*Note* This edition of the broadcast program features both Mary Win & Rihanna. BBC Burmese is produced for the benefit of Burmese worldwide. It is mainly spoken in the Burmese language. I answer all my questions speaking English. I can not speak or write in the Burmese language.
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Tacoma Weekly interview
May 24th, 2007
Win Proves That Looks Can Be Deceiving
By Nick Przybyciel
Despite her effervescent smile and overall pixie-esque look, Seattle singer/songwriter Mary Win has a dark side. You would never guess it by glancing at the publicity shots on her web page, or by reading her eclectic quips posted there. One example: “I wish that the money we’ve spent on war could’ve been spent on exploring the deep sea. Who knows what we could discover in the Mariana Trench?”
With a penchant for cute, name-based puns, who could ever suspect that this songstress is capable of writing some seriously sad lyrics? But she is. Aesthetics aside, there is something about Win that betrays her vibrant, youthful exterior. It shows through in her song crafting, which is a mature blend of folk-pop melodies combined with early alternative and grunge influences. Having pumped out two EPs in less than a year, Win will bring her mixture of sultry, soulful lyrics and infectious melodies to Tacoma’s Mandolin Cafe May 30.
When she is discussing her music, Win’s constant smile remains a steady fixture on her youthful face: “People always ask me, ‘Mary, why do you write all these dark songs?’ As you can see, I’m a happy person. I guess happy people have a good way of writing sad songs.” Focusing primarily on the theme of love lost, whether it’s unrequited or just simply growing apart, Win’s songs capture the spirit of the jaded, broken-hearted lover in all of us.
“I’ve actually not had a breakup for two, almost three years now,” she admitted. “It’s strange, but sometimes I write songs that symbolize that, but they have nothing to do with me. Like “Highway Song”, it has almost nothing to do with me, but I just felt like writing a song about a woman. And I thought, you know, there’s going to be a woman driving home in a mini-van, picking her kids up from soccer practice, listening to this and saying, I can relate.”
Win’s inspiration comes from unusual places, and she embraces a grab-it-while-you-can approach to capturing the muse. “Normally, I’ll hear a melody and I might be vacuuming, I might be cooking, I might be sitting in front of the computer doing booking but I’ll stop what I’m doing and take out my notebook and see if anything comes to mind. Vacuuming seems to be the big one.”
Everyday inspiration seems to be the key to Win’s songwriting, with nothing being off-limits to setting off the creative side of her mind. For a recent track she’s working on, the inspiration stemmed from watching an episode of the Discovery Channel’s series “Planet Earth.” After seeing an elephant calf blinded by blowing desert sands become separated from its mother, Win put the pen to paper (after putting a tissue to her eyes).
“When I first wrote the song, I couldn’t play it without crying. There was just something so sad about that,” she recalled. Finally, after a third attempt of getting through the tune without being too emotional, Win was able to play it for her boyfriend.
Win began her career as a singer/songwriter last January, foregoing the typical college routine of many people her age.
“Well, I’m only going to have this energy once,” she said, “and I could go either way. I could go to college, all my friends are applying for colleges right now. I thought to myself, ‘I could do that,’ but all things set aside, I thought I won’t have the energy for a music career after four years of college. But, I can always go to college when I’m 24, still be young and have the ability to learn.“
Although she’s committed to paying the bills with her guitar, Win refuses to rush prematurely into creating a full-length album until she develops her vocals a bit more, despite reviews in the local press already comparing her to alto superstar Dido.
“I believe there’s about 15 percent left to work on, but that 15 percent is very hard,” she said.
After a bit more development, Win would like to put out a full-length album sometime in the next year and possibly tour with a band, stepping away from her acoustic, folksy routes. “
I guess I’m kind of old-school. I would like it to sound kind of, like, epic. Like the whole Jerry Cantrell / Lynyrd Skynyrd / Sheryl Crow kind of sound,” she said.
Until then, Win will continue to play the coffee shop circuit and hit up a few summer festivals on the side. You can check out Win’s music videos by going to her website.
Mary Win plays Victor’s Celtic Coffee Company in Redmond at 7 p.m. May 25 and Mandolin Cafe in Tacoma at 7:30 p.m. May 30.
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Tacoma Weekly interview
January 25th, 2007
Mary Win “Three Little Numbers ”
By Alecia Gaussoin. Thanks to John Larson
Mary Win is a young acoustic guitar-playing gal based in Seattle who just released a three-song demo CD, “Three Little Numbers.” Her voice is low and ready to stand out. The soft chords that are played on her guitar mix well with her unique voice, making an instant impression.
“Little Thing” is the opener on her debut. Automatically you are able to get the feel of Win’s music with the simple sound of her acoustic guitar. The artist seems to be reflecting on an old relationship. “To be seen in this holy land that you kept from me.”
Next up is “Just Fall Back.” Once again, the rhythm and sound are slow and nonchalant. “Tea time in the garden by the coast that’s cloaked by a ship so large and breaking.” Her words are very descriptive when talking about the scenery.
“Highway Song” is the final song on the disc. It has a higher pitch than the rest. “This place won’t heal your heart / Find another way to mend.” The lyrics could be interpreted as two people breaking up, and one needs to find their own way to move on. Mary Win is airy and cool in “Three Little Numbers.” This girl is a natural alto, and is fresh to the scene.
