Static Under Concrete: Layla Kaylif's Refusal to Choose
Layla Kaylif’s music conveys an understated yet palpable sense of tension. It recalls the feel of electric fuzz or white noise beneath a solid surface, such as concrete, and it evokes imagery of a wet, cold, half-empty bottle of beer that has broken open and is pooling ash. This electricity represents the feeling of being between two worlds and being unwilling to choose just one.
On the tenth anniversary of David Bowie’s death Layla reinterprets “I’m Afraid of Americans” in a way that pays no respect to the nostalgia associated with the song; rather, the piece contemplates the nostalgia associated with the song. Johan Bejerholm produced the new recording, which presents Bowie and Eno’s original anxiety through a Middle Eastern cultural lens, and thus transforms it from a cultural moment or event of the late 1990s to a more present, edgy, and globally oriented work. Rather than being a tribute to the original, it is an argument against it.
Layla has always worked this way. As an English-Arab singer-songwriter and director with a strong commitment to writing lyrics, she approaches her songs as if they were short films. Her songs are structured, paced, and engineered for emotional response. After having studied Arabic at Oxford University, Layla signed a record deal with Edel Records and became an international sensation with “Shakespeare in Love,” which was a BBC Radio Record of the Week and reached the top of the charts in multiple countries across Southeast Asia. She achieved early success and has since continued to reinvent herself.
Kaylif's 2020 Album, Lovers Don’t Meet, was a return to musical expression through emotional intelligence and restraint. In 2021, singles released included “God’s Keeper” and “Closer,” continuing this opening new chapter to Kaylif’s work both lyrically and musically with her continued growth as an artist on creating raw poetry instead of more polished pop. Her newest release, “I’m Afraid of Americans,” is an extension of her role as a cultural interpreter having the basselier aid the listener to navigate issues surrounding identity, power and perception with open edged songs.
The beats produced evoke movement. The percussion is like footsteps off in the distance while the melodies twist and turn. There is an undercurrent of tension and release and then tension again. This is music that draws the audience in, this is music for college radio DJs, alternative editors and those listeners that are bored of bland covers and meaningless expressions.
Kaylif’s "hero's journey" is about a change in perspective rather than the act of reinventing herself. She is standing amidst the ashes and listening to the sound of the static while asking the difficult questions and letting music provide the answers.