The Maya Spectra

Posted by Amanda Tyler in Music, Santa Fe

Sitting down with The Maya Spectra is the equivalent to catching up with an eccentric group of relatives during the holidays. The group members laugh and banter, as they discuss their consistent sense of musical intentions.

The student trio has nearly run the full gamut on the musical spectrum. Two brothers, Donald and Julian Péna, formed the band when, as the guitarist and drummer respectively, they required a jazz singer for a gallery gig. Enter Janel Blanco, a junior Contemporary Music Program major hailing from Canada, with the perfect soulful but gentle pipes and kind eyes to round out the group’s quirky dynamic.

The Péna brothers eventually brought Blanco a song they had previously composed together. When she added her haunting, playful melody, the three had struck gold and began to explore the opportunities a more electronic, less traditional sound could bring them.

“It’s just reconciliation, I think. It’s kind of difficult cause you have to figure out what you’re gonna say… you have to mean it in order for it to have any type of substantial content, and then hopefully you want it to reach other people and for them to be receptive to it,” says Donald.

Jackalope sat down the group members to discuss their own process of making their first EP, The Music Box.

Listen to The Maya Spectra’s EP.