Stop Wasting Her Time. - Aiko’s ‘Power’
It’s hard to believe that I wrote about pop songwriter Aiko and her album ‘Expiration Date’ back in July 2020. I naively thought I’d be watching her perform live before the year was out, though I take comfort in knowing my misplaced optimism was echoed by a lot of other people too. In absence of live performance, many artists have thrown themselves into their songwriting and Aiko too has been busy. Now she’s back with her latest single ‘Power’.
‘Power’ begins with slightly distorted guitar, and the bold first line; ‘Stop wasting my time. I’m independent, when I said I need more space, I meant it.’ Beneath this is a more distant keyboard, and a low rumble, also probably from a keyboard. There’s a harmony double on Aiko’s voice that’s subtle, but makes a world of difference in lifting that part up. The drums in these first few lines sound like they’re muted, but it all serves to beef up that chorus when it kicks in:
‘Power! I don’t care about the ending, I just care about the game. Power!’
Now there’s more guitar, that lead part is especially fitting. Aiko has incorporated electric guitar well in her previous works but it’s far from being overused. It’s actually refreshing to hear electric guitar in pop music where those parts might be programmed synth lines these days. The drums, now fully unmuted, aren’t complex by any means, but why should they be? You can dance to this and you can do it all while listening to what Aiko has to say. All that extra vocal production creatively utilises reverb to bridge the gap between the first chorus and the next verse, which has a more active bassline than the song’s introduction. This and hi-hat added to the beat brings more of a flow to the lyrics. It’s a shame that second verse isn’t longer before the chorus comes back in. However, what it ensures is the optimum length for a radio pop song, something else Aiko does extremely well.
From the first time I heard Aiko’s music, the word ‘empowering’ was exactly what came to mind, so it’s fitting that Aiko should release a song called ‘Power’. And it’s only natural that such a song should have an equally powerful music video too. Honya Tran (who previously directed Aiko’s video for ‘Bad Influence’) returns to work on this one with a team of dancers and superb cinematography. I love the range of shots used here, from very active camera work as the dancers twist and turn, to almost four dimensional still photography. Aiko’s videos are always shot in interesting spaces, and this one is no exception. The lights through the windows as Aiko spins on her pole blaze like rapid machine-gun fire. In general, the lighting used in this video is so creative, and much darker upon closer inspection. The perfect companion to this single.
1. Your new single 'Power' is an extension of the great work you did on your 'Expiration Date' album. Was this lyric inspired by a particular event or was it built up over time?
Thank you! This song was actually written over quite a long time, I started it back in the beginning of 2020 when I went to Halsey’s concert alone - it was the first time I went to a concert alone and I actually really enjoyed it! The show was so great, something clicked in a way that I realised I don’t have time to be shy, be afraid of anything and now I have the “power” to do anything I want. In a way, you can call it youthful ambitions, when you feel invincible and believe that you’re capable of everything, but I think it’s a great thing that we shouldn’t lose over time. Anyway - that was when the idea sparked in my head and I finished the song at the end of summer 2020, when the line “Stop wasting my time” came to my mind.
2. A lot of your singles have a big sound to them - tell me about the people who play on 'Power'?
It’s actually just me with the lyrics and initial melody and Søren, with whom I’ve produced the song! In November last year I went for a concert in Denmark and also got into a few sessions and the magic of clicking musically happened, he picked up my idea really quick and added his style to it as well, so we actually produced that in one day! I wanted to give it a darker yet strong atmosphere and I believe we succeeded in doing that.
3. You worked with Honya Tran again for this music video! Where was this one shot?
Yes! I enjoy working with Honya, he’s great at what he does and he has set a certain standard for himself, which he always wants to achieve with his work, so when working with him, I know that the video will turn out great! We shot this in Prague, in Gabriel Loci, the location was lovely as it used to be a monastery. Now it’s an event location, but it still maintained the Romanesque art, so it gives it a special atmosphere.
4. A huge part of that video is the choreography, who are the dancers that perform with you on this track?
I wanted to project the idea of the song through dance - in general, I think that dance is a sort of extension, physical way to show and feel music, so it made perfect sense to me to do that. All of the girls dancing in the video are professional dancers, I asked on my social sites for tips on great dancers and I found them that way.
5. During the pandemic, artists have generally fallen into two categories - being super-creative or unable to feel inspired at all. How have you fared artistically during the pandemic?
I have to say that I’m probably in the more creative category - in general, I’m a very organised and hyperactive person, so I stayed creative, in a way “forced myself” and it kept me sane and going. The thing is, that every bit of lyrics that you write down can be useful sometimes - even if you think that the whole song you’ve done isn’t all that good, some bits and parts can inspire another song that’ll be great or you can use some bits of that in another song. In that sense, I take that as useful creativity as well. But what I truly miss is changing locations, I love to change where I live quite often and that’s what really keeps me creative, so the whole situation made it way more complicated to be able to move around freely.
6. The 8th of March is International Women's Day - who are the women you look up to in your life?
As for many people, definitely my mother, she’s the absolute boss moving countries by herself, being a businesswoman, constantly learning and growing in many aspects. From celebrities, I really admire FKA Twigs for the work she puts both in her creativity and physical/dance trainings. I’ve seen some videos about the way she gets her ideas to come to life and it’s very inspiring.
7. Is this the start of something new for Aiko? Will this be the first single for a new album?
Absolutely! I’m lucky enough to work with a team now, so I believe there are many more exciting things to come. I have a lot of new songs and the goal for 2021 is releasing more often. I’d also love to release an EP or an album at the end of 2021/beginning of 2022!
--------
Visit Aiko’s official website for more information on gigs (eventually) and merchandise.
Follow Aiko on Instagram @aikomakes music, on Facebook @alenashirmanova and on Twitter @ajashirmanova.
--------
Follow and interact with Moths and Giraffes on Instagram and Facebook @mothsandgiraffes, and on Twitter @mothsgiraffes.
To apply to appear on Moths and Giraffes for yourself or on behalf of an artist, or if you’d just like to send us your thoughts, don’t hesitate to contact us via our social media accounts, our contact page, or via email at mothsandgiraffes@outlook.com. We receive a lot of emails though, so please bear with us!
