Hailing from the heart of East London, Alora is ready to set any stage on fire with her own take on what it is to be a rap soulstress. Drawing on her Nigerian heritage, her unmatched lyrical talent and R'n'B influenced Afrobeat sound, is definitely going to have you on a vibe you can relate to.
Alora’s evolving talent has led her to perform to over 1,000’s people at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, over 1,600 at Hackney Empire for the Black Magic awards among the likes of Stormzy and Che Lingo and 10,000 music lovers on the Future Stage at the first edition of the inspiring Ends Festival alongside some of her musical idols, Wiz Kid and Nas.
Alora is dedicated to constantly developing her craft coupled with her free spirited nature and commanding stage presence all point to her being the one to watch over the next year and beyond.
What’s your biggest influence in life?
My biggest influence in life is my purpose, to live a life filled with things that make me happy as well as things that help me to grow as a person.
Your latest single ‘Julie’ is out now, what was the inspiration behind this?
“When I was writing Julie, I wanted to make sure that the song represented my journey in music. The words spoke to me so deeply that I wanted to listen to them over and over. That's what inspired the chorus ‘Wheel up the bludclart Julie’. I want people to know that the journey makes the reward feel so much better and we should all be confident in our talents and remain hopeful, always.”
What is your creative process like when it comes to making and writing music?
I always write down any ideas I have and my feelings, so the lyrics usually come out first. That's when I really engage with my inner self and try to gain a deeper understanding of my experiences through my lyrics. I mostly write outside of the studio- I'll just vibe to beats and melodies so that I can get my ideas down into a structure and hit the studio.
Do you have a .favourite lyric you’ve written?
My favourite lyric to date is “I’ve got a uni degree in 3D design why you think I’m always on my Mac” because writing lyrics is like getting to know yourself, it's as if my body was speaking to me and I was taking notes. It's always good to be in tune with yourself so that you can tell your story in the most raw and pure way possible.
What are you most looking forward to in 2020?
This year I’m really looking forward to putting out some cold visuals. I feel like it's going to be my best work yet because I've taken the time to make sure the visuals to my music reflect my story. I'm just using this time to prepare so that I can spend the rest of the year building up to the ultimate drop. Plus I CANNOT wait to get back on stage- it's like my happy place.
When did you first become interested in music?
Ever since I was little, my mum is Filipino so karaoke was a beloved and frequent thing in our household. Every get together we had, I can guarantee it would end with a sing song.
How would you describe your sound?
I never know how to describe my sound, I kinda leave that up to other people cause I feel like I’m still trying to find my sound. My preferred sound would be Chilled Contemporary R&B but I don’t know if this reflects in my EP.
Your latest EP Esoteric is out now, what was the inspiration behind this?
I’ve wanted to create a body of work for a while but there was a huge amount of procrastination over the past 2 years. I actually created this whole EP within just under 2 months; I was way too chilled making this EP, I should have been a lot more stressed because I needed to finalise and complete the EP for the 28th Feb which was my first ever EP Launch. I really enjoyed every moment of putting together the EP and the launch together, the feedback has been incredible.
Who are your biggest influences?
I wouldn’t say I have any really big influences as I listen to so many different genres. If I had to pick, it would be Jhene Aiko, Jill Scott and India Arie.
What else can we expect from you this year?
A garage remix to one of the tracks from my EP called ‘Denial’, this will be out very soon. I will also be sharing some visuals for tracks from Esoteric as well as releasing more music later on in the year.
