Berlin-based composer, sound artist, and guitarist Maya Shenfeld draws on production techniques spanning experimental, popular, and classical traditions, applying approaches such as microtonality, intonation, and deep listening. Her debut album, In Free Fall, appeared in 2022 and presents immersive pieces that combine synthesizers, electronic loops, choral vocals, and acoustic instruments. The follow-up, Under the Sun, a meditation on the natural world, followed in 2024.
Shenfeld was born in Jerusalem. After completing studies at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and earning an M.A. in classical guitar and contemporary music composition at the Berlin University of the Arts, she joined punk and experimental groups. These experiences restored the pleasure of spontaneous creation and helped her develop an individual artistic voice. She went on to record meditative sine wave pieces alongside minimalist ensemble compositions. Under the guidance of Caterina Barbieri, she held an artist residency at Berlin's ACUD Macht Neu in 2018. The next year she produced and directed an ensemble of 16 women in a performance of Julius Eastman's Gay Guerrilla scored for electric guitar and bass while also completing a residency at EMS Stockholm. In Free Fall, issued by Thrill Jockey in 2022, incorporated a work composed during the Barbieri residency as well as a collaboration with James Ginzburg of Emptyset and the Bethanien Youth Choir.
She composed and produced her second album partly in a Berlin studio and partly inside one of the world's deepest marble quarries in Portugal. Featuring vocals by the Ritter Youthchoir under the direction of Ann-Kristin Mayr, Under the Sun was released in 2024.
