AJDA STINA TUREK

Artist on the Rise

How long have you been singing and doing jazz and blues?

Everything started in 2010 when I enrolled in a Conservatory of music and ballet in Ljubljana, Slovenia. I was studying Jazz singing for four years. At that time, I started exploring a lot of jazz and blues music. In the beginning, I listened, of course, to a lot of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Kurt Elling, Betty Carter, Bill Evans, and Chet Baker. One of my favourite singers/artists then and now are still Eva Cassidy and Ray Charles because of the soul in their singing. You can feel every single note they sing.

What got you to write songs? Childhood trauma, happiness, money?

Rarely happiness got me to write the songs. When I moved to America to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston in 2014, it was the first time I was alone somewhere and far away from home. I was 20 years old and everything was so new to me. I needed to become an adult from overnight. I missed home and I felt lonely, though I had friends there. It was also very hard financially since I did not get the job for at least a year. Because of the way I felt, I started writing lyrics and then full songs. It helped me to feel better.

Later, I also got inspired by the different life stories that people I met told me or by the current events like the start of a Black Lives Matter movement and 34 the European Immigration Crisis.

Well, your positive mindset and voice shine brighter than the sun in my eyes! Another single I was curious about was “Sonder,” where did you come up with that name.

Thank you so much! In 2018, I released my debut EP “Sonder”, a set of original compositions featuring 30 musicians from all over the world. This EP describes the 4 years of my life in Boston. It was a rollercoaster of emotions and I sometimes felt like I was the only person who had problems and was sad until I started to talk to my friends about it and I noticed we were all going through some issues in life and nobody’s life is perfect. The meaning of the word “Sonder” is “the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.” That just felt like a perfect title for my EP.

Can you give a behind the scenes perspective on the overall experience of making the song?

Sometimes it is hard to write, and then sometimes it feels so easy and natural. How I do it is I sit in a coffee shop with my computer and I start writing the lyrics. I sit there until I finish and that sometimes means a few hours. At least 3-5. Then I would go home and sit behind the piano and play different chords and try to sing the lyrics over, try to find the melody to the song. That would take a few days. I would get back to the song every few days to find fresh ideas or to play with something I am not satisfied with. It is a long process to get to the final version of the song, but when you do it is a good feeling, you feel accomplished. Then sometimes I start writing the song and I never finish it just because it does not work. The fun part then is to record the song and collaborate with different artists who also bring some fresh ideas to your song, so the song at the end sounds great! That is my favorite part - when I hear the song produced.

Describe to us the first time you wrote a song?

I was sitting on my bed in Boston. I remember I was feeling very lonely; I missed my home in Slovenia so much. It was in December, so the Christmas lights were on and it was cold and snowy outside. I was sitting in the dark, looking through the window, and there it was in my thought, the first line of the song: “It’s winter outside and inside of me”. I got inspired in a second, so I took my notebook and wrote the lyrics with the melody. The title of the song is “Such Long Time Ago” and you can find it on my EP “Sonder”.

Who gave you the support to keep writing in the beginning? Who did you play the early songs for?

I think I got the support from my roommates, whom I would show the songs to and they would give me advice and suggestions on how to make it sound better. I also think my harmony teacher at that time had a lot to do with it because he would give us monthly writing assignments, where we would need to compose a melody with cool chord progressions and different forms.

What do you feel like when you play your songs and people applaud? Is it an affirmation or an irritation?

It is scary to perform your songs sometimes because, of course, you want people to love it and accept it and it might not happen that way, but I am grateful that my songs were and that people find themselves in the lyrics too. For me, it is an affirmation and it pushes me to write more.

Professional songwriters spend years on their craft. Why not use their songs?

I actually, love to sing songs from other artists. As a Jazz Vocalist, you start by learning houndreds of Jazz standards, so all you do for a couple of years is studying other artists’ songs and trying to make them a little yours too by changing few notes or tempo or few chords etc...

