Alas de Liona
Alas de Liona hails from a small town in the Mojave Desert. Echoing a vocal lineage from Joni Mitchell to Phoebe Bridges, and with a dreamlike songwriting sensibility, she weaves unique lyrical and melodic experiences. Her final year at University of California, Santa Barbara saw her head to Edinburgh in Autumn 2019, to complete her course at University of Edinburgh.
During her stay in the city, she began to make a name for herself performing in pubs. Covid-19 lockdowns and the complete halt of all live music forced a shift in focus from live performing to writing and recording new music. After graduation and free from the demands of academia, Alas took her first steps toward fulfilling her musical aspirations, returning to Edinburgh late in 2020 to record the Radio Astronomy EP.
The first five months of this year has seen one song a month streamed, culminating in the full Radio Astronomy EP release on 4th June. Currently back in California, Alas will in early July (date tbc) stream an outdoor performance from her hometown in the Mojave Desert. She will be returning to Edinburgh in the autumn to resume live performances and record an album of 11 new songs, Gravity of Gold.
Cascade
Alas de Liona is a singer/songwriter from the Californian desert, making music in Edinburgh, Scotland, haben wir gelesen und ihre EP Radio Astronomy wurde soeben veröffentlicht, inspiriert von "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", eine Sammlung bestehend aus "space lullabies and cosmic folktales". Ja, "space lullabies and cosmic folktales", da hört man dann doch hin und will mehr darüber wissen bzw. wissen wie das klingt. Und es klingt sehr gut, beginnt verträumt, verspielt und doch traurig in den Klängen, spiegelt das Thema wieder. Man wird durch einen Geschichte geleitet, geführt von der wunderbaren Stimme, einer Stimme die wie prädestiniert für diese Lyrics ist. Auch musikalisch klingt es fantastisch, wie im Video, das ich als sehenswert bezeichnen würde, wird ein märchenhaftes Klangbild erzeugt welches zusammen mit den Vocals in einem beeindruckenden Werk mündet, einem Werk das auch durch das Storytelling wehmütig und melancholisch klingt. Als ob ein guter Song nicht genug wäre, haben wir als Draufgabe nachfolgend noch ein kurzes Q&A mit Alas de Liona. Thanks for your time!!!
The Interview
Alas de Liona is..?
...an indie musician from California, now based in Edinburgh.
Who inspired you to make music?
My parents have always been musical and wrote songs when I was young, so I followed their lead and began writing songs of my own as soon as I could play guitar.
What or who inspired you to "Cascade"?
Cascade is a song I wrote in memory of lost loved ones.
What is your creative process like?
When I have an idea in my head the actual songwriting part doesn’t usually take more than an hour or two. I spend most of the time developing the music and atmosphere after the fact and I really enjoy the studio recording process.
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
I’d love to harmonize with some of the amazing artists out there right now like Angel Olsen, Sharon Van Etten, or Lucy Dacus.
What is the most useful talent you have?
I’m not sure if it’s a useful talent exactly but I love to write fiction and poetry.
If you could change anything in the past, what would it be?
The past unfolded in a way that led directly to this moment. I imagine altering it would have unforeseen complications so I probably would leave it.
How do you feel the Internet (especially Social Media platforms) has impacted the music business?
The internet has changed the face of the music industry in fairly substantial ways. Spotify streaming drives a lot of new artist discovery and success, as do platforms like TikTok and Instagram. It’s very democratizing, but it also means there’s just so much out there for people to choose from.
What’s next for you?
I hope to return to Scotland and continue to build momentum there. I also have an album planned that I hope to record and release in the next year.