The artist’s words lack pronunciation, so it is slightly difficult to understand what she is saying. Her music is simple and low, so keep a careful eye on her.
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YouTube Features Video
August 29th, 2007
YouTube Features Mary Win
A special thanks to the youtube music editor and Modernoracle. To the current owners of Blip Blip, I hope you come across his big kitten video one day, he was a real sweetheart.
Click Here To Watch My Featured Video
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Volcano Weekly review
January 4th, 2007
Volcano Weekly Reviews Mary Win
by Angie Jossy
Win is a kitten of a girl with a beguiling little shy smile and a penchant for closely knit melodies. She’s a clever songwriter who uses her gentle and pretty voice to spin quirky tales like veiled truths that never quite reveal the whole story.
Win was born in Bangkok, Thailand, and bother her parent’s were political refugees fleeing the military dictatorship in Myanmar (formerly Burma). Her family moved to Washington state before her first birthday.
She learned to play guitar only a year ago. She recently recorded her first EP, Three Little Numbers, which is available free of charge through her website and at her live shows.
She plans to release a full CD in the summer of 2007. This Friday during Mocha Moo’s open mic, as the feature performer Win will perform a one hour set of original songs.
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“She Plays Music” review
August 30th, 2007
ShePlaysMusic.com reviews Mary’s Featured YouTube Video
By Julie, Editor of She Plays Music
I plan on bringing you all kinds of women in music on She Plays Music.com. Sure, I’ll talk about the ones who are already famous, making millions of dollars and singing to millions of fans. But I also want to bring you women musicians who are maybe, not so recognized. Like Mary Win. I found this YouTube video of her singing Riverside, which is an ode to her cat Blip Blip. Cute name.
Now I’ll be honest here, I am not a cat person. They make me sneeze, my eyes get all blood shot, my face turns all blotchy and well at the end of it alll... I look like I’ve had a major hard night of drinking, but I actually like her song to her cat.
Anyway, I found Mary’s song under the Pets & Animals section. She has an extremely soothing voice. If she were to make a c.d., it would be one I would put on after I had drawn a huge bubble bath, lit some candles and dimmed the lights. Very nice. Tell me what you think.
http://www.sheplaysmusic.com
Click Here To Watch My Featured Video
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Beat Inflicted review
September 20th, 2007
By John of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Mary Win is an exceptionally talented singer songwriter based in Seattle. I first came across her music on YouTube where she recently had this amazing video featured. After viewing a few of her other video’s I decided to subscribe. I was very pleasantly suprised when she emailed me back with her thanks. Taking a chance, I replied with my compliments and inquired about a colloboration. Astonishingly enough she agreed, and sent me the master tracks to one of her songs. After pushing my luck she even agreed to answer a few questions:
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JS: My first question is an old one but a good one: How do you find inspiration and overcome writer’s block?
MW: The inspiration for my songs are mainly from life experiences, I don’t have to think very hard to achieve a full set of lyrics or melody for those. Other songs are written by will or purposely for a specific reason. Overcoming writer’s block hasn't been a problem for me at this point in my life, as I’ve had many inspirations.
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JS: My parents (like any loving parent) support my music but stress “a fall back” career. Are you shooting for a career in music and if not what else would you be doing? In one of your video’s you mentioned an interest in science and technology.
MW: I have chosen music as an occupation and am pushing it hard as I can. In the case my songwriting is no longer marketable to a large enough audience and fails to generate enough of a profit for me to live solely off of my songwriting then I would move “my music career” to the “back burner” and concentrate on owning a small home run business.
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JS: I come from the grunge era where anybody can pick up a guitar and string three chords together and call yourself a musician. You know your guitar and your confidence is striking, clearly you have some training. What are your thoughts on the importance of music theory, practice and technical proficiency in relation to songwriting and performing.
MW: On music theory, I’ve had eight years of classical training and stage performances with Bb Clarinet all throughout my schooling. It undoubtedly adds to my abilities as a singer/songwriter and performer. I personally believe that some musical training earlier in life can definitely add to one’s musical abilities as a songwriter/performer.
Though, I do not recommend or advise parents literally shoving (sometimes) their children into vocal/guitar lessons at such young ages. I know it only deadens one’s abilities to find their own original sound. Anyone can, to quote you John, “pick up a guitar and string three chords together to call themselves a musician” then slap on the title grand old title of “original singer/songwriter”. But, unless they have their own, distinctly unique sound the chances of them actually becoming a renowned professional musician/performer are very slim. Of course, there is always a market for a “canned” or specific sounds and always will be. That I know from being a part of the music industry as well as an original songwriter. Lastly, the power of three chords if done properly, can’t be denied.
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JS: Youtube has been good to you. Do you have any thoughts on how youtube, or the digital movement in general, will impact the music business?
MW:YouTube has undoubtedly made an impact on the music business. In the digital age artists should start depending less on the revenue a recorded song might generate and instead use it as a vehicle to generate interest in live performances. Though, I’ll mention that neither way has generated any significant income for myself *smile*.
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Thanks for reading!