Ayla Nereo is an American musician known for her solo work and her work with the duo Wildlight.
Early childhood and education
Ayla Nereo grew up in Sonoma County, California.
She was home-schooled by her parents until high school and was "raised to appreciate and respect the earth."
Some of the music that she grew up listening to includes
ABBA
ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...
,
Cat Stevens
Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later in ...
,
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
, and classical and traditional Celtic music.
Nereo studied psychology at college, and her artistic interests were dance and film-making.
Career
Nereo began to write and perform music around 2005. Initially afraid to sing for people, she gradually overcame her fears, with the encouragement of her friends. She describes her songwriting process as one of "channelling" songs.
In addition to her solo work, Nereo has released music with her brother as the duo Beatbeat Whisper,
with dance music
DJ The Polish Ambassador, under the name Wildlight,
and
a cappella
''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
group
Starling Arrow.
Reviewer Sterling Martin has called Nereo's music "breath-taking" as well as "expansive and intriguing."
Another reviewer, Maddy Crandall, referred to her music as "soul music" with "conscious lyrics," pointing to the environmental and progressive values in her music.
Nereo often plays at large music festivals, and has toured with bands including
Rising Appalachia,
Trevor Hall Trevor Hall may refer to:
* Trevor Hall (musician), American singer, lyricist and guitarist
* ''Trevor Hall'' (album), an album by Trevor Hall
* Trevor Hall (rugby league), New Zealand landlord, salesman, and professional rugby league footballer
...
, and
Nahko and Medicine for the People
Nahko and Medicine for the People is an American world music group. The six-member band is headed by frontman Nahko Bear.
Background
Born in Portland, Oregon, of Puerto Rican and Filipino descent, Nahko Bear was adopted at a young age and rai ...
.
Personal life
Nereo lives in
Nevada City, California.
Discography
Solo albums
*''Play Me A Time'' (2006)
*''Floating Felt'' (2009)
*''BeHeld'' (2012)
*''Hollow Bone'' (2014)
*''Hollow Bone REMIXES'' (2015)
*''The Code of the Flowers'' (2016)
*''By the Light of the Dark Moon'' (2019)
With duo Wildlight
*''Hers Was As Thunder'' (2013)
*''Hers Was As Thunder (Remixes)'' (2014)
*''The Tide'' (2015)
*''The Tide (Acoustic)'' (2016)
*''The Tide Remixes'' (2016)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nereo, Ayla
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
21st-century American women singers
21st-century American singers
American folk singers
American women singer-songwriters
Musicians from California