For short form bio please click here

INTRODUCTION   

Ever so often an artist comes along that transcends genres and boundaries with a talent so rare it defies comprehension. Introducing...Aisha.

Blessed with a voice that covers several octaves and styles, she is one of the most talented artists to emerge in music in several decades. In addition to being a vocalist and instrumentalist, Aisha is also a writer, producer, director and CEO of indie label Sonustar, which she founded.

It is the first time in modern music that one singer has embodied so many God given talents. From her striking voice, creative flair for writing and production to her effortless directing skills, Aisha is an artist for the 21^st Century.

DEBUT

Aisha (a-e-sha) is the 28-year-old writer, producer and CEO of Sonustar. Her debut single 'Contemporary Girl' ironically takes an old fashioned look at relationships. ”The song is a comical take on contemporary women who feel it's their right to boss men around. Entering into business and learning about relationships, the song is a declaration of what I do not want to become. As a young woman your peers will pressure you to treat men badly as a misguided sign of respect. There are many songs out there that insult men and unfortunately some men don't disprove them, but nothing about women. I decided to write a song about it using levity to keep it light hearted.”

"I try to be balanced in how I interpret situations. The song was the accumulation of years of being tired of what some women in society felt women should be - domineering, bossy and unfeeling. That wasn't me."

The single "Contemporary Girl" has an original and a rap version, which marks the first time an artist has performed two versions in both genres on one single. The maxi single also contains techno and garage mixes. “I did an original and a rap version of the song because I enjoy both genres. In 1990 there was a change in r&b and rap music that showed me you can successfully merge the two. Since then I've written in both genres.”

"Love Lost " is about losing love and about love falling apart due to people's infidelity. I wanted to write a song that broached the subject and addressed the pain, suffering and just general sense of sadness and befuddlement people go through as a result of infidelity. It's very grievous. The song is about forgiveness and second chances as well, which is how it concludes. The remix is called 'Love Found.' It's to reprise the song and it is about second chances as well."

"Heart Versus Mind" is about God telling you in your heart that someone is not right for you, but you having difficulty letting them go. A lot of people are in love with people they shouldn’t be in love with because they will hurt them, and in spite of knowing this, they still don’t want to let the person go. The prayer at night is, “But God,” when their mind and sometimes their heart as well, is telling them the person is not right for them. When you are of the faith, you especially have to watch for this, as you will end up mismated and miserable if you persist and marry the person."

DIRECTOR

Aisha directed the original and remix videos for "Contemporary Girl," "Love Lost, " "Heart Versus Mind," "Amazing Grace and "The Lord is my Shepherd."  

“I've been a film buff since I was a kid. I started studying filmmaking at age 13. I've been writing treatments and sketching storyboards for music videos since I was 14 years old and authoring film scripts since age 15. I love music videos. They are like mini-movies that allow you to be very creative. You can use themes and concepts that you couldn't use in a movie without the piece becoming too abstract for the viewer to follow. They also enable you to get a point across within a few minutes for a fraction of the time, cost or work of a feature film.”

Aisha is currently working on her first feature films.

SINGER/INSTRUMENTALIST

Aisha is a multi-instrumentalist whose voice spans several octaves and covers a range of styles from gospel to jazz and r&b to opera. Her style also embodies rap music. Aisha's trademark vocal vibrato retains clarity, definition and range. Unlike her contemporaries, Aisha did not begin singing at an early age.” I never thought I would be a singer. Growing up I was quiet and very shy. I thought I would be a behind the scenes person. Since age 11 my primary dream was to run a record company. Then I started studying the film and television industries. It wasn't until I was 15 that I realized I also wanted to sing. Then it dawned on me that most singers start at an early age. They sing in the church choir or take lessons with a vocal coach."

Aisha drew upon her faith to overcome this obstacle. "I've never had voice or instrument lessons. When I was 18, I prayed and asked God to develop my voice and within a year and a half I was able to perform difficult songs I was not able to before. I applied the same faith to learning how to play instruments. It was amazing. It's a real blessing that I'm very thankful to Him for."

Aisha's style of music incorporates several forms of the arts." Since I was a child I watched a lot of operas, Broadway musicals, ballets and movies by the original film studios. I loved the music, sets and costumes. It was all so regal and captivating. I was able to sing Broadway tunes, but not operas. Once my voice improved I would jokingly try to sing my favorite operas and surprisingly my voice had this very defined vibrato it didn't have before. I was astonished. I had always loved opera, but never thought I'd be able to sing it. I was stunned the first time I was singing and my voice started reverberating and I was able to sustain notes with a vibrato type effect. I decided to take advantage of my vocal development and study opera."

