Three Questions With Maral

Three questions with the amazing musician and producer, Maral! Below, Maral talks about her go-tos, inspirations and more.

Collages by Annapurna Kumar, photos by Ambar Navarro.

As part of Issue Five.

Maral by Ambar Navarro / collage by Annapurna.

Synth History: What are some of your go-to pieces of gear?

Maral: For so long I was limited to using just my laptop and Ableton to make my music and I kind of leaned into the limitations by also not fucking with any plugins. 

I wasn’t taught to use ableton, I just fumbled around until I worked out my own unique way of utilizing its powers which resulted in not having a million options. I like approaching music making with a beginner’s mind. 

One piece of gear that has always stayed with me is the SP-404, I got one very early on in my music experiments and would run my guitar through the ring modulator and play it live alongside my Ableton sounds. Now I use it in my live sets as a way to manipulate my samples and improvise with my tracks.

Honestly, I’ve always felt gear to be cost prohibitive but as I’ve grown in my music making I’ve been lucky enough to get opportunities to try out different gear through the kindness of friends and also cool spaces like the Vintage Synth Museum. The Roland Groovebox 909 was the first “synth” purchase I made which I used a bunch in “Ground Groove”. I recently got the chance to get my own Korg Minilogue and that has opened up a whole new realm to my sound, I have a track collaboration coming out with this amazing Egyptian producer El Kontessa, where most of my contribution is solely from the Minilogue which is a first for me. 

Synth History: You utilize both electronic and acoustic instruments, what are some tips for blending these?

Maral: I love the juxtaposition of the ancient feeling of acoustic instruments versus the future /alien feeling of electronics. They make great conversational partners. The key is making sure you keep the organic and raw feeling of the acoustic instruments while also taking them to a new level. There is a lot of effects processing in my music, especially with the acoustic instruments, I used to use a lot of distortion to amplify the subtle emotions of instruments like the setar, which is a 4 stringed lute instrument meant to be played in solitude and introspection, so how can I bring that intention into a punk environment? I’d also make sure no matter how hard I was ripping with the effects there would be moments where the acoustic instrument got to shine through closer to its natural state and say its peace. It’s about listening to what emotion the instruments are conveying and then using your skills in production to create an interesting and satisfying conversation between the sounds. 

Synth History: What things are inspiring you the most right now?

Maral: I’ve been trying to start the day with reading a chapter from this book, The Mysticism of Sound and Music by Inayat Khan, that I picked up at the Philosophical Research Society bookstore.

I think it’s really important to remind ourselves everyday that music is not a commodity especially in the rancid music ecosystem that artists are supposed to make art in today. On one hand we have some of the most exploratory and mind expanding music being made across the globe, and on the other hand the landscape is being even more polluted by bullshit. So to combat the feeling of dread, I’ve been tapping into the spirituality behind music which has always been a focal point for me but finding new ways to interact with it, either through books, transcendental music and discussions with like-minded peers. It’s up to us to nurture and create space for genuine art to grow.

Synth History: Can you tell be about your collaboration with Anna?

I’ve been so lucky to have Annapurna in my life for 20 years! We’ve been working on our art practices side by side since high school and she was always there to listen and encourage during the embryonic stages. 

We went from being each other’s supporters to becoming collaborators once we moved to LA and started curating a monthly experimental club night at The Lash in DTLA called N:}0 Rules Annapurna would create live visuals to accompany the mutant DJ sets I was known for at the time. 

As I progressed from DJing to producing, my work with Annapurna also expanded to music videos, visuals to accompany my live sets and merch /artwork design. The work we do, is a true collaboration, in that I don’t give Anna any directive on what I want the visuals to be like, instead Anna intuitively knows based on the conversations we have about music and art. She also incorporates my own visual work into the visuals. It’s been really fun to get to share this journey with her from playing the Greek Theater to under the redwoods in Big Sur. Her continued enthusiasm and exceptional art drives me to always reach new heights.  

Synth History Exclusive.

Collages by Annapurna Kumar, photos by Ambar Navarro.

Lighting by Max Flick.

Conducted by Danz.