Singer Amata interviewed for hubpages

Please introduce yourself to my readers.

When I was born, my brothers had been already composing music for a while. I’ve been surrounded by music from the very first day of my life. My parents, who are artists too, taught us creativity and to appreciate nature, to notice all these little things around that can make you smile and cry. Thanks to my dad, music and nature are inseparable for me. I remember when I was a little girl he would take me for walks in the forest (in northeast Poland) and show me that music is everywhere. If we passed a singing bird, he would ask, “What interval is that?” It was fun and magical at the same time!

I’m very grateful to my parents for making me feel deeper, see and hear more. Not only do I do what I love, but am also an animal rights activist and a lover of nature.

After years of playing and singing, I chose to study conducting because I wanted to learn and understand music from the inside. It was a good decision. It’s such a great pleasure to embrace all the elements of a music piece you’re performing.

Also – this is funny – conducting exams have made all my fears of performing on stage disappear! The very first ones were so humiliating and stressful for me that now, when I sing, nothing – absolutely nothing can make me feel uncomfortable. If, after just a few months of practicing, you had to stand in front of a dozen or so people and pretend to conduct an orchestra or choir, you’d know what I’m talking about!

Although I enjoy conducting, it’s singing that I love the most. I learned everything from my wonderful teacher, Prof. Iwona Musialik. When we met for the first time, I felt very suppressed and had actually given up on singing. She’s made me believe in myself and helped me to get my voice out. I am sure that if I went to anyone else’s singing class, I wouldn't be who I am now. Prof. Musialik helped create Amata the singer. I owe her everything.

I am also so lucky that both my brothers are wonderful composers. We understand each other. When I write lyrics, usually I don’t have to tell them how I’d like them to sound with music. They always know. If I write an entire song, they will produce it to sound just like I heard it in my dreams. If they want me to record vocals for their music, there’s no need to explain anything.

What inspires you?

Everything can be inspiring. I guess it depends on a day, but everything that I see and hear around is inspiring. It can be a falling leaf, cup of tea or broken heart; an uplifting feeling of being loved or the abyss of loneliness; an article in a magazine, movie or even another song.

Your plans and projects for the future?

I am now completing material for my first solo album. Some of the songs are written by me, but most of them by my oldest brother, Jaroslav. I’ve been told that they sound like a mix of Enya and Sarah Brightman, which is a very nice complement because I appreciate both these wonderful artists very much.

My other main project is a duo called “Slav” with my second big brother, Marek. The music and lyrics we create are a bit darker. Some people find Slav’s songs provocative, fairy tale-ish and even sad. It’s true that when I write lyrics about something that is bothering me, I always put them in the “Slav works” folder.

Right now we have enough material for a full-length release to be launched very soon, probably in the summer. I can’t give you any details yet, but stay tuned!

Anything else you would like to talk about or promote?

Recently, Marek and I have recorded music for a project which purpose is to raise awareness about the plight of the island nation of Kiribati along with pictures taken by an excellent photographer, Jon Lewis.

Kiribati is suffering from increased soil salinity and looks like it will eventually be entirely submerged due to rising sea levels, a result of climate change. We hope to raise some funds that will be donated to help the people of Kiribati.

I am looking for people to produce clips for “Water Song” (Amata) and “Forgotten Garden” (Slav) - please see the videos included here. I think both these songs would be great in movies or commercials, so if you have any ideas, please e-mail me.

If you are interested in my music and would like to hear more, visit my MySpace profile http://www.myspace.com/joannapapaj

Copyright © 2011 Steve Andrews. All Rights Reserved.