Amaya Lucyk on starting out and staying busy

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author: ethan butterfield| a&c editor


Amaya is making the most out of life

This local Regina talent is making memories

Hey everyone! I hope you’ve all had an absolutely terrific summer because it’s time, once again, for another awesome semester of university to begin! Yaaah! (Please hold your fake applause until after the article.) I must say, this time off has been quite a chore, ironically. There always seems to be more work that needs doing just around the corner. That being said though, I still managed to get some R&R as well as do a pretty slick interview in the process. For those who aren’t familiar, I had the amazing opportunity to talk about music and more with Regina’s very own Amaya Lucyk. A solo artist with tunes that’ll have you humming along, Amaya has done wonderful work on the local scene while continuing to branch out musically. Interested in learning more about her style and process? You can find my interview with Amaya just below:

So Amaya, thank you so much for taking the interview. My first questions is, what made you want to start performing music?

I guess just living, itself, is very conducive to music. Every day we experience things that create different emotions and that’s what songwriting is all about is kind of expressing emotions through song and I’ve always been kind of a melancholic soul and so, from a very young age, I was writing songs about ridiculous heartbreak and tragedy that I never experienced. So, I guess to answer the question, everything in life makes me want to play music, write, and perform.

Was there a genre of music or songs that helped shaped your style or your writing process?

I would say for sure a lot of Amy Winehouse has inspired me. In general, I grew up on a classic rock background Deep Purple, Eric Clapton, Cream, John Denver, a lot of that kind of thing. Jim Croce is another musician that I look up to, the songwriting is just incredible. So songwriting for sure I love Jim Croce, Amy Winehouse, I love the way that their songs really tell a story and really have emotion. Those are artists that I would really like to try and emulate.

Your album ‘When We Saw Stars’, what was the feeling like to get that album out into the world?

It was a very long process that I never really thought would necessarily come to fruition. There would months where I would work really hard on it and then a couple months where I would be totally in the thick of school or in the thick of work and I would kind of forget about it. I was also working Madison Nickels and Chris Dimas, two amazing musicians themselves, and they’re also very busy people. So it would be months on and months off, and then by the time where it was actually starting to reach the finish line, it was hard to even imagine that it would be out there. Now that it is, as much I can, I’m trying to get people to listen to it beyond just friends and family.

So, when discussing the album, the song “Whiskey Lips” has gotten a lot of recognition from people, would you consider it the single off that album?

You know, it kind of came as surprise to me that that had been the most popular song. Up until the last couple of years, I completely detested country music altogether. I actually teach some students in Francis guitar lessons and they all love country, so I promised them I’d write a country song. So I wrote “Whiskey Lips” on the way home from Francis, I picked up my guitar when I got home and put it to the melody in my head. And yeah, I never really connected with it with the first few months that I wrote ‘cause I was like; “This is a country song, I’m not a country artist.” and now all of a sudden it’s everyone’s favourite So, do I consider it the single? No. *laughter* In fact, I almost consider it the odd one out. I would have probably seen “April Showers” as the single of the album. But we’re in Saskatchewan and people love country.

What have been some of your favourite moments since you’ve started performing?

I have to say I really, really enjoy the concerts where no one shows up. I’ve always felt a little bit; “hmmm, I wish more people were here.” And then I get on stage and it just feels like this really intimate moment with the few people that are there. Then, for some reason, I just totally lose all my jitters and sing my heart out, and I just love those moments. I feel like it’s me just giving myself to those people, and even though I might never talk to them or know them, it’s a really interesting and wonderful moment to share with strangers.

Last question, what does the future hold for Amaya Lucyk, new music or just focusing on playing shows live?

I’m definitely always writing, I have about, like, fifty songs that are half in the process of writing. However, throughout my life, I’ve always had fifty songs I’ve been in the process of writing, and then the only ones that really come through are three or four of them. So, I’m always writing, but I’m very, very hard on myself. I came from a family of musicians and I’m, I guess, a music critic myself because I’m a musician. So, I’m very, very critical of my own music which sometimes I wish I could just not be because I think I would get a lot more music out there. But, at least you know when you finally get music from me, it’s been screened through like a million times. So yes, there is new music on the horizon in terms of recording, not anywhere in the total near future, but somewhere in the next year, maybe half-year.

So there you have it! Interested in checking out Amaya’s album? If so, then by all means, check out When We Saw Stars on bandcamp or Itunes right now! I think you’ll really enjoy what it has to offer. Until next time.

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