Jamaican-born, London-raised Äyanna is a self-described “pop princess” known for her unique sound that’s a blend of R&B, 80’s pop, soul, and reggae. With a track record featuring on songs with Stormzy and writing music for Kali Uchis, Äyanna’s already making waves in the industry and she’s only been doing this since 2019. We caught up with her to find out about her new single, “Boys Like You,” the meaning behind her self-coined term “cuii”, and more.
We’re catching up ahead of your new single, “Boys Like You” which is dropping soon. Can you walk us through what inspired the track?
“It was inspired by just going through your daily lives and meeting … certain guys where it's just like, you can kind of tell that they’re trouble. I wanted to create a song that recognizes the girls who are aware of those kinds of guys, and [is about] being self-aware and aware of the world around them.”
Is there a guy out there that's going to hear the song and be like, “this is about me”?
“Maybe more than one. I feel like I want most guys to feel some [type of] way. I want [to say to them,] like, ‘cool down now’.”
How do you feel your sound has evolved, between dropping your EP “In a Perfect World” and the new single “Boys Like You”?
“I think I've wanted to lean more into some of the sounds that they portray of me as a person. Whereas before … the sounds may be influenced by the things that I liked, now the songs are influenced by who I am, if that makes sense. [I’m] leaning more into [the] UK style of production, and also Caribbean elements as well. I was born in Jamaica and I'm Jamaican, so you know, having [more] sounds that reflect that is probably what's different about the music now.”
In your opinion, what’s about to be the song of the summer?
“I hope that “Boys Like You” is in the mix! [But I also] I really like that Tommy Richmond song that's out right now. I was just at a writing camp with Eels. He's an amazing artist and I feel like he has songs for Dave. Some songs that also like they make you feel related and stuff like that. So I feel like we will have quite a few songs with some nice.
We know you’ve defined your style and aesthetic as “cuii” before. What would be the ultimate “cuii” fit?
“I think the elements of a cuii fit are … cuteness and playfulness and sometimes elements of elegance and classiness and stuff like that. So if anything leans towards cute or and or elegant is probably cuii; and if an outfit has both, it's definitely a cuii.”
So we all know you featured on Stormy’s single “Hide & Seek” in 2022. How did it feel when you got the Stormzy stamp of approval?
“It was quite surreal! It was crazy hearing that I was going to be on the song, but then meeting him in person, which happened afterwards, was probably what really brought it home. Like, he was talking to me and he was saying, “you know, you're so crazy, you're so talented.” I just remember looking at him like, is Stormzy talking to me? So that was quite surreal. It's always something that I think back to.”
Aside from Stormzy, who’s the next artist you’d love to work on a track with?
“I'd love to work on a track with Headie One. I'd [also] love to be on a track with this U.S. artist called Jiggy, who I think is great.”
People might not know that you’re also a songwriter, responsible for writing tracks for huge artists like Kali Uchis. Can you tell us about your creative process when it comes to songwriting?
“When it comes to making songs in general, there's always like there's so many different ways to do it: either start with a melody or start with a concept. [Or] it can [even] start with production. [It's the same when] it comes to [writing] for other artists; it could be any one of those things.
With Kali [it was just a case of] submitting to T.J. who’s a producer who I love a lot, and he works quite closely with Kali. He sent me that track ideas and I submitted just the melody. I remember doing them and just thinking “these melodies are so bad and basic! But I'm going to send it anyway, just in case.” And it was so long after - like months later - he was like, “yeah, like Kali likes it.” I was like, “are you serious? Like what?” So that was quite surreal.
I think what writing for other artists helps me do is get out of my head. When it's me, I run around in circles. A lot of these half baked ideas just float around in my head and then I just kind of go intuitively with who I think would be great to bring that idea forward. It also changes how I view myself and my ideas [which is] really nice.”
What’s a lyric that resonates with you?
“I'm going to butcher the lyrics, but it's from the new Billie Eilish album, from the song “Skinny”. The lyrics are the ones where she's saying how people are saying that I look great because I'm skinny, but the old me is still, you know, the real me. That really spoke to me.”
Lastly, can you share anything exciting that’s on the horizon for you in 2024?
I'm just really excited to put music out! I'm so excited to just make music [whether that’s] solo, featuring, [or] having people feature with me. I'm also [doing a lot of] festivals as well, looking forward to those. I'm really grateful that I get to say that I'm doing that. Those are the things that I would say are at the top of my [list].
Featured image via @ayanna ©
More on Culted
