aya has been rewiring brains throughout the UK underground with her experimental electronic sound, and wild, genre-hopping DJ sets. Her second album, hexed!, was released earlier this year, and is full of boundary-pushing, spectral bangers. Expect a fun and chaotic set from her, as she plays at this years Supersonic Festival, in August.
Keep reading, and get to know aya below…
Firstly, how did you get started with making music, and how long have you been performing as aya?
Truly I began my musical career when my mother took a gestating wombbound me to see Prince. I was kicking like crazy. My first live performance was at the ripe old age of 10, as the drummer/death-grunter in the metal band My Little Tragedy. I’ve been performing as aya since 2019.
For anyone not familiar with your music, how would you describe your sound?
Xenocore. I find and exploit the formal and sonic commonalities between UK Rave Hardcore and US metal and hardcore.
When listening to your music, I feel like it combines elements of so many different genres – who/what would you say your biggest influences are?
If I hit shuffle on my iPod Video 5.5 Gen with Wolfson DAC running Rockbox Firmware Daily Build 2025-06-16, we will encounter music from Technical Itch, Nuvolascura, Blood of Aza, Oathbreaker, The Chariot, 7038634357, gyrofield… though we may have to wait a bit between each song; despite swapping out the hard drive for an SD card, the read times can be a little sluggish when playing lossless files. I guess that’s just the technical limitations of devices nearly 20 years old.
You released your second album, hexed!, this year. Can you tell us a bit about it?
Its a horrible album about horrible things that happened to me, and the process of getting better.
If you had to recommend one of your songs to a new listener, which one would you choose?
hexed! (full album stream, no skips)
What can we expect from your set at Supersonic Festival?
Standing motionless, a single candle in my palm, a flock of pigeons nestled at my feet, cooing, awaiting the descent.
Are there any other bands/artists on the line-up you’re particularly looking forward to seeing?
The HiRS Collective – holy guacamole, I love that band.