Q&A: Ahlei

If there’s one thing you need to do today, it’s to check out Ahlei’s music. Once you have a listen, you’ll understand why she’s had over 40,000 streams for the acoustic version of “Constellations” - one of her magical teaser tracks. Plus, she’s already getting the attention of major record labels prior to the release of her gorgeous & dreamy debut single “Hiding Place” (dropping tomorrow!).

The Auckland-based artist chats to us about her upcoming music, her advice to other new artists in the industry, her favourite kiwi songs at the moment and more!

We’d love to know a little bit about your musical journey so far!

Well I’ve always loved music since I was young, and grew up in a musical family. I‘d never really written full songs, just little ideas and voice memos on my phone, covering songs etc. I figured it’d be great to actually have songs out for people to listen to, and that’s what I did! Had my first song out, which was “Birds”, in September and it’s all rolled on from there.

We’ve been lucky enough to hear a sneak peek of your debut single “Hiding Place” which is absolutely stunning with mesmerising vocals, lyrics and melodies! Can you tell us about what inspired the concept of this track?

Thank you so much! Well there was a gig that I had coming up and wanted to perform an original song, but didn’t have one haha well a complete one. So I sat at the piano, then the idea and concept just came to me since that was how I was feeling at the time. The song holds a bit of an emotional backstory which makes it quite a special song for me. One of my fave songs for sure.

What was the process like for writing and producing this track, and what was one of your main highlights working on it?

Once I had the song done and the chords all sorted, I had a friend that helped me with the production. They added some minimal production, just to lift up the song a little bit! Main highlight working on it was probably recording vocals. Was fun but it was sort of tricky to sing it the way I sang it at the gig, as we felt that that was how we wanted the vocals to sound.

We absolutely love the short 3 tracks you’ve released so far as well as their acoustic versions, giving us a snippet of what’s to come! We also thought the movie samples added in “Birds” and “Only for You” perfectly complemented the songs - which movie/s are they from?

Both samples are from a movie called “Animal Kingdom”, which was released in 1932. I haven’t actually watched the whole thing but I’ve always seen short clips of it. It’s quite a tense movie with a lot of drama and heart aches, so I figured it’d suit the vibe of my songs well and set the mood for “Birds” and “Only For You”.

We’re so excited to hear more of your music! What can you tell us about your upcoming tracks?

Yea sure! So as you know, I have “Hiding Place” coming out Nov 20th (which I’m totally excited about), and then the acoustic version of “Hiding Place” not too long after. That will pretty much round the year off, but I’ve been collaborating with producers from the US, Sweden, Canada and of course here, so there’s definitely a  few songs in the works! Hopefully another single out early next year.

Who are your biggest inspirations in music?

Quite a few artists have inspired me recently actually! Artists like Beabadoobee, Clairo and Billie Eilish. We’re all similar in age, which is crazy. Makes me think and realise that I could probably do it too!

If there’s anything you could change about the current music industry, what would it be and why?

Probably the fact that it’s all a big secret! Haha. It’s quite tricky to get information on different things like labels, management etc. There’s a tonne of stuff on Youtube obviously but it’d be nice to have people you can talk to and trust about that kind of stuff.

What would you say are some of the biggest challenges starting out as a new artist in the industry?

Biggest challenges starting out as an artist would definitely be getting your foot in the door, in terms of getting noticed. If you’re just starting out and release a song, you shouldn’t be worried if you get 10 or 100 streams/plays, just put stuff out! When you keep putting stuff out that you love, eventually people will hear it and love it too. I was just putting stuff out without really caring how many people would listen to it. Over time people find your music and share it, and I think playlists pick up on that. So just put stuff out!

Who are some of your favourite NZ artists right now and are there any songs in particular that you love or connect with?

Heaps! Artists like BENEE, alayna and Paige are amazing. Been loving pretty much anything BENEE has out at the moment, like her songs “Kool” and “Plain”.

What do you love most about living in New Zealand? Do you have any favourite places to travel to or local spots to visit?

How beautiful our country is! And how chill everyone is. I do love walking along Takapuna beach, always love chilling there. Our family does love going to Puhoi so I always enjoy the trips we have there. Not sure if it’s the cheese or the village vibe haha.

Lastly, if you could say one thing to every person in the world, what would it be?

Be kind to everyone and give help to those who need it :) 

Make sure to keep up with Ahlei on Instagram (@ahleimusic), Spotify & Apple Music!