Ayda Rose
Soul/r&b artist Ayda Rose has recently revealed her latest single “Damn”.
With the help of Bobii Lewis and Knight, the English artist delivered an honest and personal record. “Damn” came from meeting and falling for someone living in another country. The song describes heartache through emotional vocals and lyrics. Truly one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard lately.
“Damn” is now available everywhere.
Photo credit/artwork: @suede_baby
Hi Ayda, how are you? What's your story?
Hey! I'm good, thank you. It feels good to be in release mode! I'm an Rnb artist living in east London I moved here some years ago from the southwest city of Salisbury to pursue music full time although it's always been a big part of my life. I've taken my time with my sound and over the years made some incredible collaborations music with the likes of Mella Dee from the electronic dance world and have spent some time singing background vocals for Becky Hill, now I'm really focusing on going back to my roots as a soul RnB artist.
What did you grow up listening to?
Growing up I was exposed to so many genres, in the house my dad would play Motown, Marvin Gaye, and groups like the Beatles, Journey, Supertramp, and Chicago and then as I started to develop my own taste I listened to a lot of Rnb like BoysIIMen, Destiny's Child and always liked to study powerful vocalists like Whitney, Mariah and Celine Dion, then a bit later Amy Winehouse became a huge influence. I'm also a bit of an indie Kid so Arctic Monkeys, Foo Fighters, and Nirvana have always been on rotation.
Growing up, what were your favorite songs to sing along to? When did you know you could sing?
I think I first knew I could sing around age 4, I have memories of learning and reciting Michael Jackson's Dangerous Album and I would love singing Aretha Franklin's Respect. The supremes 'Stop in the name of love' sticks out and I also remember in car journeys singing along to Celine Dion's 'The power of love' which interestingly was my late Auntie April's favorite song to sing. She was also a soul singer and a big inspiration to me.
When did you know music was more than just a hobby?
Although music has always felt like my purpose, I think around age 15 is when I started to take it seriously, I started being mentored by UK soul singer Lemar. He really helped develop me in the studio and gave me the opportunity to open on 'The Reason Tour' around the UK and this is something I will forever be grateful for.
Could you list a few records that influenced the music you are making today?
This is a hard question... as influences really come from everywhere I've always had a love for hip hop and so many of those artists, like Kendrick, ATCQ, and slum village have had a real impact sonically and that also equates back to old soul records like Etta James - I'd rather go blind there's so many, I love storytellers and lyricism.
Ex factor - Lauryn Hill
Other side of the game - Erykah Badu
I love you more than you'll ever know - Donny Hathaway
Love is blind - Amy Winehouse
"Damn" is your new single - what's the story/inspiration behind this song?
The inspiration behind Damn came from meeting and falling for someone who lives in another country, it's really about the heartache and the distance I had to go through. I don't know if you've ever tried to make a relationship work overseas but that shit is hard.
Could you please describe the songwriting/production process for this song? When did you start working on it? Who helped you create it?
Damn is a very personal and raw record, it wasn't planned, it was one of those songs that came unexpectedly, I went to the studio that day to work with my boy Knight and told him I wasn't feeling it, I was having a hard time with someone I loved and wasn't in the mood to create but Knight knows me so he didn't argue and said he was just going to mess around with some chords on the guitar... I picked up the mic and freestyled and the song just kinda fell out of me and with some tweaks. Damn was born. It's always interesting being so honest in music, it's a form of therapy but you hope because it's so raw people will also connect. It's a song of love and longing. I asked My friend and fellow Artist/Writer Bobii Lewis if he would help me with the vocal arrangement and he came up with the sauce that lifted the record to the next level. I'm very lucky to have incredible musicians and friends around me so with some additional bass from Josh Asafo and Keys from Azzedine Loukil the record felt perfectly complete.
What did you feel when recording this song?
When writing and recording I felt relief, to be honest, to get what was in my head down in the form of music. It was easy to write as it kind of wrote itself.
What's your favorite lyric on "Damn"?
My favourite lyric on Damn would have to be the opening line 'Met you out in Paris' because it instantly takes me back to that moment in time and for all the heartache I’m grateful for a beautiful moment in my life.
When did you know "Damn" had to be a single?
I knew straight after we had finished writing that I wanted to get it out to the world because it was a true representation of what I was going through and music is like therapy I guess, I want other people to be able to relate.
What message do you want to deliver through this song? What do you want people to feel when listening to it?
I want people to be in their feels when listening to it and hopefully they relate. as long distance, love, and heartache are something we all feel at some point in our lives.
As an artist, what is the hardest part? And what is the best part?
The best part of being an artist is performing and expressing through music. The hardest part is social media. For me anyway.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
I think there’s a lot of exciting change in the music industry right now, people are taking more ownership of their art which is cool. I’d say if I could change one thing it would be how numbers play a larger impact on people’s or the industry’s value over the art itself. That’s mad and frustrating to me. Good music is good music and that shouldn’t be judged by if you have 1m views on a TikTok.
What does singing make you feel?
Singing makes me feel at home. All anxiety falls away and I’m free.
What advice would you give to young artists out there?
Advice for artists, keep going and live in your truth. Integrity in this industry is important for those who are here for the long game. Never sacrifice art for commercial success.
What biggest life lessons have you learned so far?
Listen to your gut. ALWAYS. Talk less and move in action.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
The world would be a better place if people listened to each other more and came with love and compassion. We are all one people and I think having empathy and understanding that although we’re one people we all have very different experiences here on earth really helps to not judge and come from a place of love in our day-to-day lives.
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