Auto-correct w/ Aleyna Tilki
Does everyone have to follow the same pattern? Who separates right from wrong? Aren’t you tired of putting everyone you see in the same mold? With Aleyna Fox, we underline being able to be free, to be an individual but most importantly to remain original. Wherever life takes you with whatever purpose or emotion!
When did you start dreaming about music?
I actually started dreaming about it when I was 2, that’s when I realized I could sing. But I was so confused at one point because I wasn’t just dreaming about music. I wondered what I was going to be? Because I had a science lab at home, I was 9 years old, and I wanted to be a scientist. Later I wanted to be a psychologist because of all those self-help books that I read before. I was so confused, but in the end, I went back to my childhood dream.
“Getting to know myself is like a journey… and my greatest feature is being able to travel within my own consciousness.”
Did you believe that a contest could change your life? Did it all happen by chance or were you someone walking towards a planned goal?
I knew the contest would change my life. Nothing was by chance, it was all planned. I was sure that the moment I was on TV, the moment I started to sing and they get to see me and hear my voice, every producer would wanna work with me.
Do you think that the people who work on what they love are being exhausted?
They’re trying to, but if a person loves the work they do, they can’t, they even hold on to it tighter.
What does risk mean to you?
For me, risk means being able to offer its essence entirely to people. It means opening up to people, and to be honest it’s very difficult for me. I can’t easily share the books that I wrote, my genuine opinions, my own songs with people. In fact, risk means taking risks and being able to do it.
Can we say you have control?
Absolutely… If I had another last name, it would be control. Because I became famous at a very young age, even before I started making music professionally, I was in the limelight so I always had to be careful. But I can also say that I have control in terms of music, for example, I can’t always choose the songs based on how it vibrates my heart. There are a lot of songs I had to choose to control my career. Even my songs are controlled.
Do you get rid of your worries when you get to know yourself?
No, the opposite! The more I get to know myself, I more get nervous about how little I know myself, and that anxiety is constantly on my mind. For example, let’s assume that I have a scar from the past; when I discover that scar, I press a finger on it so that it bleeds more… Can it still bleed? How scarred am I? I wanna know it. I also go over moments that I was happy, that I was satisfied; I try to experience them more. Getting to know myself is like a journey… and my greatest feature is being able to travel within my own consciousness.
How close are you to your dreams?
I can’t exactly say I’m close or far, because I have so many dreams. I want to publish books, make movies, and do artistic activities that reflect the depth of my soul. On the other hand, I have ideas on my mind. I actually come up with ideas in my own way for the sake of humanity. This is my secret part; I read a lot about these issues, I talk a lot to people who are professionals of this field. I have ideas about genetics. I also want to realize my project with the professionals of this field. I also want to share the inventions in my head, but I’m a little far from it right now. Because the career and character I created, “the Aleyna people see,” is not ready for that yet. And when you look at my music career, I’m very close to my dreams. I wanted to be a world star, I wanted to work with Diplo, I wanted to sign with Warner Music. Now I have a very talented team based in America – England, where I can produce foreign music. I think we’re halfway there. I feel like I’m so close to my dream of being a world star.
How do you know the right song?
For me, there is no such thing as the right song, there is a song that’s right for the period or the direction of your career. At least that’s how I worked up until now, saying it’s a hit instead of the right song. If I’m going to talk about my own song “Yalan”, it’s a different song that we need to go a little deeper and internalize. “Sen Olsan Bari” is a teen song, a song that teenagers will listen and adults will see as innovative. I’m not evaluating it in terms of being right, but rather on its concept.
How is our relationship with music changing when we consider technological developments and today’s cultural references?
Technology scares me but on the other hand it makes me happy to see my statistics and success in the technology-based media. The scary part is the social media concerts in the quarantine period. This brings out songs that do not fit the essence of music. I fear that maybe years from now, people won’t listen to a live concert at a concert venue, they won’t experience the synergy of that crowd. I hope I’m wrong. It would be very sad! When we’re on stage there are tens of thousands of people, we all create a very different energy together. There would be no synergy with everyone being at home. Technology has made some things lose their essence. Maybe essence and technology will create something new together and a completely different beauty will emerge. We don’t know that either. We just live through it.
How can you describe your music to someone who has never listened to it?
People actually couldn’t really listen to my music… all the projects I’ve done so far have been our production with professionals I’m proud to work with. Their music is already undefinable. Ozan Çolakoğlu, Ersay Üner, Emrah Karaduman; they are the most professional people who make the best hit songs in the country. It’s not my place to talk about their music. And if I’m going to tell you about my own music, you’ve only heard “Nasılsın Aşkta” and “Yalan”. I have almost 400 unreleased songs. I write my music through rebellion. It’s not a rebellion to the universe, it’s a rebellion to myself. I usually convey my own inner conflicts in my music. That’s why my songs are a little confused. They come out of two opposite points and merge at the same point. For example, in “Yalan”, I say, “a lie that that love me, that they say they love me” but right after that I say, “don’t touch me, don’t come near me, because I’ll bleed if you come to me”. I blend my desires with my realistic experiences. My music is my most vulnerable voice you’ll ever hear.
Is your music about your relationship with the masses or your own personal preferences?
So far, my relationship with the masses has been the most important because I really needed it. Because people had to see that I could appeal to the masses first. After that, my individual preferences would start to appeal to them. So earlier in my career, it was all about my relationship with the masses and my personal preferences were only mere references in my music videos.
To what extent does being recognized affect your connection to the outside world?
It doesn’t! For me, it is very normal to be recognized, when I say that I already had fans since first grade, we laugh every time I remind you of this, but being recognized does not affect me at all. There is no such thing as the outside world for me. For me, I am in everyone. Everything that’s inside me is in everyone. I exist, and everyone exists inside of me. We’re all one, so I don’t separate it out.
What’s your career going through right now?
It’s actually going through a transformative phase, and every transformation is painful. It’s painful whether it’s for the better or worse. I think I’m now entering a phase of fully articulating my potential, which both excites me and leaves me bleeding. My career is now at a stage where I have at least proven the possibility of becoming a world star after I said I would be a one when I was 17. It’s actually a period when I’m trying to transform myself into something even bigger, to do something even more and bigger than it looks. Everyone is actually transforming too because of the quarantine, so they will understand me. I’m in a pause, and I’m hiding right now so that I can jump higher.
What’s next for you?
Releasing a song in English! My next song will be in English. The songs I made were big hits and I don’t want to abandon Turkish music. Because I love Turkish music so much, I always insisted on this in my deal with Warner Music. I want to make an English song and after, a Turkish one. I will always sing Turkish songs.
Selda Bağcan once said, “Aleyna will be the Madonna of Turkey!” At the end of this deep conversation, I will again be an “Aleyna” and say: “if there is one Madonna in the world, there is only one Aleyna in Turkey.” (laughs)
Interview Duygu Bengi
Photography by Emre Ünal
Videography Melike Müge Şahin
Fashion by Oğuz Erel
Hair by Önder Tiryaki
MUA Rıfat Yüzüak
Post Production Sezer Arıcı
Asst. of Photographer İdil Hacıarifoğlu
Asst. of Videographer Burak Bazen
Color Gökhan Göktepe
Fashion Team Dilara Vural & Furkan Çelik
Asst. of Hair Stylist Günay Mehmedova
Nail Art Joli Master