A US singer-songwriter living in Scotland has released her second album after collaborating with the founder of a popular Scottish rock band.
Born in Los Angeles, California, Alas de Liona, came to the University of Edinburgh as part of a study abroad programme.
Despite not coming to study music specifically, she started playing gigs in various bars and, following a successful crowd-funding campaign, released her debut album Lightning and Fire in 2017.
It’s been something of a whirlwind since then, as she’s made her debut at Celtic Connections and opened for the likes of Travis and Emeli Sande.
“It’s been really great, I think the nature of doing this is there are periods of activity and lulls which works for songwriting,” the artist told The National.
“I kept coming back to Edinburgh to do gigs and was able to make a case to get a visa to move here for music.
“I’ve been here back and forth starting in 2019 into 2020 but I’ve been a resident for a year.”
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Alongside her live band and producer – founder of Scottish rock band Idlewild Rod Jones – de Liona recorded her second album Gravity of Gold at Electric Studios in Leith last year.
She says that most of the songs are more “up-tempo” than my previous work and mark a move away from “folk and into the indie pop/rock sphere”.
“You can’t help but be influenced and when I started here I was doing folk sessions so you get immersed in that,” the singer explains.
“There’s a great atmosphere here, a great musical community and I’ve met a lot of great musicians. Everyone is so welcoming.”
Although she admits that the album touches on some “heavy themes,” she hopes that doesn’t necessarily translate to “heavy listening”.
De Liona explained: “With this album, I wanted to give it a grittier feel so we used a grittier guitar sound and it has some dark elements.
“Ultimately, I don’t want to just say it’s about mental health, but it is about struggling with anxiety and insomnia.
“A lot of it is about delusion and the stories we tell ourselves to convince ourselves of certain things.
“Thematically and musically it is quite dark at times but there’s a lot of upbeat pop elements and ultimately I don’t think it’s a heavy listening experience even if there are heavy themes.
“That all combines with who you’re working with – it became what it is and I’m really happy with how it turned out.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, de Liona cites a few Scottish bands as being among her favourites, namely the Cocteau Twins and the Jesus and Mary Chain.
She does concede however that “throughout my life there were several acts I’ve listened to that I didn’t always realise were Scottish”.
“I suppose it just depends on how forward a band wants to make their nationality. Across the board, there’s some bands I like and I’ve just no idea where they’re from,” she adds.
It’s been another busy year for de Liona, who performed at Belladrum this year with another two gigs coming up at the Cabaret Voltaire in Edinburgh (tickets HERE) and The Old Hairdresser’s in Glasgow (tickets HERE).
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“We accelerated things after lockdown. That was such a time of contemplation and remote work,” she said.
“Even when you did get to a studio and some regulations were lifted, you were feet apart. When everything opened up, it was such a frenzy of energy and I’ve been trying to keep as busy as I can and make up for a little bit of lost time like everyone has.
“I’ve just been trying to enjoy it all.”
Alas de Liona’s second album Gravity of Gold was released on September 13 and is available to listen to now.
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