Influences: Aiko

Born in Russia, raised in the Czech Republic, and now living in Brighton, meet Aiko (pronounced eye-ko). With a diverse cultural background, her second album, ‘Fortune’s child’, is a whirlwind of sounds and styles, treading the fine line of alt-pop and pop-rock. It marks an edgier step forward in Aiko‘s career with 2020’s debut, ‘Expiration Date’, being embedded in indie pop.

Through working with Steven Ansell (of Blood Red Shoes) and Filip Vlček, Aiko has tapped into a sonically dynamic and personal style that embraces heavy guitars and alluring melodies. Throughout, her soft vocals complement the harsh instrumentation on show. ‘Fever Dream’, ‘Pedestal’, and ‘Parade’ exemplify this nicely. While ‘Daughter of the Sun’ and ‘Danced in the silence’ puts Aiko‘s graceful voice at the forefront. Tied together by an emotional spectrum of euphoric love to raw angst and vulnerability, ‘Fortune’s child’ proves to be a bewitching listen.

With ‘Fortune’s child’ providing a variety of sounds, we thought it’d be a good time to quiz Aiko about her musical influences behind the making of the record.

Aurora

Aurora has been my musical inspiration for the longest time now. I absolutely love how she works with her vocals that have some traditional influences. She combines it with a bit of orchestral, and quite dramatic production.

Yonaka

I discovered Yonaka about a year ago with their song ‘Seize The Power’ and they very quickly became one of my favourites. I love the empowering lyrics combined with their rock sound. Quite funnily enough, when I moved to Brighton, Theresa Jarvis (Yonaka vocalist) was one of the first people I saw when I went for my first grocery trip!

Blood Red Shoes

I produced my record with Steven Ansell, who is in a band called Blood Red Shoes. I really enjoy their music, especially the song ‘Morbid Fascination’.

I definitely sent this as a reference when we were creating some of my songs! I love the pulsing synth/guitar sound.

The Neighbourhood

The Neighbourhood has been one of my favourites ever since I was a teenager and has made a deep impact on my music, specifically their album ‘Wiped Out!’

There’s something about the moody guitars, lyrics and how all the elements are working together that I love dearly and inspires me to this day.

Halsey

I love Halsey and her angry records. The songs ‘I’m Not A Woman, I’m A God’ and ‘Nightmare’ have definitely been a big inspiration when I was creating the song ‘Pedestal’. Halsey has also been a big inspiration for me when it comes to live performances – her self-confidence, and the way she moves and expresses herself is just chef’s kiss! I saw her live at the beginning of 2020. It was such a great concert.

Black Honey

And lastly, to continue my Brighton-based band love – Black Honey have been a source of inspiration for me as well. I opened for them back in 2018 when I was just starting in music and that was actually the first time I heard their music. Ever since I have listened to them and really enjoyed their music. I have used several of their songs as references with ‘I Only Hurt The Ones I Love’ is one of my favourite songs.