A chat with Sananda Matreya about life, fashion and music
You chose your new name by yourself. What does it mean for you this change?
The name change meant a new opportunity to get some new karma!
I had gone as far as I could’ve with the previous identity & it became quite clear that for all intents & purposes, he didn’t own who he was. And it has always been of most paramount importance for me to be a free man. I am a dreamer, not a slave. And I knew that I would need to be free, in order to fulfill what I felt was Heaven’s Will for my work on this planet that God loves. Sananda Maitreya works for God, period. And I have never been too fond of taking orders from those who could not see my vision as clearly as I. The industry owned my old soul, so with prayers & many meditations, It was determined that we would create a new identity & put our trust & faith in the full powers of my dream.
You were a professional boxer and then a soul music superstar known as Terence Trent D’Arby. What are you carrying around from these past experiences?
My Boxing Experience confirmed my warriors instict. Although I was never a Professional fighter, I was a Golden Gloves Champion in my youth. It taught me that I wasn’t a weak. It also taught me the value of discipline, dedication, passion. All qualities that would help me survive those crazy ‘Superstar’ years, while I was growing up to be a man willing to take responsibility for my own life.
How would you describe your sound with three words?
3 Words ? ‘D’, ‘LISH’, ‘US’ !
How do you develop your creative process? What are your sources of inspiration?
My creative process is simple, I follow the tides. When the ideas come, I use my experience, imagination & talents to explore where the idea wants to go. I never dictate to the idea, I let the idea take me where it might want to go. It is all but a meditation.
You get up, you smoke, you pray, you work. All the while grateful to even have work to contemplate. And another simple trick to working is to always be working.
I am a workaholic & quite proud to be so.
What artists helped you to shape your music?
Wow, that is a loaded question because there were so many ! Mainly the great songwriters & producers. I was most influenced by those who were in charge of their music, since most of those in charge of their music deserved to be as it were evidence that they were in command of their gifts. Rod Stewart, James Brown, The Beatles, The Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Sam Cooke, Frank Sinatra, Hank Williams, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Led Zeppelin, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Prince,Abba, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Elvis, Cream, The Who, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Steely Dan Aretha Franklin, Patsy Cline & a slew of quite a few others.
How has your music changed with the advent of Internet?
The Internet was a future I foresaw already in the early 90’s as my salvation and path to freedom’s road. But make no mistake, we pay a heavy toll to travel freedom’s road. But it was a price I was willing to invest because I saw the Internet as the vehicle that I had been dreaming of for years before, a place whereby I might be free to be at my most creative best & no longer have to worry about any other consideration but what Best Suited The ART.
How is your relationship with social media? Do they play an important role in your career?
Yes, Social Media plays an immense role in my relationship to those like minded souls like me. My music was supported from the very first day by a generation of fans excited to be engaged in my evolution and progress in my journey through space/time as an artist. It was awesome from the very beginning. It was what I was looking for. I love the flexibility it gives. And the direct contact. It is more intimate.
How is your relationship with fashion?
My relationship with fashion is improving !
You play and perform with different instruments…how do u manage to merge all these to create new sounds?
I manage to create new sounds by trusting what I am doing while doing it. If I heart it, then I trust what I hear and then simply follow the process. It is instructive to remember that one doesn’t have to know what one is doing, as long as you enjoy doing it. Whatever one is doing will always figure itself out soon enough, if not now.
What are your future projects?
My future are to continue to promote ‘PROMETHEUS & PANDORA’ with some concerts in the upcoming Summer. And to enjoy the time I have being married to a wonderful woman & our 2 fabulous sons. Most of my closest friends in music are now deceased.
I can often hear their ghosts reminding me to appreciate all of this more, while it is there to be appreciated.
So this Summer I will commence upon a celebration of having survived over 30 years of the various stages of notoriety I’ve encountered. I will be pleased to be accompanied by the most talented and lovely Luisa Corna.
®All Rights Reserved
Photographer: Manuel Scrima
Stylist: Veronica Bergamini
Grooming: Stefania Pellizzaro
Photographer Assistant: Lorenzo Novelli
Styling Assistant: Chiara Piovan
Label Manager: Francesca Francine Maitreya
© Riproduzione riservata
