FEATURE: Spotlight: Aziya — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Sequoia Ziff

Aziya

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IN this Spotlight feature…

PHOTO CREDIT: Sequoia Ziff

I am turning my attentions to the London-based artist, Aziya (Aziya Aldridge-Moore). I feel the past few years has produced so many varied and interesting young artists across various genres. It is hard to categorise and define Aziya – only to say that she is fantastic and set for bigger things. I am going to bring together a few interviews, as Aziya is a fascinating subject and there has been a lot of attention her way. Having released great singles this year like Slip! and Blood, a lot of eyes are trained her way! I want to start with an interview from The Forty-Five. They spoke with her about her recent rise and, among other things, her musical influences:

“Social media has been integral to helping Aziya to get noticed: “TikTok is a crazy world in itself,” she says, “The connections you can make and the people you can reach is a whole new way.” While she’s managed to navigate TikTok and YouTube, Aziya was skeptical at first: I’m an indie artist. I make rock, indie music. I didn’t even know if people would like what I do. I wasn’t sure if people would be receptive to me doing covers of Tame Impala or Kate Bush, but it’s quite exciting to see that there is a hunger for that rock, indie, guitar-based sound.”

The frame of reference for many current, young alternative artists, like Beabadoobee and Chloe Moriondo, is the alt-rock musicians of the late 90s and early 00s. Aziya, however, sits distinctly in a decade long before she was even born. “I am trying to write quite contemporary melodies underneath gritty guitar, distorted bass tracks,” she says, adding that her inspiration is, “More like the 70s. Whether that’s Ebo Taylor or The Doors, it’s been inspired by that.” She also references Kurt Cobain directly on ‘Heaven For Me’. “You kind of have to, he’s a legend!” she laughs.

Her love of music comes from her parents, who weren’t discriminatory with what they shared with her: “In my household, I was growing up with so many different types of music. Stevie Nicks, System of a Down, Prince, there were so many diverse sounds for me to listen to and explore,” she says, adding that her parents were supportive of her budding career: “My mum got me doing guitar lessons. I was singing a lot, and it was a way of having something to accompany myself. I took what I was playing on guitar and I was doing a bunch of voice notes, but I got fed up of having these really tinny voice notes on my phone.”

That’s how Aziya started producing, learning how to craft her own work and put together a full body of music. “I’m just a bit of a control freak. I need to get this particular sound out and know what’s going on with my music,” she says. Despite that need for autonomy, there are artists she’s desperate to work with when the world opens up again, like Automatic, formed of three women from LA: “They’re really exciting. It’s a really 60s sound with a really modern take. I’d love to collaborate but they just seem like they’re doing something really exciting!” She says, adding that she’s down to “collaborate with as many people as possible,” particularly St. Vincent: “She’s so cool and her new album is so immersive,” she smiles”.

It is clear that Aziya has huge passion. That is resulting in a growing fanbase and songs that are setting her aside from her peers. It will be interesting to see what comes next from her (following the release of a new E.P.). On the basis of what she has put out lately, we are in for a real treat.

Not to repeat what I have already sourced. I feel the guitar is as important to Aziya as anything. NOTION discussed Aziya’s discovery of and bond with the guitar. They also asked her about London and its influence on her:

“But before she found herself performing to thousands through a screen, Aziya started teaching herself the guitar skills to match her powerful vocals at just 10 years old. It was only natural, then, that she would go on to land a place at the famous BRIT School in London and hone her craft.

Growing up on a mixed diet of System of a Down, Santigold and The Stone Roses, Aziya had to take herself on a journey of musical self-discovery before deciding what she wanted to put out to the world.

After a year of building recognition, Aziya is now gearing up to release her debut EP, ‘We Speak of Tides’ – a five-track release entirely written and co-produced by herself. “I want my music to sit in that indie-psych realm, but through my lyricism and melodies I want it to be accessible to anyone”, she reveals”.

How much has living in London influenced you and your music?

I would say the people of London have influenced me, especially in my lyrics. I like writing about experiences I’ve had from nights out, using the good and the bad conversations I’ve had with friends or people I meet. I love going to gigs in really small venues around London too – I’ve definitely found out about a lot of new music, particularly punk bands from going to small gigs (pre-Covid of course!)

