From her home base of sunny Los Angeles, Ashlynn Malia is writing indie-pop music that resonates with a generation. Always diving deep into her mind and putting her whole soul into her craft, she explores her inner self through lyrics and melodies — telling introspective and captivating stories that draw listeners into her one-of-a-kind world. Since the 2021 release of her debut EP, “rather be alone”, she has been letting us into her struggles, experiences, and most personal thoughts. Though so specific to her, they are utterly universal, creating a community of listeners who connect deeply with her music.

Following her newest EP, “navigating galaxies”, which was released earlier this year and consisted of a collection of voice memos, and her most recent release, the single “Feels So Good”, she has a brand new single that we are honoured to premiere with you today. Titled “Nobody Else”, it is an ethereal pop treat that explores chemistry and attraction. In her own words, “There’s nothing like the chemistry between you and that one person who’s terrible for your mental health.”

We had the opportunity to hear from Ashlynn about the release and this new era of her musical journey.

Read the interview…

What does “Nobody Else” mean to you personally and can you tell us a bit about the video and what was the inspiration for it?
To me, “Nobody Else” is about the deepest kind of magnetic attraction. More than just wanting someone and being delusional about them (trust me I’ve done plenty of that in my life so far) “Nobody Else” is about not being delusional at all about who I’m dealing with, seeing them for who they are and the unfortunate truth that they are not good for me, but still not being able to shake the undeniable chemistry that remains.

I created characters in my music video who have just that; Chemistry and a history that isn’t just blissful. In a sea of people, there’s this hypnotic familiarity between them that they know isn’t easy to find in just anybody. I wanted the music video to be storytelling more than anything, but I also just loved the environment we created through styling, lighting, colours, choreography, etc. I feel like my songs need little worlds to sit in. This video is a perfect example of the world “Nobody Else” needed.

Your newest tracks have a much heavier, dreamier sound to them – what inspired you to pursue this new energy in your music?
Honestly…I REALLY wanted to bring dance back into my music. When I first started releasing songs, the dance community held me up and made me feel so supported. I’d see people performing pieces to my songs or using them in concept videos and dance classes, and it just felt magical to see two of my favourite things come together like that. Being a dancer myself, I wanted to find it in me to embody whatever blend of my dance and music styles manifested in the realm of pop music, after spending a few years in the singer/songwriter world. So far, it’s been this heavy, dreamy, cosmic vibe that I’m just gonna keep exploring.

What is your process like when writing tracks that stem from your real-life experiences?
It’s a mess of journal entries. I write every day with no real objective other than just getting my thoughts onto paper and out of my brain. I sometimes feel a lot of pressure to make something “good” when I’m deliberately writing a song, so I like to just journal until little phrases pop up in my head that I can run with, since they’re usually way more organic and come with pages worth of context that I can just shape into song lyrics.

How did you come up with the idea for the single’s accompanying video?
I just…saw it. Flashes of it in my head every time I’d listen to the finished song. The song brought me into this dreamy, drunken fantasy where I could act without inhibition, and I really wanted to bring that magic to life with a good story and raw emotion.

What should fans be expecting to see in the near future?
MORE EXPLORATION!!! In the best way possible, I don’t know exactly who I am yet. Each song and visual feels like extracting pieces of my truth from the mess that is growing up and being 22 and confused and full of new emotions and experiences. But this pop era is far from over. I am truly JUST getting started.

Now, take a look at the beautiful performance driven video, directed by Malia and Robbie Blue…