Formula Indie Sessions – Interview with Aylu.

Introduction of the project 

What is your earliest memory connected to music? 

I remember being 5 or 6 years old. High School Musical had just come out, and I became obsessed with the idea of performing for an audience. Since I didn’t have one at that time (except for my parents), I used to perform an entire show every single morning for my imaginary crowd in my living room. And of course it had some songs from the movie, but I used to love to sing to Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, and Rihanna as well. 

How did your passion for creating music begin? 

I’m not entirely sure when it began. I think I wrote my first song when I was about 6, and it was about how much I loved singing, dancing, and acting all together. I guess I’ve always been aware of how powerful music is and the impact it has on people, because I always knew that I wanted to write songs that would make people feel something. 

What’s the story behind your current music project? 

I’m currently working towards the release of my debut album, Emotional Parasite, which will be released later this year (around October/November). It’s a conceptual album built around the “fuckgirl” persona, which I introduced in the lead single of the project. I originally took that concept as an ironic response to something I experienced, and turned it into this character. 

On the surface, it shows the story of a girl who kind of feeds on men. Visually, it seems literal, but of course, it’s metaphorical; it’s only her outer shell. She needs their attention to feel validated, so she uses them for fun. The core narrative of the album follows this journey chronologically: “Fuckgirl” is the moment she is getting ready for a date. “Smothered” (my next single, out in a month) is the date itself, where she starts feeling asphyxiated by this person and his affection. Then, “Lights On” (which I just released) is the moment she escapes the date after taking the person’s heart. 

This first part of the album shows her as a bit of a hunter. But as the album progresses, it depicts the villain arc of the fuckgirl. You start seeing that she behaves this way because of all the pain she has gone through. By the end of the album, the shell drops. She’s just another human with emotions and problems, and after realizing what she has done, she decides to try to be a better person. 

How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before? 

My music hops between pop and rock. Essentially, I think it’s pop with rock sounds to it. Mostly because I write pop melodies, but I take them to these grungy guitar sounds and loud drums. I love harmonies, so that’s also something you can expect to find in my songs. My background vocals are always going to be treated as another instrument in the mix. 

What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music? Technically, I could say that going to a conservatory changed everything for me. Learning music theory, of course, helped me be more analytical in the way I write. But the deeper answer is that over a year ago I stumbled upon the book “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron, and it changed everything in the way I create, honestly. My morning

pages and all of the exercises that the book proposes helped me realize how visceral the art of creation is and how important it is to stay connected with your surroundings. 

What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process? My voice notes are the most important thing of all. I cannot count the number of songs I’ve lost because I didn’t record them the moment the idea came to me. This might sound dumb, but I also use WhatsApp a lot to have my lyrics arranged and available online at all times (cause you never know when you might need them). And then sometimes I use my guitar or my piano to write, though lately I’ve just been going with my voice for the first part of the production. 

I’m a huge Logic fan; I’ve had arguments with friends because of how much I love it, so that’s always my go-to software. 

Which indie artist or song are you loving right now? 

I really like listening to anything The Main Squeeze does if I’m feeling groovy, and I also really love Cleopatrick. Both of them are super talented, and I find it amazing that they can thrive by themselves in the industry. 

How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision? I think that my experiences are the key to whatever I write. Originally, what drove me to start writing (seriously, with the intention of releasing it) were all these frustrations I was facing in my life: what was expected of me as a new adult, trying to adapt to having a job and also an academic career, trying to find a significant other and failing over and over again. I guess that’s the core of writing for me. I also find making music really cathartic; I don’t think I could go through my routine without being able to put it into a song, even if it’s not literally talking about a bad grade or a problem at work. 

Actually, in my album there’s a song called “Strange Behaviours” that’s about something that I went through a while back that was changing the way I moved through life. I remember going to the therapist, and she suggested I should write about it, and I couldn’t do it up until two years later, when I was already past that. I guess at the end of the day, you can say that writing can always help me heal. It’s a really special song to me. 

What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work? Hopefully, they can feel accompanied or empowered by my music, and mostly feel identified with some of the things I sing about. Yes, my latest songs have been pretty “shallow” if you will, but I do sing about loneliness, heartbreak, and grief as well. Even though I kind of wrote them to try to feel less alone myself, I think others might find these songs and realize that they’re also not alone in whatever they are going through. 

What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far? 

Music is therapy, really. I never thought people would actually feel connected to my lyrics. It sounds dumb because that’s what I always wanted, but when it actually started happening, it was beyond my imagination. It’s so heartwarming to know that something I wrote because I was feeling mad or sad made someone else feel something. Knowing that being vulnerable through my songs makes people connect is indescribable.

What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at? 

GOD. I LOVE festivals. For real. It has always been a dream of mine to perform at Glastonbury. I grew up watching the festival every single year as soon as the shows were posted on YouTube. There’s something so special about it. And as for a dream venue, it’s totally delusional, but I’ve always wanted to do a live orchestra show at the Royal Albert Hall and at Teatro Colón (here in Buenos Aires). I just love orchestrations and how cinematic a song can sound with those elements, and to perform it at such an important theater would totally blow my mind. 

If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why? I’d love to collaborate with Freddie Mercury. My dad is a huge Queen fan, so I grew up listening to all of these 70s and 80s rock bands. I truly admire his artistry and everything around it. He could write great songs and then deliver the most amazing performances ever. As a singer, I also deeply admire the vocal talent he had. I don’t know what would come out of the collaboration, but I know that I’d probably learn a lot from him. 

Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links) You can find me on Spotify 

(https://open.spotify.com/intl-es/artist/7q9LYIi8sSCWzxyNAajHzm ), Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/ar/artist/aylu/1581472116 ) or whatever streaming platform you prefer. Also you can find me on YouTube where I post weekly vlogs about my creative process and of course you can also find my music videos there and my songs (https://www.youtube.com/@aylupapalardo) 

And finally on my socials: 

Instagram: instagram.com/aylupapalardo 

Tiktok: tiktok.com/aylupapalardo 

Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey? 

Mainly to release my debut album, Emotional Parasite, out into the world, and then hopefully I’ll get to work with a label that will help me finance my career. I would also love to go on a world tour soon, either as someone’s opening act or by myself. 

I’m currently working on my second album, so that will happen as well sometime next year. I guess as an endgame, my most delusional dream would be to do a world tour with a show filled with narrative, perhaps not with dancers, but with actors and scenography that will help build the world in which the songs live as if it were a play in the shape of a full band live show. 

What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way? 

I’d love for listeners to see that I’m not just a singer-songwriter, but also a storyteller and a creator of worlds within my songs. I want them to see the intention behind every lyric, musical arrangement, and visual choice I make.