What is better about a song that is sung by the writer?

If you are singing your lyrics, you know exactly why you wrote them and how you felt when you did. You know the back-story so the emotions can be very strong and the audience can feel the strong energy when you perform the song. In addition, you can sing it freely, changing the melody anytime you want because it is your song. You can do whatever you feel with it.

Are you more of a singer or more of a songwriter?

I am more of a singer, but I also do like to write songs, maybe not as often as I like to sing. You can wake me up in the middle of the night and ask me to sing, I will do it, which I cannot say for the songwriting. I do not practice writing every day but only write when I feel it.

Singing in different languages may sound easy, but that’s not a feat everyone can achieve. How did you get to this point in your career?

I love languages! The sound of them. I speak Slovene, English, and Spanish, and I used to understand Italian and knew some Portuguese words, just because I have friends from all over the world. Since, I have been studying jazz singing, I needed to study many Brazilian songs from Tom Jobim, Djavan, Gilberto Gil, etc… and whenever I was doing classical repertoire; I was learning Italian, German and French. I think I just have an ear for languages and being exposed to so many international friends and listening to them speaking their native language helped me.

Timing is everything! What was the feeling like when you performed these songs for the first time?

The feeling was magical when you get the applause of course but before that, it is kind of scary, haha. You do your best but cannot escape the thought that people might not like it.

You’ve been doing this independent thing for some time now, and the music business has changed a lot since you came out. How do you continue to adapt to this changing culture, especially in this digital-driven world?

Well for me, it was hard since I am not a person who would want to spend a lot of time on social media promoting myself and my music. But, I am working on it because I know that now this is the only way to get your music out there and to stay connected to people. Especially now, during COVID, I am trying to post cover songs every single day. It is good to keep myself busy since there are no concerts now to keep practicing the styles I usually do not sing and to broaden my repertoire.

From a marketing standpoint, what are you doing differently today than you weren’t doing five years ago?

The only thing I am doing differently is that I’m being more daring and confident as I was before and try not to care as much as what people think of me but believing in myself and pushing forward no matter what.

So, how do you stay creative without being frustrated in this industry?

Well, it is hard! Especially if you are doing something different and not something that is currently trending. I think the most important thing is the people you surround yourself with, who support you, give you the push to move forward, and do not give up. My parents are my biggest supporters.

As an artist, outside of growing your fan base and touching more people, why do you continue to push forward?

I think if I did not have music and if I was not able to sing I would not be happy. I cannot imagine myself working in an office every day from 9 am – 5 pm. I experienced it and I was getting very frustrated. I like to have my schedule and create my day, well maybe I do not get a monthly salary, but I am still happy because I love what I do.

What other artists do you love in your musical space?

I listen to many different artists and do not have a favorite one. Some of the artists I like to listen to now are Gregory Porter, Daniel Caesar, Beyonce, Erykah Badu, Ricky Dillard & New G.

Your music is similar to a lot of these artists: What keeps you motivated in this soul genre?

I would love to know if you find any similarities to other artists. I was figuring that out already. You know I heard one of the important questions an artist should know how to answer is also which artist is similar to you, and I do not know the answer to that question. Since I have listened to a lot of different music, when I write, I write very diverse. That is why my EP is not just jazz, but it is also blues/rock’n roll, Latin, soul, and RnB.

So, what’s next for Ajda Stina Turek?

In these coming months, I will be recording a duo album with a vibraphone player Vid Jamnik, here in Slovenia. There are going to be both originals and some jazz standards on the album. Plans are also to pursue a Music Master Degree in the following year, do not know where yet, but I am open to many options.

WEBSITE: www.ajdastinaturek.com INSTAGRAM: @ajdastinaturek FACEBOOK: @ajdastinaturek SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4lULe2XofpyUMm2zYonXoQ YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmv-BndVbofENZ5Jp0DFPWQ?view_as=subscriber