Q&A: Alayna talks music, writing and her love for pizza

Apr 19

Do yourself a favour right now and favourite Rotoura based singer-songwriter Alayna. Her RnB-soul vocals are smooth and buttery and leave you not wanting, but needing more. Honestly, we have her on repeat.

Having already made a powerful statement with her popular hit Falling Autumn, that has amassed nearly 10 million plays, Alayna brings a light neo-soul flavour to the music scene that has been dormant for too long. She fuses old style soul with modern-elctro synths and drum beats that come together in nothing less than the perfect combination.

In the build up to her to her new EP she has recently released two singles, Glowing and Sugar. Glowing, the older of the two, has an incredibly catchy hook and is one of those songs that each time you listen it just gets better. Kind of like a nice bottle of red.

Earlier in the week we asked Alayna a few questions about her new EP and what she was looking forward to the most.

Here is an exert of our conversation:

What can you tell us about your single ‘Glowing’ and the new EP that’s on the way?

I wrote Glowing last year on a writing trip to LA. It was a really fun session and came together really quickly, most writing sessions are hard and you don't get anywhere, or don't end up liking the song. However sometimes you seem to hit the sweet spot and a song flows together, this was one of those sessions. We wrote and recorded the vocals that afternoon, so what you hear (apart from some vocal adlibs) is from the same day it was written. Slow, melancholy ballads are usually my default when I write, so it was refreshing to get something light and easy to come out.
Most of my upcoming EP I wrote on this trip, between LA and New York, while I wrote the first single Tender in New Zealand with one of good friends and writer/producer, Noema Te Hau. We actually wrote my first ever song released, Falling Autumn, together as well. I had previously been stuck on my creativity and direction prior, so I was so happy when the songs finally started coming out. I love this EP, it's really personal and is a journey. It feels like a confident step in my artistic journey and I'm so proud of it.

How do you go about creating a song, what’s your creative approach to writing music?

Writing, for me, comes out in many different ways. I am constantly writing lyrics in one of my hundred notebooks, or into my phone. I usually play ideas and record them into my voice memos. If an idea feels strong enough I do my best to bring it out into whatever it's meant to be. I'm always writing but they rarely turn into full songs. However I always look at it like 'working the muscle' of writing, and as long as I keep writing I will eventually come across an idea that I love. I thrive in writing sessions with a producer because I have a bank of ideas that I can pull from and usually a song comes out easily. With my first EP, most of the songs I had written myself over about a year and carefully crafted them before working with a producer to give them the right sonic landscape. So it depends on what season I'm at in my life, as to how the song comes out.

What’s the story behind your single cover for ‘Glowing’, are you a huge pizza fan?

I actually have a small dream of traveling around the world in search for the best pizza. While I was living in New York I basically lived off the 99c slices, especially when rent was due and I didn't have much to eat. We shot the Glowing cover art the day we made the music video. We thought it went well with the "Cancel all our plans, take-out for dinner" line in the song. The photo was an idea of the makeup artist, Niki Adlington while I was sitting down between takes eating, so my director, Cam Neate took the photo! The book on the table was different but I had a graphic designer and artist in Canada who did a lot of my artwork for my first EP, Mihailo Andic, to photoshop the book to the song title and my face. I got to eat a lot of pizza that night too which wasn't the worst thing in the world.

What’s the music scene like in NZ?

It's really special, everyone is friends with each other and so supportive. I have some amazing friends I write with, while there are artists I absolutely admire and would love to write with one day. I still feel like a bit of an amateur and new to the scene, but I love how welcoming it is.

Talk me through your go to gig outfit and how you decide what to wear?

I don't even know, I get way too nervous about what to wear! Something comfortable that feels empowering and helps me feel confident. Still working it out..

Do you have a nickname?

No! Some of my friends call me 'Lay' but I've never really had a nickname. A lot of people pronounce my name wrong so I guess that could count as an accidental nickname, 'Alana'.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Maybe be able to travel to places with the snap of my fingers, I guess like in Harry Potter. There's always so many different places I want to be. I could visit friends and also go to any gig in the world.

Fast forward to 2021, you’ve been given the opportunity to preform at any venue of your choice, where is it and why?

Coachella, it would be a dream to play there one day. It's my favourite festival that I've ever been to.

What are you looking forward to most?

Continuing to grow artistically, creatively and personally. I feel like I still have so much to discover within myself and as I move forward to the next project I can't wait to explore it more.

Alayna has some serious zest and flavour when it comes to her music. We have no doubt that she is onward and upward, with only exciting things in sight for her future.

Check out her song below or head to our Siri: Play Chill Music 🔀 playlist to hear more songs like it.

By Samuel Seedsman.

Sam Seedsman