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Ayla Shafer’s pivotal point in her career was when she traveled across South America in 2010, investigating her own inner landscape and learning from indigenous traditions concerning the healing potential of music and voice. This period fundamentally reshaped her perspective on songwriting. Rather than conventional folk songwriting, many of her songs function like affirmations, prayers or meditations. They consist of simple and repetitive lines that create a trance-like experience for the listener. Some of Ayla’s songs are about environmental activism and help to raise funds for the environment. Her project with Agami Records titled Music Plants Trees connects music with reforestation in which proceeds have been directed toward tree-planting projects.
British folk music sits at the core of Ayla Shafer’s music. What makes her unique is incorporating her latin/flamenco style influences as well as indigenous world music traditions and ceremonial music. Her soft and clear vocal style creates an intimate atmosphere that is supported by the song arrangements which tend to support her voice rather than compete with it. With her repetitive vocal styles and the meditative nature of her music, Ayla’s performances are deliberately positioned as transformational/ceremonial experiences. Her lyrics revolve around Earth and nature, with water also being a recurring theme surrounding her music.
