Alysha Brilla

Alysha Brilla is a Canadian musician. Born in Mississauga, Ontario and raised in Brampton, Ontario, she started singing in her early teens in local bands and at festivals. She briefly attended Humber College's jazz program in Toronto while performing locally. In 2010, she was signed to Lava Records/Universal Republic.[1] Brilla was a featured performer at the 2010 Kitchener Blues Festival and Gala.[2] Brilla runs her music label, Sunny Jam Records, and has released several self-produced albums on that label. Three of them received JUNO nominations.

Alysha Brilla
Background information
Born (1988-11-03) November 3, 1988
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
OriginKitchener, Ontario, Canada
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, record producer
InstrumentsGuitar, piano, drums
LabelsSunny Jam
Websitealyshabrilla.com

Early life

Brilla was born in Mississauga, Ontario to a European-Canadian mother and an Indo-Tanzanian father of Khoja descent. Growing up in a mixed-race, mixed-religious household fostered interesting discussions around things like race, religion, value systems and ideals. Brilla's father played guitar while growing up in Tanzania and her mother was an avid storyteller. Brilla experienced bullying in middle school and she cites music and nature as her coping mechanism.

On her 14th birthday, Brilla was given her father's acoustic guitar and she began teaching herself to play. After graduating high school, a brief period at Humber College deepened her appreciation for jazz. During this time, she was recording and producing her own songs and released an eleven-song EP called Got Soul. Her friend Brad Marshall introduced her to Jacksoul keyboardist and producer Ron Lopata and the two began to demo some of Brilla's songs with a band.

Career

Brilla writes all of her own music and lyrics. She cites her influences as Amy Winehouse, Bob Marley, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, Joni Mitchell, and Indian and African Music. She took a production co-op in high school and was accepted to Seneca College's Production degree, but opted to study Jazz at Humber College. All of her releases have been self-produced. In 2010, she signed a contract with U.S. label Lava/Universal Republic Records. She moved to Los Angeles and began recording and collaborating with American producers Brian West, Rick Nowels, and Sam Farrar. She left the label in 2012 and started her own Sunny Jam Records and has released all of her albums on that imprint.

Brilla has practiced yoga for several years. In November, 2014 Brilla travelled to Rishikesh, India where she obtained her yoga teaching certification.

Awards and honors
  • 2017 JUNO Award Nomination for "Rooted", Adult Contemporary Album of the Year
  • 2016 Winner Midem Artist Accelerator, represented Canada in Cannes, France[3]
  • 2015 International Songwriting Contest winner in Lyric Category "Immigrant"
  • 2015 JUNO Award Nomination for "Womyn", Adult Contemporary Album of the Year
  • 2014 U.K. Songwriting Contest winner in Pop and Singer/Songwriter categories for "Never Gonna Get Me Back" [4]
  • 2014 Oktoberfest Woman of The Year winner.
  • 2014 JUNO Award Nomination for "In My Head", Adult Contemporary Album of the Year [5]
  • 2014 Galaxy Rising Star Award Winner, Burlington Sound of Music Festival
  • 2013 Ibiza Music Video Festival Fan Choice Award Winner, "Nobody"
  • 2013 Speaker at Tedx Youth Waterloo - May 27
  • 2012 Leading Edge KW Arts Award Winner
  • 2010 Record Deal with Lava Records/Universal Republic
  • 2010 Host of "The Buzz", a weekly Indie artist showcase at Toronto's Historical C'est What Venue.[6]
  • 2008 Oktoberfest Woman of The Year nomination.
  • 2008 Canwest Media Rhythm of the Future Winner
  • 2008 Grande River Society's " Blues Youth Legacy " winner[7]
  • 2008 Toronto Blues Society's Annual Contest top 3, 2008.[8]
  • 2007 Youth Legacy Award Winner
  • 2005 Canwest Media's "Rhythm of the Future" winner.
  • FACTOR (foundation to assist Canadian Talent on Record) grant recipient.
  • Publishing Deal with Cherry Lane Music. Brilla briefly attended Humber College's Jazz program in Toronto while playing local gigs and building a fanbase.[1]
  • Has opened for April Wine, K-OS, Lights, Snow and Adam Bailie.

Discography

Studio albums
Year Album
2012 Brilla
2013 In My Head
2014 Womyn
2016 Human
2017 Rooted

Collaborations

References
  1. "Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company, Inc. - New Signings for LAVA and Cherry Lane". Cherrylane.com. 2010-06-14. Archived from the original on 27 July 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
  2. "Performers". Kitchener Blues Festival. 2010-07-01. Archived from the original on 2013-01-27. Retrieved 2010-07-01.
  3. "Midem Finalists".
  4. "U.K. Song Writing Awards 2014 Winners".
  5. "2014 Juno Nominees & Winners". Archived from the original on 2015-01-27.
  6. "The Buzzz hosted by Alysha Brilla". Cestwhat.com. 2010-01-05. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
  7. "TheRecord.com - arts - Brilla wins Showcase award". News.therecord.com. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
  8. "Press Release". Torontobluessociety.com. Archived from the original on 2010-04-09. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
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