You might not have heard of Rotorua-born musician Alayna Powley, but the rest of the world has. At just 25, she’s worked with some of the world’s biggest pop producers, clocked up over nine million streams on Spotify, and is currently working with Godfrey de Grut and The Black Quartet to record a live video version of her debut EP at Neil Finn’s Roundhead studio.
Alayna Powley Photo: Supplied
Alayna Powley was born and raised in Rotorua, but it was New York where she found her true musical calling. After graduating with a Bachelor of Musical Arts from MAINZ in 2016, she felt she needed a “slap in the face”, so she moved to New York to discover herself.
"I needed to get out of my comfort zone so I could realise myself. I don’t think I would have got the same personal growth if I had stayed in New Zealand,” says Alayna of the move. She spent a year in New York working in restaurants, drawing inspiration from strangers telling stories in cafes, and fitting music in whenever she could.
While in New York, Alayna was fortunate enough to work with some of the world’s top producers: Grammy-nominated American producer ST!NT, who's worked with Portugal The Man among others; Finneas O’Connell, brother of teen pop-sensation Billie Eilish; and UK pop producers Astronomyy and Maths Time Joy.
Working with ST!NT aka Ajay Bhattacharyya, was a career highlight for Alayna. Known for his work with Demi Lovato, MØ, Santigold and Jessie Ware, Alayna initially thought he’d be out of her price range, but convinced her label 20XX to put her in touch with him.
“I played ‘Bliss’ for him on piano and then we just kept emailing back and forth until we got it right.” He ended up giving her a discount. “It was so cool to work with him.”
Working with Finneas O’Connell “was another cool coincidence”. The head of 20XX had a really good relationship with Finneas and his sister Billie. "I went to work in his bedroom which is like a studio with keyboards everywhere. I think that was the craziest thing - walking into a stranger’s rooms and just being really honest, open and no mucking around."
The result of this exciting period of self-discovery is a well-crafted emotionally vulnerable EP, Sweet Soul
Having achieved success overseas, Alayna is only just beginning to establish her career in New Zealand. She’s about to release a live video version of her EP, which she recorded at Neil Finn’s Roundhead Studios with the help of musical mastermind Godfrey de Grut.
Sweet Soul EP cover Photo: Supplied
Alayna told Godfrey she wanted an acoustic sound with real instruments, so he went away and arranged each of the songs on the EP for guitar, bass, keys, drums, harp and string quartet.
Some of New Zealand’s top musicians performed on the recording including string collective The Black Quartet; drummer Josh Sorenson who’s played with the likes of King Kapisi, Nathan Haines, Hello Sailor and Hammond Gamble; and bassist Chip Matthews who’s worked with Anika Moa, Anna Coddington, Ladi 6 and Sola Rosa to name just a few.
“I never pictured my music with strings but hearing it now I’m like, “Oh my gosh, I need to take them with me!”. My favourite thing to hear is acoustic versions of songs, so this was a real big passion project of mine. So I want to do more stripped down stuff, it’s an absolute favourite.”
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Back in New Zealand for a hot minute, Alayna’s working the home crowd already. Her performance at the Going Global Music Summit in Auckland was a special experience: she wooed the crowd with her smooth, soft tones, and everyone seemed to be in the same state of awe, embodying the intimacy that comes when a musician bares their soul.
Even more amazing, the audience already knew all the words to her songs. Her songs feature on some of Spotify’s most popular playlists such as Chill Vibes, Bedroom Jams and Sweet Soul Sunday.
Alayna is heading to London in the next couple of weeks to finally put a face to the names of the producers she worked with and intends to make more music with them. She also says she will be playing some shows in New Zealand in the coming months.
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