Would you care to introduce yourself?
I’m Donna Maciocia, an Edinburgh based singer/songwriter backed by an awesome band of lovely, super talented folk.
How would you describe the music you make?
Alternative, honest, catchy pop.
How did you start out making music?
I was forced to go to piano lessons from a young age. My piano teacher was very old, smoked fags & fell asleep during my lessons. He wasn’t a very inspiring mentor! I disliked the theory & sight reading side of things, so found myself mostly figuring songs out by ear from my favourite films or writing little songs myself. I remember my dad bought me a how to play boogie & blues VHS and I was really captivated by that. At school, the members of a band called Coffee overheard me playing boogie/blues piano at house parties & in the assembly hall at lunchtime and they asked me to join their band. Members of that band went on to become Risingson, and then Amplifico.
What process goes into the way you write songs?
There is no one process really. I’m always experimenting and trying different things, not consciously, I just do it that way. I have always been very driven to learn new things, so have acquired many different instruments and musical gadgets over the years. In the past I have written on the likes of the piano, guitar, glockenspiel, ukulele, bass, drums, loop stations etc. Sometimes I start with the words, sometimes the lyrics, sometimes I collaborate lyrically, sometimes I collaborate musically. The one constant throughout my songwriting life has been my Dictaphone. I record pretty much every idea I generate because sometimes at the time I think it’s shit, and then years later I’ll stumble upon an idea in my archive and I’ll think it’s awesome and set about finishing it. When I lived in London I had an incredible flat with enough space in my flat to have all my equipment set up all the time, that was brilliant for my productivity. Wish I could always have space like that!
What can people expect from your live shows?
The members of my band are brilliant musicians, so expect super musicianship from all of them. They are all really creative players too, very unique in their own styles. My drummer & guitarist are from Super Adventure Club for example, and if you are familiar with them you’ll know exactly what I’m trying to get at! Occasionally Mandy their bass player sings & plays with us too. Our sets are dynamic, I like to play with highs and lows, so we’ll play some kick ass in your face songs and throw some much quieter ones in also. I tend to do a couple of songs solo with my loop station too.
What are you listening to at the moment?
Kill It Kid, The Beatles, Little Richard, SBTRKT, Gonzalez
What can we expect to see/hear from you in the future?
The big focus for 2012 is recording an releasing an album.
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