if you'd like that

island clash ft. Ali Bevan & layal.mp3

31/01/24
I wanted to write something fun, that you could dance to. It's about... well... wanting to get to know someone better! Being intrigued and enamoured by them, the way they present themselves, their ideas, and wanting to spend more time together. So you invite them to. 

This song has a similar theme to my single "if you'd like that", but is a lot more direct and playful. My favourite part is the breakbeat in the bridge.

get 2 know.mp3

25/02/24
When the memory of someone won't leave your mind, especially when you met them in a fleeting moment of joy. You think it's them. It's not. It's you. YOU made up the memory of this person! YOUR imagination and romanticisation!

made up you.mp3

25/02/24
You know when you don’t talk to someone anymore, but songs remind you of them? Like, music they've shown you or maybe they still listen to music you’ve shown them? This is especially distressing when you’re not on great terms anymore.

Yet you still miss themmmmurrghghfsdgikndf!!!! 

There's a lot of frustration and longing in this song.

not think.mp3

31/08/23
I’ve faced challenges growing into what it means to be a woman, and even within the music industry itself. This song is not about one lone encounter but many times when the people around me and I have been (not by our fault) in unwanted or vulnerable situations with men. 

Many people approached me after my performances and told me they related to this song, especially at my Artology gig. The audience even found it humorous - you can hear people laughing in the recording. 

I asked for some audience participation at my Bohemia gig, and they literally started barking and howling. It’s so interesting seeing how different people absorb and respond to my music. 

I wish it weren’t so relatable, but the beauty of music is that it sparks conversations, like ones about respect and boundaries. I find it makes talking about it easier. Not that it's ever easy. 

Remember everyone: consent is ongoing and enthusiastic!

bark.mp3

18/05/24
I was inspired by Alex G - how raw his music is. I was really upset while writing this, thinking about someone who was hurting me. I am a sensitive person, and someone was being mean to me. I know this person was in a lot of pain themselves at the time.

I tried to portray how I would repeatedly brace myself and take the meanness, like I know a lot of people do too, but, I was really struggling.
I believe in communication, but it doesn't work if only one side is communicating. And then, what comes next is setting boundaries, but there are situations where you can't just cut out the person who's hurting you. Maybe you depend on them in some way, and you're vulnerable. It's hard especially when you know they re also in pain, and you care for them, despite them hurting you.

I wanted to write something that was piercing, and I wrote what I would honestly tell this person if they had the capacity to listen compassionately.
About the care and understanding I had for them, but at the same time, the pain they were causing me, and the fear I had in telling them, for I know they wouldn't understand or maybe even care.

mean.mp3

31/01/24
I was having a hard time and needed reminding that despite the difficulty I was facing, I still had me, and I will always have me. I needed to show compassion for myself like I would for someone I love, just like how I write such passionate songs about them. So, I wrote a song to myself.

I asked myself what I needed, and I tried to give myself that, as genuinely as I could. And it was genuine, you can see how I'm trying to remind myself that "I only want the best for [me]", and that I ache to fully believe and act on that.
It may be a lonely idea, but also, couldn't be more intimate. I sing about vulnerable and sensitive things, that require patience, care, and guidance like I did in that moment. And often do. We all do.

through it all.mp3

i won the "Young Composer of the Gulf Award" at the YMOG competition for this song :)

just a teen

artist, composer & producer
bahrain & london based

layal.mp3

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