South-London soulstress, poet, producer and organiser, alya isha pioneers ɴᴜ ᴇᴀʀᴛʜ ɢʀᴏᴏᴠᴇ: Global, Urban, bass-heavy Jazz Funk. You might hear Afrobeats, Trip Hop and Neo Soul fused Jazz, Baile or Shatta influences – but her sound is as distinct and ever-evolving as she is. Born in Japan, moving to Tooting, London aged 10 and then Santiago de Cuba before returning to Brixton; the British, Indian-Mauritian and Swiss artist takes inspiration from her roots; adding her trademark hard-hitting liberatory lyricism.

Culminating nearly 200,000 views on Youtube alone, alya isha has received support from BBC 6 Music’s Jamz Supernova & Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC Introducing, Daytimers, Worldwide FM, NTS Radio, Radio Alhara amongst others and her first music video: ‘diaSpoRia’ was awarded “audience favourite” at Light Beams Under A Bridge Film Festival. alya isha has performed at Wilderness Festival, Dreamers Festival & Sofar Sounds in Mauritius, Peckham Levels, The Colour Factory, Union Chapel Church, Conway Hall, GROW Hackney, The Hootenanny and The Jago and many more.

alya isha’s new single ‘Si Tu Lo Quieres / Together We Rise’ began in Mauritius when alya and Steeve Laridian met in the Babani Studios in Vascoas-Pheonix. alya later brought the song to long-standing friend and colleague Ivan Guardiola who added layers of Latin Jazz harmonies and Cuban Conga rhythms in the chorus.

On alya’s return to Mauritius a year later, her and Steeve Laridian revisited the track with award winning musician and activist Kan to develop the Indian Ocean contributions to the track, especially the kayamb and triangle’s triplet rhythms. Here they also recorded Lucine’s backing vocals. Finally, back in London, alya isha found a beautiful horn section to record made up of Teigan Hastings, Jai Patel, Hanna Mbuya, Lucas Makinen, Ore F-Souza & Ivan Guardiola (who sent his stems from Russia).

‘Si Tu Lo Quieres’ translates to “if you want it” so the title ‘Si Tu Lo Quieres / Together We Rise’ means, “If you want us to rise together, we will” with the emphasis on “we can only rise together, we can only build a better world, if we put in the energy, time, care to build it together”.

Inspired by stories of organisation and mobilisation such as The Black Star Line, a shipping line incorporated by Marcus Garvey, the organiser of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), which brought together 6 million people globally, without internet or telephones in a Pan-Afrikan, de-colonial alternative economic structure. Or the 2020 Indian Farmers Protests, where over 250 million people participated in a nationwide strike, with deep organising across unions which forced the Indian government to reverse inhumane and exploitative farming laws, the song is a celebration of our power when we do come together to organise, embodying our joyful resilience.

In this way, the creation process of the song itself embodies the message: people coming together from across the globe, offering a part of their ancestral wisdom and traditions to create this totally unique track. Being born to a British, Indian-Mauritian and Swiss family of activists in Japan, before moving to the UK and then to Cuba, alya isha’s musical drive is to cultivate hope and action, whilst bringing together the parts of her separated by oceans into a distinct, powerful sound designed to make you move. ‘Si Tu Lo Quieres / Together We Rise’ is a triumph of ecstatic rhythms and the softest most beautiful harmonies to hold us as we imagine, practice and build better futures.