Ayoni: Telling her own story
Ayoni is a multi-talented artist who captivates her audience through her ability to effortlessly describe complex narratives and emotions in her music. Her sound is best described as cinematic due to the way she paints vibrant pictures through her seamless blend of her layered vocals against diverse instrumentation ranging from acoustic guitar to synth wave. While none of her songs conform to a specific genre, her Barbadian roots consistently manifest themselves through her ability to recount impactful stories through her music.
In 2019, Ayoni released her first full length project titled Iridescent. The EP is an empowering ode to self-realization as the tone of the album transitions from melancholic to optimistic as Ayoni learns to move on from a toxic relationship. Standout tracks from the album include Wife You Up, Santa Monica, Divine, and My Light Lit Lover, but our favorite song from the album is September. On the track, Ayoni sends a message filled with a mixture of pain and hope to her ex as she begins to relinquish her feelings that he once had for him. Her ability to capture raw emotion through her voice is best showcased as she sings, “Gave me reasons to despise September / What’d it do to me / Used to love the beach / And almost you / But October’s real pretty / If you wanted to know.”
Ayoni is also fully cognizant of the ways that Black artists, more specifically Black women, are often confined in the manner through which they are expected to express themselves through their art and actively combats them in her music. In the interview, she also speaks out against social issues pertaining to gentrification, racism, misogyny, and climate change.
With a new project coming out soon, Ayoni is definitely an artist to keep an eye on, and our team can’t wait to see what direction her music takes next.
Where in South Central are you living? Our editor in chief is from the Slauson x Crenshaw area. How do you like that community?
I’m really grateful to be in South Central. I go to USC, a school that has really contributed to the gentrification and displacement of a lot of families here… It’s just very easy to be caught up in the glitz and the glamour and the speed of all that comes with these industries that kind of permeate the area, but I feel like South Central has been a place where I can be grounded… I feel like I’ve learned a lot from South Central, and I’ve been really grateful for the experiences that USC has given me, being in this area and coming from out the country. Moving to SC and being in an area that’s bustling and full of energy and humor has definitely been a highlight of my move to LA”
How do your Caribbean roots show up in your music?
My Caribbean roots show up in my storytelling. Overall, being from the Caribbean and being from a place in the West Indies, so much of our tradition, so much of our gatherings, so much of our joy is centered around being with family, telling stories, and sharing joy with each other. I think in my music, it really manifests itself in wanting to do the same and wanting to use music to gather community and those who are conscious and aware to in some way change the world. I feel like in Barbados as an island, music is something that culturally how we come together whether that be at Crop Over or even on Sunday Service. There’s a lot of different ways that Caribbean culture and the Barbadian tradition has contributed to my awareness of privilege and what it means to be pursuing my dream of music. I feel like Barbados is somewhere where we have a lot of- you know we have Rihanna- there’s a lot of talented musicians that are continuing to create and innovate. I feel like being from Barbados has brought a lot of really amazing contributions to my music. Living away and moving around, being conscious of what a privilege this is for me to get to pursue music and to do something that some people might consider risky or even a waste. I’m very grateful to be from Barbados and I think that who I am is probably the biggest thing that Barbados has given me.
Has gospel music/growing up going to church influenced your sound?
I grew up in the church. My dad when I was 5 or 6 was leading worship- we lived in miami at the time- and I was just so fascinated by the concept of harmonies. I thought that was so magical. I didn’t understand how people could just open their mouths and harmonize with each other. I really thought it was fascinating and I was so eager to learn how to do it. For me, that was probably my very first awakening in a way, but also just watching the choir sing. I remember that there was this singer in the church who would sing with a lot of vibrato, and I would see her lip quivering with vibrato. I just thought that was the sign of a good singer and I would always try to make my lip quiver. I think these memories that I have of seeing someone sing and realize that- well I was too young to realize this at the time, but when you’re leading worship, your motivation is to lead the audience into a divine experience. The entire purpose of worship is to conjure a divine experience and to lead people into an alternate state. That for me was such an awakening and such an aspiration that I couldn’t really appreciate at the time, but I just thought to myself, “I want to be that to someone. I want to sing, and I want people to feel better or feel different because they heard me sing.” That I think is what I would contribute most to the church.
What would you say is your most meaningful song to you?
