Q & A: ASILA

FFO: Halestorm, Evanescence and Joss Stone!

PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF FOR US WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH YOU AND YOUR MUSIC AND TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF.

We’re a hard rock band called Asila. We’ve got a bit of a blues/soul influence so we like to call it rock’n’soul! It’s a mix of Halestorm and Joss Stone.

We’re originally from South Africa, which is where Taryn still lives, but Adrian is now in the UK and Hana and Richard have moved to the USA. We’re still writing and recording music and have a new single called Hot Blooded Woman coming out February 26th!

TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR NEW ALBUM OR SINGLE?

Hot Blooded Woman is a hard rocking female empowerment song. It's for all the strong women out there! It talks about overcoming hurdles, pushing boundaries and stereotypes, raising our voices on issues that we still face as women today- and most importantly sticking together and empowering one another!

WHAT INSPIRED THE ALBUM OR SINGLE?

During a time in my life where I was battling my own story, I had a moment where I was very inspired and proud to be a woman. I realized that my own story is part of a much larger picture and problem- one that requires us to stand together as women, and collectively make a change, by raising our voices and speaking up about violence and assault.

CAN YOU SUM UP THE ALBUM IN A FEW WORDS?

We’ve always valued the album format a lot. Albums can really tell a story and give you a wider perspective of the band. It’s important to us that the album has great songs from start to finish and isn’t just an album with 2 two good songs and a bunch of fillers. We really think each song is catchy and has its own vibe and we’re super excited to get it finished.

WHAT RECORD CHANGED YOUR LIFE AND WHY?

Evanescence – Fallen. It was the first time I saw a woman kick ass so much. I loved her voice and her style. She really shaped me as a musician. Even to this day, she is such an inspiration.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE MUSIC VIDEO FILMED BY YOUR BAND OR ANOTHER ARTIST?

Currently, we’ve released two music videos. One for Resistance and one for Ignite. Resistance was a lot of fun as the story was centred around a poker game gone wrong. It involves a lot of murder, whiskey and rock’n’roll!

We’re about to begin production for the video for Hot Blooded Woman which is going to involve a lot of hot blooded women kicking ass, so we’re hyped for that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gHoKpNUVaA

WHAT WOULD WE FIND YOU DOING WHEN YOU'RE NOT MAKING MUSIC?

Hana works as a session singer, so most of the day she’s doing music in one way or another. Adrian loves photography and gaming, Taryn also plays piano and dances, Rich produces music and games as well. So we all have some hobbies outside of music, but music lights the fire in our souls.

DO YOU GET NERVOUS PERFORMING LIVE, IF SO HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THAT?

We all get really nervous playing live. It’s quite bad. I think the anxiety comes from wanting everything to go perfectly. Usually, a shot of tequila helps. If not that, low key throwing up somewhere helps as well. You just need to make it look cool.

HOW DID YOU FORM THE BAND?

Adrian, Hana and Richard started the band as Revery. But after numerous member changes and finally getting a fantastic drummer, Taryn, we decided to rename and rebrand as Asila. We also started focusing the musical style more onto hard rock, as previously our sound was more eclectic and diverse.

HOW DO YOU WRITE? - DO YOU HAVE A KEY SONGWRITER, OR DO YOU ALL WORK TOGETHER?

It varies. Previously Richard used to write a lot of music and create demos. Hana would then write lyrics and melody to the demo. We’d present the demo to the band and Adrian and Taryn would then add their personality to it and shape it to the sound of the band. Lately, Hana has been starting the songs either via lyrics of whole musical ideas.

WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

Any form of art or music can be inspiring. Also, working with interesting people or just seeing people do awesome things is inspiring. It’s important to be open to new forms of inspiration and to be open to new forms of art.

WHAT IS NEXT?

After Hot Blooded Woman we have another two songs lined up that will complete the album. What happens after is in the hands of the gods.

PLEASE TELL US ANY SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS SO WE CAN SHARE.

Thanks so much guys! Check out our website or find us on any streaming platform out there.

http://www.asilaband.com https://asilaband.bandcamp.com/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/5Lz0UrG2irz9DccGYfJrst https://music.apple.com/us/artist/asila/1362062448

https://shop.spreadshirt.com/asila