, audio engineer & producer, and pianist. If you were to ask my friends, they might describe me as an eager collaborator and a creative problem solver who loves to perform live and is obsessed with producing records in the studio. I came to this obsession during my third year at the Berklee College of Music. I was taking a summer semester and pretty much told all of my friends that if they needed a session player for their studio sessions, I was the pianist to call! During those sessions, I slowly started giving my creative input as not only a pianist but as a producer. Friends then started calling me on to produce their projects, which eventually led to composing, arranging, producing, and playing on my debut record, “Into the Night”. I hired about forty of my friends and recorded the 3-song record during the course of the summer. I learned more about collaborating, writing, producing, and every tiny little detail that goes into making a record than I did ever before. That’s when I knew that producing and record producing, specifically, was my calling!
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Some of the most important lessons I have learned have been three-fold: collaboration, knowing your craft and the business, and knowing yourself. I feel that most of this is self-explanatory but it’s when you get into the minutiae and realize how to apply the lessons to your own personal life is when the “rewards/success” really start to show themselves. I have always been super big on the concept of collaboration. I am only one person and so I have my limits. I know what I can do and how far I can push myself. At some point, I need to bring in others to help me produce and bring to life a vision I might have. I think knowing yourself, your ego, and what can trigger it is key to promoting open and honest collaboration amongst your colleagues. And really, I just find collaboration extremely fun and fascinating! With collaboration, I never have to solely rely on myself, but I can fully put my trust in my collaborators and at the same time, uplift their ideas and weave them together with everyone else’s to form a vision that wouldn’t have been possible if it was just a project, I was making by myself. With that in mind, I think it’s integral to know not only your craft like an absolute encyclopedia but to also know the business. Not only do I prioritize creating an environment that promotes ease of brainstorming and improvising when recording a project, but I also strive to create an environment in which all of my collaborators are treated with care and respect. I want everyone involved in my project to feel confident not only artistically but also business-wise -that they will get compensated fairly for the time and value that they bring to a project. That’s why I always take care of business first before I ever have any of my collaborators step onto a stage or in the studio. I’ve had some experiences in which I wasn’t taken care of, my ideas weren’t valued as an artist and I wasn’t compensated for my time and value. This experience really drove it home that taking care of your collaborators (all the way from the engineers to the players and down to the person who’s running to get your coffee) directly affects your relationships and therefore affects your project. I know I’ve made mistakes in the past via growing pains, but I hope that by rectifying them by making sure I take care of my people. I want to be known for taking care of my collaborators and that not only am I brought onto a project because of my skills, but because of my integrity.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mashajdavey.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mashadavey/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/masha-j-davey-6225101a7/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=dksYXJU3AUY&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Flinktr.ee%2F&embeds_referring_origin=https%3A%2F%2Flinktr.ee&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title
- Other: https://linktr.ee/mashadavey
Image Credits
holysmokephotography
PeyPixx Photography
