Name: AŸA
Nationality: Moroccan-Yemeni
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Current release: AŸA 's Live in Berlin is out now.
Recommendation for her current hometown of Berlin: I highly recommend to check out FRAMED BERLIN for cultural activities and for food.
Things I rarely get to talk about: I am also a live/film producer, cirector and editor. I love working with artists on their visual identity and bringing it to life. Here is my channel.

If you enjoyed this AŸA interview and would like to know more about her music, visit her official homepage. She is also on Instagram, and Facebook. 



When it comes to experiencing the sensation of “energy” as a listener, which albums, performances, and artists come to mind?

Albums: James Blake (all albums), Kurtis Wells (Walk of Fire), Little Simz (Sometimes I Might Be Introvert) , Yebba (Dawn)



Performances: Concha Buika, Big Yuki, Stromae

There can be many different kinds of energy in art – soft, harsh, healing, aggressive, uplifting and many more. Which do you tend to feel drawn to most?

Soft & healing

I have had a hard time explaining that listening to death metal calms me down. When you listen to a song with a particular energy, does it tend to fill you with the same energy – or are there “paradoxical” effects?

Interesting, for me to honestly calm down and release stress I am listening to binaural beats.

When I need to cry and have hope, I listen to one specific song: “The color in anything” by James Blake,



When I want to clean, and sing out loud I've got my own curated playlist called “Time to Clean,” full of Divas singers in my best key and another own playlist for special occasions called “Almost Heart Broken.”

In as far as it plays a role for the music you like listening to or making, what role do words and the voice of a vocalist play for the transmission of energy?

Words or voice - I feel like it's all about the right frequencies and the sound, the right word at the right time, with the right melody, key, intention and the right intonation can make me shiver. It just needs to be the right one. As I am autodidact and didn't have the privilege to study music,  I can not tell you the terms or which notes are these, but I can feel it.

Immediately, for me, when I am singing live, I feel like I am in tune with myself and with the universe and it comes naturally. When I am recording, for me the set up is more challenging and I need to search for it longer.

When it comes to experiencing the sensation of “energy” as as a creator, how would you describe the physical sensation of experiencing this energy? [Where do you feel it, do you have a visual sensation/representation, is there a sense of release or a build-up of tension etc …]

Usually it makes me smile from ear to ear, disappearing from reality, like being very, very high. My eyes close and my body and head move automatically.

Eyes filling up with tears sometimes, goosebumps on the skin, feels like the right place to be and a big relief.

When it comes to composing / songwriting, are you finding that spontaneity and just a few takes tend to capture energy best? Or does honing a piece bring you closer to that goal?

As I am an experienced live artists more than a studio artists, for me it's easier to capture energy very quickly, in a single take.

But in today's pop industry and the way streaming services have trained our ears to hear specific sounds and frequencies to fit into playlists, and with all of the overproduced music and vocals, it seems like the more effort you put in recording takes again and again or to double vocal parts, the more you use vocal effects and autotune, the more successful your song will be for playlist algorithms.

As I am anyway done fighting to fit in, and releasing my own way through my own label, I just do what makes me feel something.

How much of the energy of your own music, would you say, is already part of the composition, how much of it is the result of the recording process?

It depends on the song. Sometimes a song just needs simple chords on the piano and a few simple lines of meaningful words. Sometimes the song needs more than that.

I am letting the music lead me and making sure to take my time to let it sync.

For your current release, what kind of energy were you looking for?
 
Magic, Fantasy & The Power Of Unity. Watch here.

How do you capture the energy you want in the studio?

It's a hard task. I am still working on it with different producers.

The best one I've worked with so far is Kurtis Wells. He knows exactly how to bring the best out of me and not give me an easy life with my takes.

In terms of energy, what changes when you're performing live on stage, with an audience present, compared to the recording stage?

The presence of an audience is the best gift you can get as an artist. I work really hard to maintain this fragile and special relationship.

For me, as soon as I am in front of an audience, I bloom - compared to the studio, where my head is overthinking and I must find creative ways to concentrate. So you'll see me walking from side to side in the room or drawing.

How does the presence of the audience and your interaction with it change the energy of the music and how would you describe the creative interaction with listeners during a gig?

If you've been to one of my concerts, you'll know that I'm a talker and some have even said I can be a comedian.

I don't know, I never really remember what exactly happened but it comes natural to me. I feel safe and seen, in the right place. And usually time passes so fast.

I love to break the ice with my audience. UIually it makes everyone feel better and more present.

What kind of feedback have you received from listeners or concert audiences in terms of the experience that your music and/or performances have had on them?

The most common feedback is that it's an “emotional rollercoaster.”

It seems like people enjoy feeling and letting go, otherwise they wouldn't come back. And god bless, my audience keeps growing day by day and it's an amazing feeling!!!!

Would you say that you prefer to stay in control to be able to shape the energy or do you surrender to it and allow the music to take over?

Who, ultimately has control during a live performance? I would say it depends on the set up.

When I am playing a duo with my guitarist, I am out of control. We are literally surprising each other, as we have been playing together for 7 years we try to keep it interesting for us two. If it's a bigger set up like piano and string quartet, I must be in full control and know exactly what I am doing, because everyone around me is playing from a score and I can not suddenly do a wrong part and get out of it so easily. On the other hand, with a full band and rhythm section like I have on my live album, even when I was mistaken they easily corrected themselves and no one even noticed.

But honestly it is all about how much experience you have live and in my case, each band member of mine is a wild cat!

The energy that music is able to generate can sometimes be overwhelming. How, do you think, can artists make use of this energy to bring about change in the world?

I realised very early in my life that my voice can make people feel deeply and I understood the power and responsibility that comes with that. I learned how to use it as my currency in times of need, to survive in this male dominated world.

But now that I am 32 and managed to build myself my own security net, I feel the urge to change something in the world and move with urgency. I want to create music that brings people together and not divide them, to hug with strangers on the dance floor, without any borders.

I want to make people forget about the struggles for few minutes and get some energy to maintain their life in this chaotic world.