Her sound is heavily influenced by classical music. "I've known music theory since I was 11 and most of the sheet music I owned up until that point were short scores. At 14 I developed a fascination with full scores after seeing one of Stravinsky's. I'd never seen that much music on one page before. I was delirious. The moment I looked at the sheet music I knew this was what I'm supposed to do. Classical music is wonderful. I love music that is properly composed. I love the violin. It is the sound most prevalent to me and what I identify the genre with. Conducting an orchestra would be exhilarating but I'm very reserved, so I don't think I'd be animated enough."

I'm grateful to God for the talent he has give me, but I don't take myself too seriously. I don't care for the hype that sometimes accompanies singers and I don't want to take that approach. That's not me. I'm a very straightforward, unpretentious person. I laugh when I hear singers brag about how good they are or how much success they have attained. A lot of singers think they are the best and that their records will reshape music, then someone else comes along and raises the bar, completely deflating their ego. Records are constantly being broken, so it's better to just be humble from the start. Then you have other singers that are constantly fighting with their record company instead of trying to work with them to come up with something great. The ironic part is that record companies last longer than singers' careers."

"If I had to choose a favorite instrument it would have to be the piano. It's the backbone of music. My second favorite would be the electric guitar. Followed by the drums and bass. I also love the saxophone and trumpet. I like instruments that make you understand what the lyrics couldn't tell you."

"My dad didn't want me to play the trumpet. He said it would affect my mouth and since I'm a girl that wouldn't be a good idea. I'm looking at my lips and thinking, I have full lips, I already look like I went 12 rounds in Vegas. So, I don't play it much, but I enjoy playing it on the piano and computer."

BACKGROUND

Aisha Kamilah Goodison was born on November 8, 1976 in Kingston, Jamaica and raised in Miami, Florida. "Growing up in South Florida taught me a lot about different cultures." The name Aisha means "life" and Kamilah means "perfect" ("far from it" she quips in response to the meaning of her middle name)." My last name is British so that's easy to pronounce. My first and middle names are North African. People mispronounce them often, but I tell them after 28 years I can almost say it correctly now, so don't feel bad if you can't."

Aisha is the daughter of a Jamaican DJ / musicologist. She developed an appreciation for music at a very early age. A child prodigy, she began writing poetry at age 5, music videos at 13, songs at 15 and movie scripts at 16. "My dad is a disc jockey, so I grew up in that environment. He was always playing music. Those are my earliest memories."

Her love for music was evident from childhood. "I've always loved music. I broke the stereo when I was 3. My mom said I wouldn't stop switching it on. She said I was so fascinated by it. She bought me my first keyboard when I was 5 and my dad taught me how to play records when I was 6. He has a lot of rare records and as a courtesy he would make tapes for people containing their favorite songs. One day I wanted him to make a tape for me and he said you're going to learn how and he taught me. It's really funny when a child knows how to play a record before they can tie their own shoe laces (laughs)."

SONGWRITING/PRODUCING

Aisha wrote and produced her self-titled debut CD. "I know today it seems like everyone is a writer and producer, but I wrote and produced the album because I genuinely love the entire process from writing to mastering. It's great making a CD from scratch. It wasn't about establishing credibility or gaining creative control. It's what I enjoy. Songwriting is definitely my favorite. I write in rock, r&b, rap, country and classical formats. Writing the lyrics to a song is easier than writing the sheet music. The sheet music usually takes more time to write than the lyrics because of all the parts and you can do more with words than you can with notes. I love writing scores. It makes you appreciate every sound more because you know what went into aligning each note. It can drive you up the wall though. I used to wonder why so many composers who write in this format always had these pained expressions on their faces in their portraits. I've never seen a picture of one smiling and I've figured out why."

Aisha views songwriting as a process that shouldn't be rushed. "Writing music is most enjoyable when it comes from a moment of inspiration rather than out of necessity such as meeting a deadline. Then it becomes a chore. There can be times when you get to a point where it can be challenging especially if it's a complicated arrangement. Getting each part exactly how you want it can be like watching the dailies of five movies at one time and then trying to edit them simultaneously. Producing is more about drawing upon your people skills. I think engineers deserve more credit. Next to the writer they are doing the bulk of the work and making everyone look really good."

