Alysha Brilla
Photo Credit: Nadiya Marwah

Alysha Brilla unveils her latest offering, Circle

Alysha Brilla
Photo Credit: Nadiya Marwah

Alysha Brilla shares her album, Circle – a deep journey into mental health healing

Juno nominee Alysha Brilla unveiled her album Circle on August 27, 2022.

The seven-track release “Circle” is ripe with messages of personal and global healing and music to uplift the soul.

Download Circle here, and learn more about Alysha Brilla via our interview.

Alysha Brilla - Circle

First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?

My name is Alysha, and I am a songwriter, music producer, and big-time dreamer.

You have unveiled your new album, Circle. What can you tell us about the writing process behind the album?

I wrote this album with sound healing in mind. The central theme of this music is somatic release. Many of the lyrics are about ancestral connection, mental health, outletting emotions, connecting deeply to others, and the art of letting go of and calling in new energy.

Where did you pull influence from when creating Circle?

I pulled influence from a lot of reflective and esoteric music I have listened deeply to over the past few years, including Björk, Aurora, Joni Mitchell, and a lot of Indian fusion music.

If you could choose only one track from Circle for a new fan to hear, which one would you choose, and why?

I would choose for them to listen to “Healing”

You’ve lived in LA, as well as Ontario. What is the main difference in the music scene between the two?

They are both wonderful artist hubs full of so many intersecting influences and transient humans. I will be heading back to L.A. this year for a film I will be scoring, and look forward to feeling the city after so many years away.

While the Pandemic was taking over our lives, how did you stay up to date with your fans?

In the beginning, I took the opportunity to do something I’d wanted to for a while; I began offering virtual workshops for BIPOC/Queer women and non-binary identified artists and music producers to share knowledge and conversations on songwriting, production, and creation. It was such a wonderful space, and I connected with humans who are still in the community with me today.

Speaking of the Pandemic, many of us suffered with our mental health during this time. You have said Circle is a deep journey into mental health healing. Care to elaborate on that?

My own mental health during the pandemic also suffered through quite despondent periods. While I have dealt with depression since my childhood, it was another level to feel the world mourn and collectively witness the unfolding of so many broken systems. The overturn and the change. I wanted to create music that helps channel the stuck emotions, the questions, and the friction between who we are as humans and who this current colonial world asks us to be. With “Circle,” I am combining simple lyrics that speak to these feelings with my knowledge of production and sound engineering as it relates to sound healing. I hope the listener feels soothed, held, and supported by this music.

If you could collaborate with any Canadian artist, who would you choose, and why?

I would collaborate with Buffy Sainte-Marie because she is one of the most influential artists in my life.

Throughout the past ten years, you have conducted creative wellness workshops in schools. Why is this so important to you?

Working with humans of all ages in an art as therapy capacity is something that feels very natural to me. I love facilitating and holding space for other artists to share their words, their feelings, and their art. I believe we are here to create, and it is a gift to share and remind people how natural this is to us as people. The youth have so much to say; they are inheriting the earth we are currently working so hard to transform into something more beautiful than any of us have seen or experienced. Youth are brilliant, and I believe they should be part of every decision-making table on this planet.

What can we expect from you for the remainder of 2022?

I will be performing in Germany at Reeperbahn, Iceland at Iceland Airwaves, Calgary at Breakout West, and many more. I’m excited to share my music again in a live setting and to celebrate these songs with the folks who find medicine in them.

Connect with Alysha Brilla:
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