“One of the most poignant voices currently floating about… Ayla Nero is an otherworldly artist who shares the fruits of her soul” — The Huffington Post
“[Ayla’s] relationship with the earth is imprinted in her music… expansive and intriguing.” — Billboard
Ayla Nereo is as a voice for the planet, a modern bard and beacon who dances songs directly from her soul. With lyrical poetry splashing across a canvas of sound, her music has an uncanny ability to disarm and crack open the heart, as she sings for the depth of our humanness, and for the return to our pure wonder of existence. Her lucid storytelling and magical presence onstage and off creates a force field that is palpable, joyous, deep, and utterly enchanting.
With a particular joy for bridging musical styles, Ayla’s songs seem a genre unto their own, as she weaves between vocal looping, produced beats, live drumming, orchestral string arrangements, Celtic melodies, disco rhythms, electronic soundscapes, and even dashes of hip-hop wordplay. Calling us to listen deeper, her songs are elegant masterpieces of lucid storytelling, with lyrics ringing as anthems for planetary healing, human potential, beauty, and compassion.
Though you’d never know it by witnessing her perform, Ayla grew up with an intense fear of singing. In her final year of college, songs began pouring through her, and it was only through the constant urging of those around her that she began to slowly share her music. Propelled by the songs themselves, Ayla’s journey of meeting those fears and singing through them has grown her into the powerful performer she is today, touching an ever-widening global audience with the inspiring magic of her songs.
A child schooled at home in the hills of Sonoma County, Ayla was raised on Cat Stevens, Bob Dylan, opera, classical music, traditional celtic songs, and ABBA — influences which have deeply shaped her music. Touching on both the timeless and modern, she always rides the line between genres, so that her songwriting and sound ultimately cannot be compared to anyone else.
Dancing her own songs on stage as she sings them, her movement and presence gives the audience a permission to be wild, real, vulnerable, and alive. Every performance Ayla gives is its own inspired journey; an enchanting and poignant experience that holds you by the heart and doesn’t let go.