INTERVIEW: alayna on her arresting single 'Just So You Won't Be Alone': "It came across as a blazing fire of humanness and I'm so happy that the feeling was captured."

Image: Rose Powley

New Zealand’s alayna has recently released her latest single ‘Just So You Won’t Be Alone’, her first release since her collaboration with Sango in 2021 ‘Spinning Top’.

The song is a remarkable meld of piano ballad, R&B and a hint of electronica. Lyrically the song is a brutal dissemination of a toxic relationship as it falls apart: “Faking affection / Just so you won’t be alone / Maybe I’m just as bad as you? / And that’s why I can’t seem to let go”. The track is elevated by alayna’s stunning vocal performance which expertly move between gentle, fragile, intimate and powerful.

alayna first came to the world’s attention in 2018 when her debut EP Sweet Soul racked up over 30 million streams. The EP featured the song ‘From Dusk To Dawn’, on which she worked on with Grammy winning Finneas, and the single ‘Falling Autumn’ received airplay on BBC Radio 1 and peaked in the top 10 on Spotify’s US Viral Chart. She has since released a number of singles, a live EP and her second EP Tender.

A brilliant young artist you should have on your playlist now, we recently caught up with alayna to find out more about ‘Just So You Won’t Be Alone’ and her career to date.

Hi alayna! Thanks so much for taking the time to chat to us. How is life treating you at the moment?
Thanks for having me! Life is going okay, doing my best to enjoy creating and the journey it's taking me on, both musically and personally. 

Massive congratulations on your new single ‘Just So You Won’t Be Alone’. It is such an amazing song. Can you talk me a little through the inspiration behind the song?
'Just So You Won't Be Alone' is about capturing a moment of anger, frustration and sadness about a failing relationship. It comes across as quite strong and wanting to shift blame, but as the song continues the power falters and I circle back around and question myself. It's trying to grapple with the complex feelings that come from an intense emotional experience. So what now? Who can I blame? Hang on, is it me too? It may not be an eternal feeling, but for however long it's felt, it is so very real. 

There is a really gorgeous stripped back, slinky electro-trance-R&B feel to the song, was there a particular message of ‘feeling’ you wanted to project with the song?
I just wanted the song to feel human. A bit powerful, a bit melancholy, a bit imperfect, a bit of bravado, a bit vulnerable. It came across as a blazing fire of humanness and I'm so happy that the feeling was captured.

What was the creative process like for ‘Just So You Won’t Be Alone’?
I wrote this a couple years ago in a session in Auckland, NZ with Em Andre and producer duo Ambian & Sleo (Josh Edmonds and Joseph Corban-Banks). It was our first session together and there's always some nerves before a session with new people. But luckily, we just hit it off straight away in the studio and seemed to create this song out of nowhere. It was fun and one of those days where everything felt easy and flowed so the song just kind of materialised right before our eyes. I recorded most of the vocals that you hear in the final version on the day we wrote it.

Who were the artists that you looked up to when you were growing up, and influenced the kind of artist you are today?
I grew up listening to a lot of folk/singer-songwriter music which I think absolutely influenced my love of lyrics and story telling. There's nothing like a lyric that hits you right in the chest. The first songs I learned to sing were songs my Dad taught me - Eva Cassidy, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen. I think I subconsciously learned a lot about songwriting which came out years later when I sat down to write my first song and it seemed to come really naturally. I loved Paramore in high school, and when I discovered my love for R&B and soul music I really found my passion for voice as well. My voice is my instrument and I love to see what it's capable of doing. I guess marrying the two influences of when I was younger and when I learnt to find a voice of my own led me to where I am today.

A career in music is a dream for a lot people, but not everyone makes it. How did you get to where you are now?
Honestly, I'm here because of my support system. My parents, my family, my friends, my collaborators. Every person who has been a part of my journey in some way. There's a village of people that make up an artist, I don't think anyone can do this thing completely alone. 

Do you have any dreams or goals that you want to achieve with both the music you put out in the world, and also in your music career in general?
I want to travel and I've always had a dream of touring my way around the world. I'd love to connect to people with my music, and most of all I just want to find myself in it. I'm in a constant pursuit of 'me' and with each song I dig a little deeper. So I hope one day I can go "ah! there she is".

It is no secret that the music industry as a whole has not been a particularly safe space for women, in the main because it has been run by older, white, straight men since its inception. What are your thoughts on gender equality and sexism in the music industry?
There is so much work to be done to create a safer space for women. It's hard to imagine an industry without sexism because there are so many learnt beliefs from simply being in it that I struggle to comprehend what a truly safe environment would even look and feel like. In saying that, every conversation helps, and I feel positive that we all can continue to work towards a better future if everyone does their part. It will require a lot of humility, unlearning, learning and listening, at the very least. 

‘Just So You Won’t Be Alone’ is out, what else is coming up for alayna in 2022?
I've got quite a lot of new music coming out which I'm really excited to show everyone. I'm working on my debut album which has already been a life altering experience so far. 2022 is for creating, for sharing and connecting. I'm nervous but curious to see where it all takes me.

‘Just So You Won’t Be Alone’ is out now via Nettwerk Music Group. You can buy and stream here.

To keep up with all things alayna you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Twitter.