Diandra Interviews Ayoho: Singing To The “Old You”

Getting older is strange. The concept of aging is usually bound to physicality and an idea that we are all slowly/ rapidly deteriorating. Yet, oddly enough, sometimes I feel like I have stayed the same and, at best, I am just a more elevated version of my “usualness.” Yes, I say forget trying to figure out your uniqueness. Let us discover our USUALNESS. In my interview, with Ayoho’s lead singer, Fran, we discuss how their single, Dejame Escapar, is not just about needing to leave old relationships…. but also the “old you.”

Diandra: How does your career, neuroscience, connect with your songwriting?

Fran: Not much, actually; it connects more with how I write poems. I write a lot of poetry, and I find, there, I see a connection with neuroscience because when writing poetry I am much more focused on the language. Poetry can be way more about aesthetic.

Diandra: What inspired Dejame Escapar?

Fran: Dejame Escapar was about my university years and my way of thinking of love. It is about the push and pull of how you relate to everything and everyone. In those days, life can feel so fast but you do need calm. You can have so much doubt, yet also have so much demand. It is such a fun, youthful song.

Diandra; What has writing about your life taught you about how you live it?

Fran: Whoa! What a deep question! I guess it has taught to be more connected. To stay more present. I think when you write songs about the future and past, it is like you are seeing how it is constructed, so it makes you asses how you are or should be contracting your present.

Diandra: Have your love songs taught you anything about how you love?

Fran: I think my songs have made me question what I want in love and to take care of myself, more, in relationships.

Diandra: What makes you fall for someone?

Fran: This answer changes over time. I think if you had asked me this question 5 years ago, I would be more superficial. I would say more about her aesthetics and how I wanted her to be an intellectual. Now, I feel like my answers would be more reasonable and deeper. I have learned that once you get into a relationship, after awhile, the aesthetics disappear. You start to see the person for who they are and that is what you value.

Diandra: Do you see music like a diary?

Fran: I always understood music and art, in general, as part reality and part fiction, and letting the world figure out which one is which or what they are more attracted to.

Diandra: Do you ever tell people, which is reality or fiction?

Fran: No! I don’t like explaining the motivation behind a song. Music is such an emotional experience, and I like leaving it subjective; letting people figure out or imagine what was the meaning behind it. I feel like if I get specific, it loses something for them.

Diandra: Really? I feel like it builds because, even if they have a different interpretation, it is interesting to see why they walked away with that view versus your inspiration?

Fran: Yeah! I think, for us, it is fundamental that people see their experiences in our verses. We really try to focus on our lyrics and use them as bridges for people to connect with us and connect with what they see, in our music, is like them. I don’t want to steal from people the opportunity to imagine or see their own story in our song by telling them what I meant.

Diandra: So when you write a song: are you the lead or them?

Fran: It depends. I would say, most of the time, I am the lead in my own story, but I do write a song about the people I know. Like I said, in every song there is a little fiction and a little reality. That is where imagination is born: right in between.

Diandra: What attracted you to music?

Fran: I think it was always within me. Ever since childhood, I just knew I wanted to be in a band. I was so focused on learning, and I took it seriously. In terms of fate, which is a good but hard question, I do not know. I think a little bit. I just know that we clicked, and we have the same focus and consistency when it comes to work.

Diandra: What is a movie you would turn into a concept album?

Fran: I think I would do an album about the film Mr. Nobody. It is such a visual film about destiny, and how one choice can lead to so much more. It is very aesthetic in how it portrays how we all have so many choices to make within a choice, which is what our newest record is about.

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