Her connection to music began at a very early age, as she started taking violin lessons at the young age of two. She says that is where she got her discipline from. By the time she was 7 years old, she’d already made the switch to piano and a bit of guitar. Later she joined a choir and toured the country and the world for almost a decade. Now, she’s at the final stretch of working on her own album, soon to be released. Meet Maria Krass, the choir girl gone rock, out on her own path.
How did you first get into singing and songwriting?
Like I said earlier, I joined the “Voices of Peace” choir at the age of 13, and fell in love with it. I found the whole thing breathtaking – the harmonies, the music… all of it! I was lucky enough to perform on hundreds of stages with the choir, in the country and abroad. I have so many amazing memories from my choir days, a lot of firsts… It helped me learn about myself, about who I am and who I could be. But I also got a lot of heartbreak from there, which led to my songwriting. It was the painful times that inspired me to start putting my own lyrics on paper instead of just singing someone else’s words.
Who are your inspirations? Both musically and in life.
In life, I try to find inspiration in everything. I’ve always been very shy and quiet which gave me a lot of time to pay attention to my surroundings, and if you’re attentive enough, you’ll hear the world speaking to you. Every sound, every object, every person and every little detail has a purpose, a meaning. You just need to be willing to look for it.
Had a philosophy teacher in school, she’s helped me a lot and was always there for me and really saw me when no one else did. She opened my eyes and helped me see the world, but more importantly, see myself from more than one perspective, so I guess she will always be one of my biggest inspirations in life.
Musically, it’s hard to choose specific people who inspire me because it kind of changes all the time. But I guess I usually connect to a specific lyric in a song and that’s what inspires me the most. It could be any song by anyone, as long as it moves something in me, I get inspired.
Do you write the lyrics first and then compose the melody? Which comes more naturally? Tell us about your writing process.
I don’t have anything specific. Sometimes it’s some lyrics, sometimes it’s a melody that I come up with that gets stuck in my head until I think of some lyrics to go with it. I could be watching a show on tv and suddenly get an idea for a verse for a song so I write it down and sometime later I go to the piano and if it works it works. If it doesn’t, I just leave it in my notes. The problem is, I don’t usually have time to sit down and write, so I just let it come to me whenever it feels like it.
Your previous single was called “Suicide” – did people around you get scared or worried at first?
To be honest I was hesitant with the release of that song. On one hand, I had to release it because I felt like I needed to speak my truth, I needed to say it out loud and I needed people to hear it. But on the other hand, I knew how heavy that song was and I didn’t want people I love to worry. But to answer your question, I’m not sure if they did. I barely got any feedback on this specific song. And I can understand why, it’s a very sensitive subject, so I hope they didn’t get scared or worried because at the end of the day, I use my music to express myself and to say out loud whatever’s sitting on my chest, to try to heal and move forward, so I truly hope people don’t take it to heart.
You have many tattoos, do they have specific meanings, and which one means the most to you?
I do! 16 to be exact. Honestly, I usually just find a picture of a tattoo I like on the internet, get it done, and only after that do I attach a meaning to it. I mostly just google something and see what meaning fits me the most. But I do have 2 favorites. The first one is a deer in my shoulder and the second one is a wolf on the back of my hand. The deer is very close to my heart because one of my best friends made the sketch for me and I got it tattooed, so that way, a piece of her is always with me.
I got the wolf tattoo on my hand a few years ago right before I had to travel abroad on my own for the first time. I was terrified to go alone, so I would look at the wolf on my hand for reassurance and protection every time I felt powerless and I guess that helped. Since then, this wolf has been my protector, a shield made out of ink.
Your latest single goes in a different direction from your previous work, tell us about it and what brought you to go with a more upbeat and groovy sound?
I was so tired of writing slow ballads and songs about depression, I needed something new and fresh. I’m usually not so good with singing or writing upbeat songs so I figured I’d start by just playing around with some chords, that should be a good start right? Then I tried writing some lyrics to go with those chords, just as an exercise. It turned out okay and I decided to show it to Gal, my producer. He loved it and made a sick arrangement for it which made me fall in love with the song.
Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
Hopefully on a stage somewhere, making music full time. Honestly, I just want to make a difference. In this world of drama and chaos, I want to live a life that matters. I wish to be able to touch as many hearts as possible with my music because I believe that it is the best and only way to heal people’s souls.
What are your hopes and goals for 2022?
Just to try my best, every single day. I hope to be the best version of myself and do everything I can to spread love and joy to those around me. I wish to find the power in me to be more honest and open about my truth.
Setting specific goals or plans for the future is not really my thing because I usually just end up stressing myself out and getting disappointed because I “can’t reach my deadline”. Instead, I prefer to live in the moment and try to enjoy it as much as I can. Emily Dickinson wrote in one of her poems – “Forever is composed of nows”, I couldn’t agree more. We’re all so preoccupied with what’s to come that sometimes we forget that life is just full of nows. And if we don’t stop for a moment and actually be here and now without constantly rushing towards the next big thing, we might miss it.
So for 2022, my only hope is that we all try a little bit harder, to be a little bit kinder and a little bit better. I get it, you only live once, but there’s no rush! Enjoy life while you still got it, and spread as much love as you can!
