ALYA’s music has been defined by critics as electronic, indie rock, pop, and more as it has begun to pick up steam, but the truth lies somewhere undefinable between it all. She is an adept innovator of sound, writing and performing songs that feel like a cinematic blend of styles and influences. This, in itself, serves her eclectic background. Born in Russia, Alya Michelson is now based in Los Angeles, where she has defined her largely experimental sound from her wide-ranging travelogue, being a classically-trained singer and ballet dancer, performance artist, painter, and multi-linguist.
Her new single, “Half of the Sun”, comes from a similarly vibrant background. In its original iteration, ALYA had developed the song nearly a decade ago with Japanese lyrics, with its pseudo-futuristic surf and electronic leanings finding their footing based off of the artist’s admiration of Tarantino film soundtracks. It features ALYA’s trademark mystique, too, in its arrangement, with airy backing vocals and a hard-edged, taiko-led progression all feeding into the mysticism that has pervaded this musical project for her since the beginning.
With that said, the song contains uplifting lyricism that the artist hopes listeners latch onto. ALYA tells PopMatters that, “The English version of ‘Half of the Sun’ came to my life when I finally was feeling absolutely happy with who I am and where I am. This message is in the chorus—’Live in the moment like it would be the one…‘”