In a time where musicianship is often overlooked, Aisha prefers live instrumentation. "I grew up listening to music by writers that sat at a piano and hammered out a song. That's not very common today. The advances in music technology today are good, but bad in other ways. It dampens creativity. You don't have to think. The computer will do the work for you. There is nothing wrong with recording that way and I do sometimes, but I prefer using live instrumentation. There is a quality present on those recordings that is not often heard in music anymore. It's not about musicians being condescending with singers that don't play instruments, it genuinely sounds better on record."

Aisha takes the simple approach to making music. "I think people make it harder than it has to be. Some of the equipment I've seen is just excessive and doesn't do much more than based price gear. It's not just something musicians with cheap gear say; it's true (laughs). If you are not recording a symphony orchestra, how much gear do you really need. Since I was a teenager, I was amazed at how you'll have a guy that produces a record in his basement on equipment not even worth 20,000 dollars and the CD goes on to sell 2 million copies. Then you'll have another guy working in the finest studios with 2 million dollar equipment and the CD sells 20,000 copies. It's makes you laugh when you look at it that way."

In the creative process, not every song begins the same way. "Sometimes I'll start writing the lyrics first and other times a song will sprout from just a simple chord on the keyboard or the guitar. There are times it will start from playing the drums or hearing a single percussive sound from a module, a pattern will form in your head, then evolve into a beat. I don't have a set pattern I follow for writing music. I've had lyrics come to me when I'm out in public and didn't have any paper and ended up writing on the back of a wrapper, on a ticket or in my daily agenda. With the music I usually sit down with the instrument or the module and just play what I feel inspired to play. Then I go back and write down the notation for it. It becomes cold and mechanical when the notes are written first then played. "

DJING

Aisha also enjoys djing. "I'm more of an informal DJ in that I don't go to clubs and parties. I don't call out records or try to rile up a crowd. I just like spinning records. I love the sounds cutting and scratching produces. It adds a nice element to a song."

THE ALBUM

Aisha wrote and produced her eponymous debut album. Her forthcoming CD is an eclectic collection of music. “The record is like an encyclopedia of music. I love music in general, so it runs the gamut of styles.”

Her self-titled debut features the rock infused "Bachelor Of Hearts" and "Mr. Right."

The candid "The N Word," "You Wouldn't Date A Black Girl" and "You Talk Like A White Girl."

The mid-tempo "Everything’s Gonna Be Ok" and the techno inspired "Metronome."

Ballads include the rousing “Love Of My Life,” "Love Lost" and "Heart Versus Mind."

The inspirational "Amazing Grace," "The Lord is my Shepherd," and the traditionally composed symphony "Disciples Dirge."

One of the most moving tracks is titled "Why Did This Happen to me," which is dedicated to people living with HIV and AIDS. "It's one of my best songs. I wrote it after reading CDC statistics on HIV and AIDS."

"I believe music should have form and be melodic, but at the same time not too predictable. The lyrics address social issues and morality. I don't like mindless music. If you are given a podium you should do something benevolent with it, not spew out lyrics that corrupt people. Music should have substance. Songs should have relevant topics that change things for the better."

RECORDING

Her CD was recorded in her home studio. "I didn't want to record the album in a commercial studio. I think commercial studios are great, but for someone like me a home studio is best. I assembled a basic studio. I'm more comfortable there. Another benefit of having a home studio is that some songs are more time consuming than others and sometimes with commercial studios you want to continue working, but someone is booked after you. I spend a lot of time recording, so a home studio is very economical and convenient. If it's an easy song recording is my favorite part. If it's a complex song mixing is my favorite. You're just happy to have all the ideas down without any oversights. Subconsciously you want to get it all down while you're inspired lest you inadvertently leave something out."

"Contemporary Girl" was the first song Aisha recorded and cost only $200 to make. "I used a $80 recording program and a $120 microphone. I have the receipts to prove it and the program with the original song file in it that the master was made from. I recorded my lead and background vocals into the computer. Then I played base priced instruments, recording them into the computer. I added a few sound files like the airplane and modem noises to the song because while I was doing the storyboard for the video, I decided to include scenes with a computer and with an airplane. I included the sounds for the video in the song as well. I kept it very simple by making most of the music live, then digitally capturing, mixing and mastering it. By God's grace I wrote, produced and engineered the song. I really enjoyed working on it."

"I know how to use different types of studio gear. I'm very familiar with the equipment and each application, but I don't like using too much of it. I have a console that I bought when I was 17 to see how they worked, but once I learned it that same week, I put it back in the box and never recorded a song with it. I use virtual consoles. Sometimes I like recording music like techno using the computer, but I prefer live recording where instruments, including the voice is the main focus."

