Interview by Brooke Gibbs.

As humans we have all felt the heaviness from the last couple of years, especially AYA YVES. Her focus shifted and she aligned her life with things that make her feel excited, inspired and at peace.

feeling small (let the light in) captures the feeling of when you climb a mountain or gaze at the stars and feel small and insignificant, but in a really empowering way.

AYA YVES is back again with the dark pop that we all love her for. Futuremag Music’s Brooke Gibbs caught up with AYA to talk about her latest release.

FMM: You’re kicking 2023 off with an empowering new release! Any big celebrations planned for the big release date?

AYA: I think I’m going to spend the day at the beach! Maybe go grab some ramen because that’s my current food fixation.

FMM: With lyrics such as ‘I want all my feelings to just dissapear and we can take space,’ it’s a very heavy song. What are some of the inspirations behind this song?

AYA: I mean, the intention isn’t heavy. The intention is feeling free, light. Getting out of your head and doing what feels good, what feels light. We get so caught up in the business of our day to day lives and what we think we ‘should’ be doing that we forget to actually live. I wanted the song to feel endless, like anything is possible.

FMM: This release is titled ‘feeling small.’ What does feeling small look like to you?

AYA: Hiking, staring at the night sky and losing yourself in the stars, night swims, skinny dipping, travelling, chasing waterfalls, losing yourself in the expansiveness of the natural wonders in the world!

FMM: I feel like the last couple of years have been tough for everyone which makes this such a relatable song. What advice do you have for people who relate, and what message do you hope they take away after listening?

AYA: Honestly, get outside. It helps you get some perspective on your problems, do the thing you wanted to do as a kid. You owe it to your younger self. It’s never going to be the right time, and nobody is going to do it for you. There’s so much power in insignificance. Nobody is going to remember what you think is embarrassing in 1, 10, or 50 years so just give it your best go!!

FMM: This track was co-written with Bri Clark and Xavier Dunn, and mastered by Andrew Edgeson. All very talented artists that we love here at Futuremag Music! I think this has to be one of our favourite collaboration teams for a release! How did this dream team of creatives come about and why were they the perfect fit for how you envisioned this track?

AYA: Bri is a close friend and such an incredible songwriter. I love writing with her so much. Having worked with Xav a lot by now, I thought it would be great if we could all work on something together! I’d tried writing this song twice before and it just didn’t come out the way I wanted. As soon as the three of us got together, the song fell into place so quickly.

FMM: On the production side of things, the build up to the chorus and the chorus itself is just incredible! What was your creative process like when working on this?

AYA: Honestly, all credit to Xav. The writing demo and the final track are basically identical. He got the vibe I was going for instantly when I said the movie scene I had in my head.

FMM: Looking at the artwork for this single, I love the visuals! Can you tell me more about this representation and where you’re going with this look? It suits you and your sound so well! 

AYA: I love creating the visuals around releases. It’s so rewarding to build a world that your songs can live in. I couldn’t do it without the people in my life, though. I’ve worked a lot with Steph Jewell on photos in the past. Patrick Coe and I have worked on many videos together for other artists and we’ve been talking about making something for me for a long time. It just finally fell into place with this one!

I’ve always been obsessed with high fashion and editorial makeup. It just feels natural to me to want to design looks for myself that feel different. In terms of the clothing, I hit up my friend Charly Thorn. She’s an incredible designer who also happened to grow up in Cooma and we’ve both been supporting each other for so long that when I asked if she’d loan me some of her designs, she jumped at the opportunity. 

I’m super grateful to have such incredibly talented friends around me.

FMM: What do you have planned for the rest of 2023? Any live shows coming up that we can catch you at? 

AYA: Lots more music on the way which is exciting! Definitely shows coming up, just working on securing dates, so keep your eyes peeled.

HEAR MORE FROM AYA YVES BELOW!