How was your experience filming your first music video and the lead up to releasing your first single “Slip!”?

It was a really tangible experience for me, coming up with the concept of the music video to then see it all come to life, it was a crazy sensation and I couldn’t be happier with the video people are gonna see! To be honest, the lead up to releasing the debut track ’Slip!’ has been 99% excitement and 1% nerves – It’s my baby so of course I’m protective of it! Mainly though, I’m so ready for people to hear it.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sequoia Ziff

What is the story behind your forthcoming EP title, ‘We Speak of Tides’?

The EP is based around the intricacies of human relationships – I wanted to speak about how we can go from drawing those in those that we care for (or shouldn’t), but equally how we can push them away when it’s for, (or sometimes not) for the best. I feel like human communication like this can be compared to the motion of tides – like our emotions, tides can be chaotic, sometimes calm, unpredictable but constant and it’s a cycle that will always rise and fall. ‘We Speak of Tides’ is about that ongoing journey we all face in trying to navigate human interaction, this EP touches upon my own personal experience of this.

How has the ride leading up to releasing the EP been for you? Has it been the journey you expected?

I think it’s taught me to be flexible. You’ve got to be prepared for timelines to change whilst being so secure and confident in the music you’re putting out”.

Do you mainly look to personal experiences to inspire your songwriting?

Yeah definitely, I put myself in situations so I can write and reflect on them once they’ve happened. I feel like it makes my writing more personal and so when I record my lyrics they come across more honest because it’s something that’s genuinely happened to me!”.

We Speak of Tides is a terrific release that will bring new fans her way. Make sure that you check it out. I am a fairly recent convert, so I am excited by it and looking forward to seeing where Aziya heads next. I do think about the pandemic and how hard it has been for new artists who were hoping to launch themselves and get their music out there.

NME spoke with Aziya earlier in the year. The subject of the pandemic came up. Alongside the pandemic (in addition to many other things), Aziya spoke about role models and, once more, the guitar:

“Aziya Aldridge-Moore was about to perform at Brixton’s beloved Windmill when the bad news came through. On March 20, 2020, pubs, clubs and venues – like the one Aziya was about to play – were told that they should close “as soon as they reasonably can”. A stinker of a warm-up act, that. The 21-year-old had started to hit London’s gig circuit with her new band in the months prior. Surely this news was disastrous?

“I think I was quite optimistic at that time to be quite honest,” Aziya tells NME over Zoom just over a year later. On the day of the Windmill gig, she had gained thousands of new Instagram followers owing to the success of a cover she posted just days prior. Over the course of lockdown, she continued to utilise the social media platform to reach new fans. It went well; Grimes and Angel Olsen have since given their approval to her re-workings of their tracks”.

For Aziya, it all comes down to her weapon of choice: the guitar. She first picked up the instrument aged 10 but struggled, like many kids do, at mastering chords with such tiny fingers. A shift to the electric guitar is where she felt more comfortable. “It was just so loud and obnoxious. I knew I could make mistakes and it still sounds cool. Moving to the electric was such an experimental time for me and helped me embody a lot of guitarists that inspired me like Prince, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix.”

But even at that young age, she recognised that the concept of guitar heroes was whitewashed and male-centric. It was only as a teenager that she discovered accomplished and pioneering players such as Fanny’s June Millington, gospel rock pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe and The Slits‘ Viv Albertine. “Albertine didn’t know how to play guitar but just picked up an electric and thought ‘that sounds cool, it’s loud and it’s me and that’s my sound’ – I resonate with that a lot.”

“I didn’t feel like I had guitar role models growing up,” continues Aziya. “A lot of my intention with my music and my playing is to fill the gap I saw when I was younger; that’s always at the back of my mind. If I’m able to be on your Instagram page or on TV playing loads of gigs, I think that’s important. I wish I had someone that looked like me when I was growing up. And I’m sure there is and was one, it just felt so hard to find”.

If you have not discovered Aziya, then go and follow her on social media. With We Speak of Tides out there, it is a new stage of her career. I hope that she can gig soon and get the songs to the people. Clearly, she has a determination and drive. Aziya is someone who we will be seeing and hearing a lot more from through the years. Spend some time getting to know…