CREATIVE CONVERSATIONS 141: AYLA ON THE RELEASE OF HER DEBUT ALBUM, DOPAMINE

Interview by Jules Gabor.

Futuremag Music sat down with multifaceted artist, AYLA, to talk about the release of her debut album DOPAMINE, which hit streaming platforms earlier this month.

This album is a rich tapestry of emotive storytelling and sonic exploration, comprising 13 tracks that highlight AYLA's distinctive blend of modern-pop sensibilities. The project is a culmination of years of artistic growth and collaboration, demonstrating AYLA's evolution as an artist.

FMM: What inspired you to write and produce DOPAMINE? Were all the songs written around the same time, or scattered through time?

AYLA: The concept for this album, DOPAMINE, began as a collaboration collection. In a time of so much isolation during COVID in 2020, I wanted to put together a bunch of collaborative tracks that I’d been working on. This began with Go Slow, a track I had co-written with Reuben Styles from Peking Duk, which was released in 2020. After a few more releases, and a lot of work, the initial idea for a collection of a few songs had grown and I decided to make the leap and push this project out into a full album, which has 13 tracks, and also ended up housing a stand-alone single, Small Talk, that I released in 2018; meaning DOPAMINE features tracks from across the past six years! Crazy. It all turned out to be more time and work than I had initially anticipated, but these things usually do. I’m so happy with where this project landed and to have my debut album out in the world.

FMM: How did you develop the name of your debut album to be DOPAMINE, and what significance does this title have for you?

AYLA: DOPAMINE is the name of one of the songs on this album; the first song. “The hardest thing is the dopamine; the hole where it’s been,” is the lyric leading into the chorus. The track is about that feeling you get when the dopamine rush is over, and you’re left feeling the emptiness where it used to be. I felt that way after a bit of down time in my career, and writing this song was a way of working through those feelings. Despite the heaviness of the theme, this song feels uplifting to me. It feels like a recognition of how I felt, and an acceptance that life will be a sequence of these up-and-downs and that it all keeps going ahead anyway.

FMM: Your focus track, Open Your Doors, is a track that encapsulates the albums’ theme of self-discovery and embracing new experience. Why did you choose this song to be your focus single and what is the song inspired by?

AYLA: The Kite String Tangle/Danny Harley and I wrote Open Your Doors the day that I was leaving to travel overseas; I flew out that night) That was the first time I ever left Australia. I love this song and moment on the album, because it is such a hopeful and uplifting track, a sentiment of the song is about breaking free, spreading your wings and taking hold of new experiences. Danny had some great ideas for the lyrics, and created some really cool samples out of the vocals, which is something I always love doing; creating instrumental sounds and layers from the vocals. “Suddenly I realise that forever is this moment,” this song has a very uplifting feel, which is somewhat lovely among the other tracks with the sad-girl pop sound. A lot of songs on the album are still big and hard-hitting with production, but the sentiment of this song is truly a positive one, and I love the feeling of openness and hope this track brings.

FMM: One of the songs that really stuck out to me was the first song on your album, Bitterness. Can you tell me about how this song came to life, and what experiences inspired this song?

AYLA: This song came out of one of the strongest heartbreaks I'd ever felt; a friendship. Writing it was a way to process the hurt I felt at the time. The years have seen different iterations of this song, beginning with production by Sam Cromack (Ball Park Music), who gave the song its foundations. I then worked with Sam Thomlinson, with whom I've been collaborating for most of the album, who brought in some elements to finalise the track. Sitting with the song for these years, I've been able to reflect on it as a sentiment of the darker elements I'd felt about the situation at the time. In a way, I was embarrassed by the feelings I'd had, but I think that both listening to and writing music is an important exercise in getting out your thoughts and feelings; some of which you don't want to carry around with you. You can get it out, and then let it go. This is similar to journalling; a great way to process, organise your thoughts, and then leave them behind in the pages.

FMM: You describe this album as a collaboration collection working with different producers and songwriters, and I’d love to ask, how do you work on your creative process as an artist and what has been your experience collaborating?

AYLA: I honestly don’t really have a lot of regime when it comes to... well, much in my life actually haha. I don’t sit down once a week to write songs, at a specific time, and maybe I should have a bit more of that kind of energy. I like working with other people, because it’s a designated time to be creative, and working with someone else can sometimes have this strange effect of making me less critical; just letting the ideas flow, because I want to have something down on paper by the end of the session, to make the most of everyone’s time. I really enjoy the different kind of ideas that come out of working with different people, and having input that you just wouldn’t have if you remained in your own isolation.

FMM: Your tracklist for this album showcases songwriting from 2018 all the way to this year; a really beautiful mix of experiences and sound. For a person who is listening to your music for the first time, what songs from this album would you point them in the direction of?

AYLA: The first intentional single from this project (as Small Talk, from 2018, did end up being later included) was a track called Go Slow. This is track number five on the album, and a song I still feel is one of the strongest on the album. This was the track that really started off the whole album; the first taste of the new era. My manager, Ange, reminded me of a co-write that I had done with Peking Duk’s Reuben Styles, and suggested we approach Reuben for his thoughts on releasing this track under my name. Reuben is incredible and very supportive, and thus the beginning of the collaborations was launched.

FMM: Having listened to the album, I must say that I’m already so excited for more AYLA music! Now that your debut album is out in the world, how have you celebrated this incredible milestone?

AYLA: It was really special for me to celebrate the coming release of the album with an album preview celebration show at Solbar, a local Sunshine Coast venue that I’ve been playing at since I was about fifteen years old. I was so happy with the band I had with me, and it was incredible to have so many people come out to hear the songs from the album live and celebrate its release.

FMM: What’s next for you? Where can new AYLA fans find you?

AYLA: After releasing this album, I’m looking forward to more writing and releasing more music I’ve been working on in the background. I love performing live and am really excited about this band lineup that I’ve got at the moment, so I’m really looking forward to playing more live shows as soon as I can.

Listen to AYLA’s DOPAMINE on your favourite streaming platform and follow her Instagram: @AYLA_Live!