I definitely would say that “Unmoved” is the most meaningful song that I’ve created. I love all of my songs so much, they’re all my children, but I just feel like Unmoved was something that was just a really big risk for me. I didn’t know how it would resonate with people, I didn’t know if people were going to understand the why of releasing it and the what to do after you hear it. I really wanted it to be a call to action. I feel like beyond the other songs that I’ve put out, that is a song that really tells the truth and says things that I’ve never told people before about being a Black girl- a Black woman now- and what that experience was like. The transition into adulthood for black girls often comes to fast, so I feel like with Unmoved I was able to reclaim my experience and moments that I felt less than to appreciate what was taken from me to be who I am, to create the music that I create, to do the things that I do is not a small thing. It is e going against what the world tells Black women. We can be and we can do. I think that that song will always mean so much to me and I think especially because I created it in my room completely by myself because I normally work with other people and it was really the first time that I fully pursued, recorded, and mixed something on my own. In many ways it was a revolution for me and a learning experience about these strengths I have that I didn’t even know that I have.
What is your writing process like? Has quarantine affected the way you create?
My writing process really varies from song to song. Some songs I might have a beat that I was working on and then decided to write something on top of it. Other times I might just start on piano or guitar, but most of the time I try to just push myself to pick up an instrument when I’m writing. It’s very easy to fall in love with the abilities that you have in this digital world, but to get outside of yourself and not write a good song because you didn’t strip it back enough or you relied too heavily on production. These days I really just try to write with an instrument, strip it back to just the song, and just try to be authentic and honest. Once I have lyrics down, a melody will usually come shortly after on top of some chords. Then I’ll just start working on it. It varies a lot but with my own music that is most often my process.
Have you gotten to perform at all? What do you miss about performing/Where would you want to perform in the future?
I’ve gotten to do a couple of things with my band- not for audiences unfortunately- whether it’s a live stream or a taping. But I really do miss performing and interacting with and seeing how a performance feels for people and how it resonates with people in real time. But I do think that this whole experience has really allowed me to step back and see how I can be more effective with my performances in the future. It’s really taught me the importance of appreciating your audience and bringing them into your experience. Not just performing for them or entertaining them but engaging them and together building and creating a new kind of world. Those are some things that before I don’t think I understood the importance of and I have a lot to learn about that, but that’s something that I began to really reflect upon more and strive to accomplish in the future.
What was your experience like at USC?
It’s been really honestly disappointing for me. I came in with a lot of goals and expectations for my experience. I feel like in my time at USC I’ve really come to understand why people sometimes say that college can often feel like a White supremacist endeavor because I feel like USC as an institution does not really value it’s minority students and it doesn’t protect them. There’s just been a lot of things- even with the way that they’ve handled coronavirus- where I feel like it’s been very clear who and what they prioritize. I haven’t been able to be proud of USC in that way and I feel like for a lot of other Black students has been a disappointment, but I would say that in my major and at Thornton, I’ve been able to learn from Black professors,grow with black peers, and have an experience that I felt like was so excited about in USC at large as an institution.
What directions do you see your music heading in/ how do you see your music evolving?
I feel like my music is moving towards you. I want my stories to hit closer to home and be more universal if possible but I don’t want to leave anyone out if that makes sense. I really see my music moving in the direction of the times and I want my music to reflect that. It was really important that my first project was really just about getting to know me and how I have come to exist and the experiences that I’ve had moving away from home and being on my own. These experiences really helped me to become more human and form my own thoughts. I think right now, where I see my music going is outwards into the world and looking around. Being in South Central, how is gentrification playing a role in our community, breaking up homes, and pushing us away from the places where we grew up. Topics like Black Lives Matter, climate change, these are the things that I want to talk about right now and that I’m experiencing and that we are experiencing. I think there’s space for me to tell other stories that don’t always have to center myself. I think that is kind of my mission with my next project that really needs to be told and feel valuable, and just to offer my truth. I don’t want to speak for anyone, I just want to live in this world and document the times that feel really significant and important to me. Sonically, my music is going to become a little bit more free, a little bit more bold, a little bit bigger. I just want to keep growing and evolving and fine tuning as much as I can.
Are you working on anything now?
Yes, I am working on project two. She is a big beast. It’s definitely going to be a reflection of 2020 and a reflection of these times. I think we have had too significant of a year to just ignore or honor in some way through music. I feel liek the role of the artist right now is clearer than ever. We have a lot of work to do and a lot to bring into the public consciousness. I am just working to try and figure it out day by day.
What would you like our audience to know about you?
More than anything, I would just like them to know who I am and why I’m doing this. If they see any part of themselves in my music or in the platform that I’m building, I would love for them to join. I would love for more people to discover what I am doing.