Ayana
American by birth, black, white, and asian by blood, African by heart - Ayana. Ayana has always felt like a child of the world. She spent her early childhood in the US before moving to South Africa at the age of nine. Ghana and Kenya were the home of her teenage years, sculpting her into the artist we know today.
But the original story of her voice began long ago at the Mayor’s Breakfast in San Francisco. Three-year-old Ayana stood smiling in front of her first crowd in November 2001. As she lifted the microphone to her lips, she knew that this was her destiny, and she has never stopped singing since.
While the versatility of her voice allows her to dabble in various genres, Ayana considers herself an R&B artist. Her songs are typically laden with rich, silky harmonies frequently described as mature beyond her years. Her lower range is powerful yet beautifully fragile, often evoking chills.
Stand Up
Auf unsere musikalische Rundreise, thru' the "World of Independent Music", machen wir heute Rast in der Tschechischen Republik und stellen die Künstlerin Ayana und ihren Song "Stand up" ein wenig vor. Erschienen ist ihre aktuelle Veröffentlichung letzten Freitag und ich darf's vorwegnehmen, man darf sich auf R&B pur ganz im Stile von Destiny's Child freuen.
"Im Stile von", jedoch mit eigener Signatur versehen, performt Ayana eindrucksvoll. Ihre Inspiration nahm sie eigentlich aus der Unzufriedenheit der damaligen Situation, dass aber gerade daraus eine Art Hymne wird, war in den ersten Momenten ihres kreativen Prozesses nicht abzusehen.
Danach ging's relativ schnell, "...it quickly evolved into an anthem for women, people of color, and anyone who’s ever been oppressed, and a call to action for them to stand up and make a change in their lives...", ließ sie uns wissen.
Und das Resultat kennen wir, here is Ayana and her impressive R&B anthem for all people who needs a call to action in these days!
Q&A
Ayana is...?
I’m a mixed kid. My ethnic background is Jamaican, Japanese, English, Irish and Italian. I was born in the US and grew up in South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, the Czech Republic and I currently live in Italy. Other than making music I also do fashion and glamor modeling. I’m getting my bachelor’s degree in International Marketing - I graduate in 6 weeks! I love animals, and at some point I want to open an animal conservation park for some endangered species. But music is my life and I will be pursuing that post graduation.
Who inspired you to make music in general?
I can’t say there was anyone who really inspired me to make music. I’ve been singing since I was two years old. It’s always been something that is just a part of me and needs no coaxing or encouragement, there is constantly music coming out of my mouth haha :)
What's the story behind your latest release "Stand Up", respectively what or who was your inspiration?
I wrote Stand Up in 2020 sitting on the balcony of my house in the Czech Republic. I was tired of situationships I’d been in and out of that weren’t healthy and I wanted a change.
So that’s the original inspiration behind Stand Up but it quickly evolved into an anthem for women, people of color, and anyone who’s ever been oppressed, and a call to action for them to stand up and make a change in their lives.
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
I have a long list of people I’m manifesting collaborations with along my career journey but I think the first person I would want to be on a track with is Khalid.
I thoroughly enjoyed his album Scenic Drive as well as other singles he’s released over the last few years and I would love to feature on a song like “Brand New” that he did with QUIN; I think our voices would really compliment each other.
At this moment what would be your "Top 3 Songs of All Time"?
That’s tough!! But I love
“Mad Over You” by Runtown (living in West Africa made me fall in love with Afropop),
“Bunny Ranch” by Kid Ink, and
“Life (Walaahi)” by R2Bees
but, gosh, there are so many!
Concerning social media, is it fun or more a necessary evil?
I honestly love social media, well, Instagram to be specific, the other ones I feel lukewarm about but Instagram is definitely a happy place for me. I’ve met so many incredible artists and fans and everyone is incredibly supportive and kind.
The only thing that frustrates me is the algorithm, I feel like it’s so hard to keep up with it sometimes.
What's your most useful talent besides music?
My most useful talent… how would you define “useful”? Lol But I think I would say focus. I don’t know if that technically counts as a talent but I’ve always been able to just put my head down and grind without wavering and it’s helped me achieve a lot.
What’s next for you?
The Stand Up music video. I shot it in Mexico in December with a fantastic team and I’m so excited to release it!! It should be out in the next few weeks - stay tuned! I also have dozens of songs that I’ve written over the past couple years and the next step for me is releasing a bunch of singles and then an EP later this year.
I also want to say thank you to everyone who has been streaming and sharing Stand Up! This is a special song to me and I hope that it touches you in some way as well.
