Interview: Cellist/Singer Ayanna Witter-Johnson
Cellist and singer Ayanna Witter-Johnson performed at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 2018. Within the two years since, she has been making strides with her mixture of old school classical and modern day music with singles like “Crossroads,” a song that hints at vintage Aaliyah.
Congratulations on releasing your new album. What do you hope people who don’t know much about music will enjoy listening to it?
Thank you :-) I hope that the listeners will enjoy the uplifting, sensual, feel good grooves and take away strong life-affirming messages.
Besides the obvious higher education skills when you went to school in New York, what did you pick up outside of school from being in Harlem that is heard on the album?
Harlem is noisy and a beautiful melting pot of African-American and Hispanic cultures. I took with me the sense of community like the Jamaican preacher woman you can hear in the bridge on the opening track - Road Runner.
Was there any risk you ever took that felt too out of place for a music release track, or do you use everything you ever record?
Yes! I do push myself to take risks. For example, I had loads of fun putting my cello through a guitar amp and playing with all sorts of crazy distortion effects for my song 'These Four Walls' which was released on the 'Road Runner' album. On the flip side, there are quite a few experiments that will probably never see the light of day 😂
How do you work promoting your tour and doing the actual touring itself nightly playing exciting shows without being omnipresent in pop culture outside of music (a good thing)? If we look at standards now where musicians are doing reality TV and shady publicity stunts to get PR, that is a lot of stress to add and have a responsibility of being a musician first.
Fundamentally, you have to accept that you can’t be everywhere and do all things at once and that integrity is important. My focus is bringing good music to beautiful people. So with that in mind, I just focus on the audience that are tuned into what I’m doing, giving them my all and they tend to spread the word for me.
People are divided on SoundCloud when I meet them. Some insist it’s amazing for exposure and some say you want to be sending fans to Apple Music and Spotify. As someone who does have an active SoundCloud account, how do you feel about promoting your music on the platform?
To be fair, I only have a couple of tracks uploaded there. I’m still trying to work out how I want to use it. It feels more like a testing ground for new ideas and remixes which is always helpful without it feeling like a major release. So watch this space….
Demi Lovato spoke about using her personal “downs” to benefit her music. Have you ever had a down moment help finish writing a beautiful song?
Absolutely! Everything from break-ups to loving family relationships inspire my songwriting. For me, it’s about sharing whatever experience in my life has a strong emotional pull and that I feel compelled to put into song. Transforming the experience in some way from negative to positive.
What career success moment are you hoping for in 2020?
Performing with my band in new territories worldwide, having my music performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and releasing new songs.