Indie Light

Aziya is an alt-rock singer/songwriter and musician who was born and raised in Hackney, in East London. Today I’ll be reviewing her EP ‘LONELY CASTLES’ which was released September 29th 2023.

‘mars retrograde’ opens fast, a quick percussive beat that is quickly joined by a vibrant fusion of strings, and they all merge together with Aziya’s powerful vocals. Overall, a very strong opening track, one which blends high energy instrumentals, with a fast paced and melodic vocal performance to create a really solid entry.

‘chain’ kicks things off with a light percussive fill, which builds and deepens, strings join in and the energy goes up a step, blending together seamlessly, and once again I’m caught up in Aziya’s vocals, her voice works well with the rougher, heavier, instrumentals, counterpointing them and balancing them out, but never being overwhelmed by the harmonious frenzy. 

‘wundagirl’ starts with vocals, light and melodic, backed up by a heavy, rhythmic beat, that just grows as the track progresses. I love the energy of this track, the rise and fall, the heavier moments that serve to balance out the lighter, more melodic sections. I really like Aziya’s music and I’m glad I came across them on Instagram because they are for sure an artist to keep an eye out for.

‘atomic’ closes out a superb album, a light but consistent bass driven beat leads us forward, a nice charging momentum that really carries you forward as a listener. As I said above, I’m new to the artist, and I’ve been consistently impressed throughout this track, both by their strong vocal skills but also the composition of the tracks, each one is a strong blend of heavy instrumentals, balanced out by her more melodic, almost dreamy vocals. 

So that’s what I thought of Aziya’s EP ‘LONELY CASTLES’ and you can check that out for yourself over on Spotify. While you’re at it, make sure and support the artist by following them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.