MUSICAL DIRECTION

Aisha's CD contains various styles of music. "I wasn't going for a particular sound. I used traditional composing styles with a few modern sounds strewn in. By God's grace, I wrote songs that contained my favorite styles of music. I like classical styles in each genre more than trendy. Some of the music is computer generated and the rest I play the actual instrument. There are quirky sounds that act as embellishment for the up tempo tracks to give it a contemporary feel, but the ballads are written in standard format."

PERFORMING

"I love singing and working with a band, but I'm not really a stage person. That atmosphere is great, but I'm just so used to being in the audience and not on stage. Growing up, it wasn't something I aspired to. Whenever I would go a show, I'd buy my ticket, watch the show, applaud at the appropriate times and then go home. Me being up there is something quite different (laughs). It's not stage fright, I'm just not used to it and I was always so quiet that it wasn't something I thought to do. I've never played in a club either. My main focus was songwriting. I can sing acappella and play unplugged."

INFLUENCES

Aisha's influences come from her faith, background and music she listened to as a child. "I love gospel and classical. I also love rock guitar played with pedals. I've also been heavily influenced by Jewish and British culture. Loving Jewish culture comes from me being a Christian. I've studied Jewish culture extensively. The British aspect comes from one side of my family living in England and my paternal descendants coming from there. It's something I grew up with and was always mindful of. Since I was a child I've listened to and watched a lot of British programming. Jamaica came from British rule so there is still a lot of British influence there. English lyricists really know how to convey their feelings and their melodies are some of the most memorable and sonorous in music. I try to incorporate these elements into my work"

"The 80's defined my taste in music and film. 80's rock guitar made a big impression on me. The heavy use of pedals and scaling octaves appealed to me. The second I heard it I loved it. Being black it raised a few eyebrows. If the lyrics are objectionable then it's understandable, but an artist’s color is a silly reason not to listen to their music. My dad has a massive record library that spans a century containing records by artists of every color. The color issue never occurred to me and it still isn't a factor."

"I love music with a robust sound. Simplicity is nice sometimes but I love to listen to a song and hear a variety of sounds and concepts. I love the electric guitar. Good guitar work really adds so much to a song. I love using a lot of bass coupled with strong drums. It's like the spine of the song, but sometimes I use too much and it just becomes distortion (laughs). I guess it's because I grew up in the South, though Miami being apart of the South is strictly geographical. Bass laden music and location are the only things Miami has in common with other southern cities."

"Growing up, I'd watch a lot of opera and Broadway musicals on A&E, Bravo and PBS. I always found it very whimsical and soothing.  Maria Callas, Placido Domingo and Pavarotti are my main opera influences. Callas' voice was so vivid with great range. Domingo and Pavarotti's voices are robust."    

"I like many composers' work, but Bach was my favorite. I read his bio when I was about 15 and . Stravinsky inspired me to write scores. Music in its full context. At age 15 seeing one of his scores was a revelation to me. Learning theory you learn basically piano parts and in some cases guitar. But to see an entire score with music for several instruments listed together on a page was great."

IMAGE

In an industry where image is often promoted above musical content, Aisha retains a refreshing outlook. "What image. I'm not trying to be cool and I think I've succeeded at that rather well (laughs). That's never been me. Once you buy into image you lose your integrity and direction. I was raised an only child so I was and still am very introverted. I'm not eccentric or mysterious, I just like my privacy. I kept to myself and enjoyed spending hours at the library. I wasn't nerdy, but I wasn't the life of the party either."

"I spent a lot of time writing and still do. I'm a writer before a singer or instrumentalist. I love technology. I'm continually on the computer and I visit the bookstore regularly. My house is full of books, music, instruments and electronics. I don't drink, smoke or do drugs. I can't even drink coffee. It's too strong. Wait a minute; maybe I am a nerd (laughs). Seriously, this is the environment I'm happy in and I'm not going to change that to fit someone's perception of what a singer should be."

"My dream has never been to be famous. If that's your motivation, you're doing it for the wrong reasons. I don't care for celebrity at all. It's not my goal. It's very disorienting and fickle. People today are so into image and it's just not impressive. It doesn't command respect from sensible people and it lowers the standard for the next generation. Kids will feel they don't need to have talent, character and substance."

