We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alexiane Silla. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alexiane below.
Alexiane , appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
Most people know me as Alexiane the singer and the songwriter. But I am also the owner of the Canadian independent record label I created GION RECORDS signed under distribution with Universal music Canada. As such, I wear many hats and there are many business decisions I am responsible for on a daily basis. I have been singing and composing alternative pop since I was a child but my studies were in Economics (McGill University) as well as in Music production and music business (UCLA). I guess I have always had an artistic and entrepreneurial streak and I think I made it my mission to prove that the two can coexist. In 2017 I released “A Million On My Soul”, the theme song of the blockbuster movie “Valerian and the city of a thousand planets” (Luc Besson) which has accumulated more than 80 million views on YouTube with the original and its Turkish remix by MOSES & EMR3YGUL. I then released my first album “Into The Sun” in 2021 in co-direction with Carla Bruni. This cinematographic alternative pop album rocked by the sounds of Senegal (my father’s country) opened up wonderful opportunities of international collaborations for me. I am now preparing my second album IGY scheduled for fall 2024 with exceptional collaborators from Canada, USA, France, Germany, Ukraine, Turkey, Senegal, Mali and more. I will be releasing several singles in early 2024. I’ve recently released my EDM interpretation of the classic AVE MARIA (link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2mJK8T8OK2I&pp=ygUIYWxleGlhbmU%3D )
All the music I create is released through my independent label GION RECORDS and I do licences with records labels of countries all around the globe.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Most people know me as Alexiane the singer and the songwriter. But I am also the owner of the Canadian independent record label I created GION RECORDS signed under distribution with Universal music Canada. As such, I wear many hats and there are many business decisions I am responsible for on a daily basis. I have been singing and composing alternative pop since I was a child but my studies were in Economics (McGill University) as well as in Music production and music business (UCLA). I guess I have always had an artistic and entrepreneurial streak and I think I made it my mission to prove that the two can coexist. In 2017 I released “A Million On My Soul”, the theme song of the blockbuster movie “Valerian and the city of a thousand planets” (Luc Besson) which has accumulated more than 80 million views on YouTube with the original and its Turkish remix by MOSES & EMR3YGUL. I then released my first album “Into The Sun” in 2021 in co-direction with Carla Bruni. This cinematographic alternative pop album rocked by the sounds of Senegal (my father’s country) opened up wonderful opportunities of international collaborations for me. I am now preparing my second album IGY scheduled for fall 2024 with exceptional collaborators (Canada, USA, France, Germany, Ukraine, Turkey, Senegal, Mali). I will be releasing several singles in early 2024. Besides, I recently released my EDM interpretation of the classic AVE MARIA (link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2mJK8T8OK2I&pp=ygUIYWxleGlhbmU%3D )
All the music I create is released through my independent label GION RECORDS and I do licences with records labels of countries all around the globe.
As a singer songwriter, the industry is extremely competitive but as a record owner of an independent record label as well —and as a woman!—, sometimes I feel like I’m swimming in a pool of sharks and for years I had anxiety crisis at night. I couldn’t fall asleep or would wake up crying at night with a huge ball in my stomach. As a record label owner, you have to hire a team (management, legal, accounting, distribution, PR, radio tracking, artistic direction, music production, studio staff, musicians, visuals, coaches, consulting etc.) and they cost in energy as well as in capital. And so needless to say that there are so many bills to pay! When I started I had to put a lot of money from my pocket in order for my company to have a chance to perform and release songs in a competitive way against ‘big music industry machines’. Sometimes, I find it difficult to compartmentalize. It’s a little crazy to create AND manage the business of creations as well. but it’s very important for me to keep the control over my songs in order to keep my artistic freedom.
Sometimes I look at some people around me who have a job with a fixed income, a fixed schedule, a boss and tasks to carry out for that boss and I say to myself that it must be good not to feel all the pressure of success of the company on your shoulders. However, honestly, even when the thought of giving up crosses my mind, the idea passes within seconds. My mother always says “If you’re too tired, you are allowed to quit you know. Just know that it is an option” but deep down I think she only says it to make me feel better cause she knows I won’t quit. I really believe that it is impossible for me to abandon music because it is what I love the most, it is what I embody; it is my way to heal myself, it is my way of helping others heal the best I can. There is not a day that I pass without singing, without composing. even when I try not to compose, I end up recording somewhere (often in unlikely places like restaurant bathrooms on a night out with friends haha) on my phone.
There is something so wonderful about being an artist and running your company at the same time. Over time, with hindsight, I believe that it is extremely rewarding to fight for your creations, to fight to be master of your artistic destiny. Every day, even when I’m tearing my hair out, I’m so grateful that there isn’t a boss from a major record label who has the power to tell me what to do/create or put me on a shelf. No thank you!
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
– honesty: creating from the heart and writing my own lyrics and melodies
– not being afraid of exploring different musical directions even if sometimes my choices seem questionable for some producers I work with in the moment haha. Hey if you’re the artist, fight for your ideas! Follow through on the idea until you’ve expressed what you wanted te express/ try out and if it doesn’t work out then it doesn’t work out and it’s ok but listen to your gut first always.
– being opened to collaborations from A LOT of different countries.
– instagram has helped me get in contact with so many different producers, singers and songwriters. Rauf & Faik and I have met through instagram and we are preparing a song that will be released in 2024. Canada-Azerbaijan and we have never met in person!
– I try to surround myself with luminous, passionate, hardworking and trustworthy people who tend to have the same core values as me. I try to avoid drama in the team at all cost.
– I am aware that releasing creations and having them heard by as many people as possible is a TEAM WORK.
– I always try to honour my word in life and in business.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to learn patience and that things do not always go as planned. I had to learn that to me success is mainly about the journey and not the destination; it is about how proud I am of each of my creations at the moment I accept to share them with the world. Success has many Colors, it is infinite and it is a creation, a reflection of your heart and your work over thousands of hours of work. I had to learn that there is no magical recipe for a hit song; sometimes you can be in a studio session with some of the best producers in the world and the magic is just not there and you can’t force it, while sometimes you can make a hit with three simple piano chords in your kitchen with your best friend on an iPhone recorder. “Que sera, sera” ( “Whatever will be, will be”) but you have to show up for your passion and for your dreams.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.alexianemusic.com
- Instagram: @alexianemusic
- Facebook: @alexianemusic
- Linkedin: Alexiane Silla
- Twitter: @alexianemusic
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@alexianemusic?si=hrq3Ma6UqBbLnF1b
- Other: Spotify and all other music platforms: ALEXIANE
Image Credits
ELEALA