Singer, songwriter, producer, string arranger...Alyusha is one talented lady. Since starting her solo career in March 2014, Alyusha has come along way in a very short space of time. Her spellbinding track "Black Butterfly" posted on her SoundCloud has already been played on BBC1 XTRA, and she has appeared alongside actress Thandie Newton in Stella Magazine. Astonishing achievements - and Alyusha has done it all on her own.
Prior to embarking on her solo career, she sang backing vocals for Pulp and has performed alongside Imogen Heap, DJ Yoda and supported the Pharcyde. She also studied a jazz degree at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
I had the pleasure of chatting with Alyusha ahead of her headline show at the Hoxton Bar & Kitchen in London.
Hi there, how are you and what are you up to today?
Heya, today I'm on my way to be interviewed by DJ Jden on his Radio show, Flex FM. Then afterwards, I have a rehearsal for my upcoming headline show at Hoxton Bar and Kitchen on the 18th February.
To those not familiar with you, how would you describe your sound?
I write, arrange and score for string trio for almost all my songs, so I guess there's a cinematic feel, this mixed with warped soundscapes and hooky melodies. I like to use pentatonic scales as well which I guess can give an eastern flavour to my sound.
What are the 5 albums and artists that have influenced you the most?
When I look back on my childhood I realise now that I must have been quite intense. Locking myself up in the basement for hours upon hours, writing songs with really abstract harmonies and melodies. Maybe one day I'll revisit them as my approach is very different nowadays. Anyway, to answer your question-I'm not entirely sure how much the following albums actually influenced my writing but I used to love Michael Jackson's History, Tracy Chapman, Back to Black by Amy Winehouse, Hejira by Joni Mitchell and I used to have an Ella Fitzgerald compilation which I used to listen to all the time.
What other artists do you really like at the moment and why?
Really love Sia, Bjork, Imogen Heap, Kate Bush, and Lana Del Ray. All powerful females who have gone their own and I believe have stayed authentically themselves.
Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Lyrically, I gather songwriting inspiration from real life events. Sonically, I've started to sample all sorts of house hold sounds to create my own basic sonic landscapes. It really depends on how I'm feeling-sometimes I'll start with chords, other days I'll start with melody and now and again I start with lyrics. It's fun to keep changing things up.
Your sensational track “Black Butterfly” has received rave reviews and national airplay from the likes of BBC Radio 1Xtra. When can we expect an EP or full-length album?
An EP should be coming very shortly. (Hopefully in the next month or so). North House Films (Kylie Minogue, Tinie Tempah) have also filmed the most beautiful music video for me, which I hope to put out by the end of this year as well.
You appeared alongside Thandie Newton in Stella Magazine recently – how did that come about?
Yes, I was asked by Violet Magazine to appear alongside 4 extraordinary women in an article which flipped the idea of a "debutante" on it's head and instead of introducing women (or girls) who are dressed up to be essentially given to a man in marriage. We were 5 independent women, all choosing to do interesting things with our lives. Kay Montano was the make up artist and producer for this shoot and she then asked me to appear on her blog with Thandie Newton. It's called ThandieKay-and this led to the Stella Magazine shoot (they made a video as well).
You’ve got a gig coming up at the Hoxton Bar & Kitchen, you must be excited for the show! What can we expect from your performance? Will you be bringing your live strings band with you?
Yes! Really looking forward to this. I always feel so at home on stage-it makes me feel alive.
Yes-I'll be bringing my string trio and I've just written a new intro for the beginning of the show which I'm looking forward to rehearse for the first time tonight.
I've had a short choreography session with the amazing Emanuela Pagliei who's also helped me with some of the creative direction. I love all things abstract and she's amazing at this.
The very talented Martina Sgoifo is also making me a giant costume out of some incredible silk organza which was left over from the upcoming music video-only 2 days away now and I'm getting very excited!
What’s the best gig you have ever done and why?
The best gig I have ever performed in was possibly at the Birmingham NEC Arena.
What’s the worst gig you have ever done and why?
The worst gig was in India-I used to sing in an all female beatbox group and one of the girls had severe delhi belly. I don't know how we held it together but she did amazingly for even making it on stage.
If you weren’t a musician, what would you be?
I have no idea. I've come to realise that I have a really accute sense of smell and taste-so maybe some kind of food critic?
If you could collaborate with any artist, dead or alive, who would that be?
I'd love to work with Amon Tobin.
Finally, do you have anything coming up in the pipeline e.g. new releases, gigs or anything else you would like to tell us about?
I have an EP finished and I will be releasing it soon-just working out a release date at the moment. Presently, I'm self-managed and doing almost everything alone-so finding the right manager is key for me now so I can focus more attention on the creative side.
Thank you very much for taking the time to chat with us Alyusha!
Check out this video of Alyusha performing her unique cover of Cinematic Orchestra's "To Build A Home".
Follow Alyusha on social media:
Official website
YouTube
SoundCloud
Words: Donnay Clancy
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