"I didn't want to be a jack of all trades and master of none. Some entertainers are emulating people and branching out into things that they do not have a talent for and do not understand, all because they saw another entertainer working in that field. They do it all in the name of credibility, vainly trying to make themselves look better, while managing to make a mockery of different art forms. It's one thing to truly love something, learn it and do it well, it's quite another to taint, profane and bring incredulity to certain arts because you want another unearned, empty title on your resume."

"All the things I do are talents God blessed me with and I spent a lot of time working in those fields. It's not for show. I love the arts and was raised in that environment. My family's background is in the arts. My dad in music, my aunts and cousins in literature and journalism. And I've been writing since I was four (poetry)."

"I'm not an overly ambitious person. I've been working on these projects for a long time, which essentially amounted to me having a substantial catalogue. I didn't come out of nowhere or just decide yesterday that I was going to do all do these things." 

SONUSTAR

Aisha knew from an early age that she wanted to run a record label. "I've wanted to run a label since I was 11 years old and I was totally serious about it, even at that age. The funny thing is, at that age I probably could have. That's how extensive my music education had become, even at that time. My gift for music was so unusual that people would comment on it and ask me or my parents questions about it. I was a child prodigy. I saw it as a gift from God. The funny  thing is I wasn't one of those kids that was going around saying when I grow up I wanna be a star. I was saying, I want to run a record company. I had that idea in my head from very early on. "

"On May 6th of 1992, at age 15, I decided I would start my own label, as opposed to working for someone else. For years I worked towards that goal. I remember the concept and logo I drew on that day for what I wanted to be my first band. I still have that piece of paper and the album I wrote for that band."

"I've been reading Billboard and other music and film publications since I was 8 years old. I enjoyed spending hours at the library reading about the film and music industries, the companies and the executives. That was something I did before I even started songwriting, which is probably why I never thought of becoming a singer. Whenever anyone would ask me what I wanted to do when I got older, I'd tell them I wanted to be the CEO of a record company (laughs)."

"Growing up, I would wake up early on Saturday mornings to hear two Top 40 countdowns on different stations. My dad and I even had our own music jokes. When I was a kid, I would tease him about him not taking payola and that he should to supplement his income (laughs). We abhor payola and value content, so that joke was my coup de grace. When I think about it now, I can't believe I was making payola jokes at such a young age, but like I said, music was a big part of my upbringing, so it all seemed very normal (laughs)."  

Sonustar is an independent label. "I love having an indie label. I don't want a major label or film studio affiliation. Indie labels afford you a certain level of creativity and freedom. It's also great doing things the right way, knowing that you are not employing deceitful means to get your product to the top and depriving someone else that really deserves it.

"I'm not naive, but if you have a good product, it can be done with hard work. I will not sell out for money either. I'm not going to market music that I know is of no merit. It's very easy to end up a novelty. I also think singers need people around them who tell them the truth and not necessarily what they want to hear for the sake of appeasing them. If something is great on the first try, then let's use it, but if it's not, we need to go back to the drawing board and come up with something better. A lot of people fall into that trap of thinking everything they do is great and rely on past success as an indication of future prosperity."

"The CEO's now are different from the ones I used to read about. Today they are either intelligent businessmen who know very little about or love music or guys that don't know much about the business aspect, but love music. Very few of them embody both qualities anymore. Today most are about the balance sheet, which is what they are hired to do, but it takes away from the product. I think music has suffered as a result. Since the 80's there has been a very noticeable decline in great music and talented record company executives. Very few executives know about and love the work any more. As a result, companies undertake projects that erode the artistic quality of the industry. While companies do need to generate revenues that create profits or at least maintain their numbers in each quarter, the material that's being produced is also very important."

"The music industry is very fickle. It's not like running a nationwide chain of supermarkets that sells the same goods everyday with a high rate of repeat business. The body needs food to survive, not music. There is no guarantee that a listener will want a debut CD, let alone a sophomore album. You have to give them a reason to want to listen by producing quality music. It's a big under taking, but If God grants me life and the ability to accomplish these things, I will definitely try."  

June 2001
Revised December 2002
Revised December 2004  

© 2001- 2008 AG All Rights Reserved. Web site design by Aisha for Sonustar Interactive

MAIN SITES: AISHA| BLOG | SONUSTAR| SOUND OFF COLUMN| JUDICIARY REPORT| CONSUMER NEWS REVIEWS | CELLULOID FILM REVIEW| COMPENDIUS  | UNITED PEACE INITIATIVE

SITE ARTICLES: ANTI-SUICIDE | ANTI-ABORTION | PRAYER