LITTLE CHAT WITH COLOMBIAN SWEETHEART ALETHIA AFTER THE RELEASE OF NEW TRACK ‘LIKE YOU DO’

Colombian indie-pop/soul artist Alethia who is currently based in Melbourne, Australia is no stranger when it comes to captivating audiences with her amazing voice, and incredible songwriting talents. With new track ‘Like You Do’ on her belt that was released last week, she's ready to take on anything and show the world just what she is capable of. Read below the little interview we got to do with the artist and make sure you follow her on socials to keep up to date with future releases.

Firstly, we want to get to know you a little better.
Tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, how you got interested in music, and what inspired you to create your sound?

Hi Electric dreamers! 

Sure, well I am Colombian. I was born in Bogota and raised in San Andres Island and since I was very little I remember my father at home was always playing music.  Whether it was my father Himself singing and playing guitar, piano or flute or just playing music from his Cds or Vinyls collection. Lots of jazz, bolero, bossa and psicodelia rock. I think growing up listening to all these fantastic musicians Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Celia Cruz, Buena vista social club among others made me fall in love with music. Also seeing how special music was for him perhaps made me curious about it all. So,I will say this is what inspired me musically. I started singing when I was very little and later about 8 years old I asked my mom to take me to a musical theatre school. I told her I wanted to be a singer, actress and dancer and since then I haven’t stopped doing it. 

You were born in Colombia, grew up in the Caribbean, and are now based in Melbourne, Australia. You’ve definitely lived in some beautiful places - what was that like and was it hard moving overseas to Australia?

Living In Colombia is very special and I have the fortune to lived on a beautiful island and growing up and study in a big city so, I had this mix of memories like going to the ocean to connect with nature, listening to reggae music and visit family for Christmas there as well as living in the Bogotá with wonderful mountains and studying music be surrounded by lots of different types of Latin music like cumbia, salsa, son, pasillos and pop en Español. Hey, amazing food too. You have to try arepas y apatacones!

Then moving to Australia, it is a big difference. Some things are a bit chaotic there and disorganised but still beautiful in their way. I miss lots of my family and friends and think that is the hardest part. It's a long trip to go and visit them. around 17 hours. Sometimes it is a bit too far away.

In 2013, you got on the Voice Colombia - what was that experience like? Take us through what you were feeling and tell us the highlights.

Wow, it feels a bit far away now. I was 18 and just starting to take music more seriously so for me it was great to meet other musicians and amazing singers. I was with the other three participants, the youngest. Everyone else was like 27 or in their 30s. I remember being there super nervous not knowing if they would turn to see me but seeing the rest of the audience.

 I always have felt comfortable singing in front of people. At the time I had done quite a few musical theatre performances and singing with a guitarist or something but that was the first time I was totally by myself singing with an audience and the fact that it was an audition made it I guess more intense. As soon as they turned I felt much more confident. Then the rest is history hehe. We had battles and had to compete with others and in some moments I remember being so emotional because when you win one the other one needed to leave and some people were very upset.
 I learned that art will always be subjective and not everyone will like what you do and that's okay, we all have different tastes but you can’t stop because someone else doesn’t like what you do. 

Speaking of different places, how did you adapt to the music scene in a different country? And how would you compare the different scenes?

Well, I felt that it took me a couple of years to in a way understand Melbourne's music scene. Coming to a new place and starting from zero with a music project is not super easy but compared to Colombia in my experience, the scene in Colombia is a bit harder to enter and be part of. you need to play lots and meet lots and lots of people to take your project somewhere. When I was starting there, there was just one music genre that people care about and that was reggaeton so, if you were not making that music there was not much room for music. Here, perhaps because it is a multicultural city I always felt there were lots of different places to go with whatever type of music you play and you still need to play lots and meet lots of people to get better opportunities [that’s the way it Is]. but there is an audience for every idea you have.

 I think nowadays in Colombia there are more spaces to showcase alternative music and I think that is Fucking awesome! 

I believe this journey of living in Australia has made me grow in ways I never imagined. I guess that is what it means “getting out of your comfort zone” 

I’ve learned to enjoy the process and I still think sometimes I need to stop and remember that. The most important part is to be present and enjoy the moment and enjoy the process. Otherwise, it is a bit too hard to have fun along the way. 

Your latest single ‘Like You Do’ was released last week with the announcement of an album! That is so exciting. We are absolutely loving the new track - what was the inspiration behind it and what was the creative process like?

Hey, thank you so much. I am glad you like it! 

This song is very special to me and I guess all songs are but with Like you do I was able to express with total honesty the feeling of a breakup and how painful that process is and how I experienced it myself in the past. So I will say it was inspired by my own life story.  The reason I think is special is that those hard moments when you feel very vulnerable and with not much hope are the moments that make you stronger and when you can open to new and better possibilities. Those moments make you value who you are more and realise what you need to learn. They made you understand that things can change but you always are there for you. 

In the creative process, we had a lot of fun. with the producer of this song Shervin we experimented with different textures, weird vocals and guitar lines to be able to portray a very emotive, delicate and powerful song at the same time.  

What do you plan to focus on for the remainder of the year?

For the remainder of the year, my focus is on releasing the upcoming singles and drops of this album. This album is a concept album divided into 4 different parts and 4 different emotions. Hope, Love, Nostalgia and Roots or Belongingness. 

As you do, belong to Love.  My focus also is on performing with my band and continue planning the launch of the album. I will let you know more about it as soon as all dates are confirmed. There’s some live sessions coming too. I am also on the hunt for a manager since I've been in Australia I've been working on my own but now is the right moment for it!
I invite everyone to follow my music journey and to connect with me on socials. On Insta find me as @alethiaofficial and go to listen to the first 3 songs of the album that are already out. I wanna hear your thoughts 

Thanks for having me!