Bio

Maya Finlay  is an Audio Engineer, Producer, Songwriter and Musician based in San Francisco, CA with almost 15 years of experience in professional audio.   

As a live sound engineer, Maya has worked at some of the most beloved venues in San Francisco, including The Independent, Boom Boom Room, Elbo Room, the Stern Grove Festival and with Rock the Bike.  She does sound full-time at SFJAZZ Center and tours regularly with Rosanne Cash as Monitor Engineer.  Throughout her concert career, she has also mixed for such heavyweights as Sheila E., Chick Corea, Hermeto Pascoal, Esperanza Spalding, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Allen Toussaint, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Ghostface Killah, J Mascis, Robert Townsend, Booker T, Anoushka Shankar, Snarky Puppy, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Pink Martini, Ry Cooder, Emmylou Harris, and many more.  In addition to live sound reinforcement, Maya has done live multi-track recordings for numerous artists including Herbie Hancock.

Maya started her audio career in the studio, and continues to do music tracking, editing, mixing, and producing.  She has worked with Grammy-nominated artists Joan Jeanrenaud and Pc Muñoz.  As an audio engineer at both Keller Studios in Sausalito (owned by award-winning VO talent and composer, Mark Keller) and Sound Arts Studio in San Francisco, Maya worked on voice-over sessions for The Muppets and National Geographic, as well as for numerous ads, video games and film trailers.   Maya has recorded local artists Gisela Tangui, La Gente, and produced  music by Sang Matiz as well as her own band, Gringa.  In 2017, Gringa released their first EP, "Letters From A. Broad", which included recording, mixing, producing, playing, and songwriting by Maya Finlay.  She conducts most of her studio work at Women’s Audio Mission and in her home studio, the My-Fy Hive. 

In addition to audio production, Maya has experience in other facets of the music industry, including merchandising and performing.   For 2 years she worked at the Metallica Fan Club curating web content and social media, doing product photography, and providing customer support.  She has also played multiple instruments (guitar, cavaquinho, keys, percussion, voice) with several local Latin bands including BrazilVox and Sang Matiz.  She had a stint spinning Brazilian beats as DJ My-Fy, and she led the all-woman/non-binary band, Gringa, for 5 years.  She currently writes and produces her own music.  She is passionate about social and environmental justice, and prioritizes her skills to promote non-profits, art, culture, and organizations that resonate with her values. 

An international traveler at heart, Maya was born in Canada, raised in California, studied in Colorado, and lived in Spain and Brazil before returning to the Bay Area.  She has a B.A. in Spanish and Portuguese, Language and Culture from CU Boulder, as well as Certificates in Sound Recording and Sound Design from City College of San Francisco.

At the My-Fy Hive, San Francisco, 2019

Performing with Gringa at Red Poppy Art House in San Francisco, 2014