Creating a journey through sounds and words is at the centre of Evie Asio’s musical world. In the same way that every good story cannot be fully digested in one read, she draws on decades
of genres and artistic influences to evoke something that is multi-layered and complex in feeling.
Evie Asio released her alternative soul and jazz track ‘Love is Low’ along with her brand-new album, Contending and Contention. The nine-track concept album about her personal journey with identity, faith, and relationships. She calls the album ‘the work of my twenties’, as the songs were written between 2017 and 2019, and created between 2019 and 2022, in one of the most defining periods of her life.
We sat down with Evie Asio to discuss her music and much more. Here is what she had to say:
Hey Evie Asio, welcome to FLEX! How are you?
I am really good, thank you so much for having me.
Congratulations on your latest single ‘Love is Low’ - what inspired this particular track?
I wrote this song about a previous relationship that at the time I was hopeful about, but it was actually really bad for me. In hindsight, the naivety in the lyrics feels so much clearer, which made me want to add some surrealist aspects into the production.
And this is accompanied by your brand-new album, Contending & Contention - tell us about the background of this project?
I wrote all the songs for the project between 2017-2019, and I started to see there was a common theme in all the song subjects. I was really struggling with self-identity during this time, and so the songs turned into this concept album where I was processing who I was, through the way I dealt with my relationships with other people.
Did any event in particular inspire you to write this song?
It was more so the way I felt throughout that whole season of my life, but I do remember feeling an intense sadness when I started writing it – which is part of the irony of the whole song. It’s so light, so fun, but it carries a dark cloud with it, which only makes sense in the full context of the album.
And do you have to be in a certain mood to write?
I can write in any mood, but sometimes it’s way harder than others. If I feel inspired I can write out a whole song in 20 minutes, and then there are other songs that take me two years.
How was the recording and writing process?
The writing process was quite a blur, but the recording process took nearly four years. It was quite a long process, because I had to do a lot of learning along the way. I self-produce my songs, which allows me to really pour myself into the process, but also means I have to take a lot of breaks, and re-record things. But I loved working with other musicians and having them add their incredible stamp on these songs.
For viewers that don’t know Evie Asio, how would you describe your sound?
I call myself ‘alternative soul’. I am hugely influenced by soul and jazz, which you can definitely hear in my music. But I’m also inspired by pop, folk, R&B, electronic music… and so I would recommend that new viewers would approach my music without any expectations.
What’s the music scene like where you live?
I am a South-East London girl, so expectedly there’s a huge music scene, arguably it's a bit overwhelming. But I’ve met so many amazing musicians in London so it will always have my heart. It’s inspiring to be in a city where there’s always music happening somewhere.
And what are some of those activities that you engage yourself in when you aren’t writing or recording in the studio?
I want to say cooking and travelling, but my top two hobbies at the moment are Netflix and Candy Crush. That being said, I used to read so much, and I’d really love to get back into it.