In Conversation with
Aya Peard
A little background:
I first time I read about Aya Peard, she got
described
I forget where as 'if you blended the ethereal
qualities of a Celtic
muse with the merciless storytelling of wild
tsunami-tamers bathing
in hot springs with snow monkeys, you get the songs
of Aya Peard.'
which in any way you look at is a very un-usual way
of describing
yourself, but full kudos to the artist in question,
it certainly
made it stand out to me.
Reading up on her more, she was the singer of the
now - denfunct
Phremyl where her music was described as both
piano-acoustic
and folk rock with an edge.
Most recently, her full focus has changed where now
she now
plays tribute to her classical training and dance
roots with
experimental mixes in electronica that complement
her ethereal sound.
Her musical influences range from Kate Bush to Alice
in Chains
to Fryderyk Chopin.
Certainly listening to her stuff, it is obvious from
just a few
bars off her songs, here is a singer-songwriter that
is keen
to push the barriers just a little bit more and for
that
reason alone, it seemed to make sense for Setting
Sun to
contact Aya.
Aya promptly responded and the interview followed in
due course.
More details about Aya can be seen here on her
myspace page which
can be found here.
http://www.myspace.com/ayapeard
Sorry to Aya for the delay here.
Cheers
Andy N
Setting Sun:
How are things and what’s happening at the moment?
Aya Peard:
just played a gig in
Setting Sun:
Next can you tell us a little bit about the history of your music or who fired
the starting pistol as I sometimes like to say?
Aya Peard:
i started as a dancer, moving
to the music and all those adolescent cliches...played in a band in high school
at invitation of the bass player, michael renninger (cleaner, tito puento,
tribal tech, pancho sanchez)...then sang back ups for sid hillman, until i
started a band with phil kettner (laaz rockit, suicidal tendencies, surf mcs)
-- he studied with joe satriani, and we hadd an eclectic sound, dropped guitar
tunings on acoustic of all things etc, along with greg vincent (cake) on pedal
steel, fretless and upright bass, we were LA pick of the week a couple times;
did a side project called Superba with Greg Camp (Smashmouth, solo) and Kelly
Castro (Caterwaul, Skycycle)that has gotten a lot of television and film
placements, until i went solo and was signed by the legendary Jac Holzman to
Cordless indie division of WMG (he signed The Stooges, Queen, The Doors, and
started Elektra Records)....now Cordless has been subsumed by Rykodisc and
after pressure to become an acoustic folk singer whilst with the label, I
bailed.
Setting Sun:
3)What are your music influences and who are you listening to
At the moment?
Aya Peard:
Influences: hmmm. Bach (due to dance), all glam rock and 80's pop
music, but i would say creatively Kate Bush, perfect circle (fucking caustic
genius) bjork, peter gabriel, pj harvey, siouxie and the banshees, david bowie,
the bonobos, radiohead, sigur ros and sunset rubdown but that's such a tough
question, anything that has soul or poetry i respect, and it's all about
respect as far as influences. I'm listening now to the new Coldplay album, I
like the heavier elements in it.
Setting Sun:
Do you play gigs? How do they compare to your studio work?
Aya Peard:
YES. With Kicksville, the
studio and live are about the same; with solo work, i'm getting a new slamming
band together, i'm lucky to be playing with them, they are all monsters: Sven
Steven (Green Jello), Carlitos del Puerto (jeez, google him), Chris Cano
(Ozomatli), Mike Schmid (Mylie Cyrus), and Greg Reimink on laptop and
programming. i did a showcase for Rhino breaking all the electronics down to
cello (james barry), acoustic upright (Kaveh Rastegar, Celia Noel and the Wild
Clams), back ups (Gayle Davidson), and mike schmid on keys, all to show that
the songs didn't rely on electronic production --and that was what made
Cordless say i should go acoustic. Followers, really, all big A&R. Except
Jac. Most recent showcase at Gibson was with Carlitos, Amir Alam (blind boris),
panhead (Scott Weiland), that was fun. I would say i like breaking things down,
and playing them big, all depends on the venue and the vibe, the best thing for
the occasion. Respect, i would say, is the theme of every show i do. Depends on
who is listening, and respecting why people are there.
Setting Sun:
I also notice you play cover versions from your cover version off ‘Rain Song’
from the Led Zepellion tribute album? Do you find your approach changes to
doing cover
versions?
Aya Peard:
Yes. Again, what i do depends on who is listening. Who is listening has
everything to do with the mood of an occasion, or the mood one wants to create.
I did a cover version of the Bee Gees "how deep is your love"
stripped down and programmed in a zero seven/ibiza downtempo style with
producer/engineer Jake Davies (Bjork, Madonna, William Orbit, keane, U2...),
and a Weezer cover with Superba (bossa nova/lounge) -- whatever the purpose is.
the point is to feel it. every audience has a resonance that one can appreciate
-- can't do a cover i don't think makes sennse. then doing it.....makes sense.
do i make sense?
Setting Sun:
Cool to see also that you are featured on the sound-track to the WWE financed
movie ‘The Condemned’ – can you tell us a little bit about how you were
featured
Here?.
Aya Peard:
Simple, the director, Scott Wiper, is a friend of mine. sad to say, that is a
typical LA story.
Setting Sun:
Probably my favourite song on your myspace. com page is 'In the silence' - can
you tell us a little more about this song?
Aya Peard:
i love this song. i was in
studio with rob fusari (beyonce, lady gaga, etc), and we had a rough idea of
some parts. the song was originally called "shadow box" and had some
operatic-style parts in the verses. in the end, all that has stayed is the
"la la's" in the pre-chorus. We had been at it for about four long
days on various songs and we got to this one; rob said to me, " i feel
something intense about this song, like 'burn the city down' --dunno where it
came from for him, but it struck a chord with me and i sang a line about it, it
seemed so outrageous but right. i suppose we all make imaginary cities, glass
castles, in our minds about what is important to us, and occasionally, we have
to break it all down to build a better one--there is a ritualism in fire that
appeals to me. there's also a lot of things about america i would like to burn
down, it's all gone to hell in handbasket recently, and so the rest of the
verses were simple to write -- i don't think it's been any different for humans
since the moment rome burned to ashes, and the song is about that legacy of
human frustration and power. that's all i've got on that one.
Setting Sun:
What’s next for you? Do you have any more recordings or concerts planned etc?
Aya Peard:
yep. more concerts, something with fm world charities, shows around town and a
big gig with kicksville in the meat-packing district in nyc. come through.
Setting Sun:
Where are you from btw? What’s the music scene like up your way?
Aya Peard:
I'm an army brat, born in
Setting Sun:
Have you seen any good concerts recently?
Aya Peard:
i saw nick cave and the bad
seeds recently and that rocked. nick cave is a real fucking man. and then, on
top of that, he's a rockstar, through and through, respect for life, riffs and
all things bigger than a mere mortal, and disdain for petty nonsense, plus a
tongue-in-cheek fondness for style. genius. i loved it.
Setting Sun:
A couple of quick fire questions to finish off with now, firstly What do you
like doing when you are not doing your music?
Aya Peard:
when i'm not doing music i
like to laugh. i also like mountains, reading, dancing, sex all day and hugging
my dog (separately).
Setting Sun:
What would you like to be doing when you are 60?
Aya Peard:
when i'm 60 i would like to
sailing around the world, playing tennis (NO drop-shots or lobs), diving,
racing fast cars through
Setting Sun:
Lastly, what will you be doing when you are 60?
Aya Peard:
see above---that's what i'll
be doing.