With her debut album Pendulum set to wow with its release tomorrow, songwriting sensation Aisha Badru is taking us through the artists that have shaped her bewitching sound. Evident in the incredible tracks of her album, the record explores how Aisha has turned what once haunted her into what now empowers her. “A major theme of every human’s experience is that we’re constantly swinging between good and bad,” she says. “We can’t avoid it. By realizing that the swings aren’t permanent, you begin to develop the ability to control how you feel about the unfortunate events that may arise in your life.”

Destined to be an amazing listen, check out her influences below…

Although I’m growing and expanding my sound, I’ve always been influenced the most by folk music. Landslide is definitely one of my favorites.

I was introduced to Tracy Chapman when I was a senior in high school. I wasn’t familiar with African-American folk singer-songwriters, so Tracy definitely inspired me to transcend stereotypes in music.

Sarah’s album Suburban Nature played on repeat around the time I first began writing my own songs.

I’ve always been inspired by repetitive finger picked songs with soft vocals and poetic lyrics.

Frank Ocean inspired my writing style a lot. He also has a way with transcribing his emotions into vivid poetic paintings.

Vivid and figurative lyrics is something I try to weave into all of my songs similar to this track by Daughter. I’ve always gravitated towards this type of writing style whether in music or in literature.

Ethereal and down to earth; two attributes I swing between in my life. Exploring spiritual and philosophical concepts like Moses does here on this track is something you can find on my forthcoming album, Pendulum.

This song inspired me to speak up about the things that I stand for through my lyrics. Shortly after discovering this track, I wrote “Mind On Fire”.