Artist Profile: Fayluna
Fayluna, the dream pop artist from Miami, Florida, has been etching out transcendent melodies and ambient-inspired soundscapes across her tracks for years, but, with the release of her self-titled debut album, Fayluna, she has made a definite mark on the scene itself, captivating listeners with a series of simultaneously immersive and expansive sonic journeys.
Her love for atmospheric sounds and music as a whole began as a child, when she begged her mother to sign her up for opera lessons after seeing a Sarah Brightman video she had put on the living room.
She began her vocal training and took piano lessons in addition, cementing her unique intention from an early age. However, when her father passed away when she was only ten years old, the piano, and the songs she wrote on it, became cathartic releases that helped her through her periods of grieving.
As she grew older, the ambient and classical tastes of her mother maintained their hold on her, but Fayluna moved deeper into the electronic spectrum as well, becoming infatuated with artists such as Beach House, Aphex Twin, and the Cocteau Twins.
Therefore, by the time she went to a songwriting school in the mountains of Southern California, Fayluna was practically bursting at the seams, ready to discover her sound through experimentation and sonic wanderings. There, she was trained in the art of lyricism, a fact that is reflected in the tightly-wound, poetic strings of thought laced across her current tracks.
Yet, what attracted Fayluna the most about music was not just the technical understandings that come with studio production; it was the fact that music, in natural form, is all around us and can be reflected and utilized within a recording.
“I just love that there's music everywhere; you go into nature, and there's the birds chirping, there's the wind rustling with the trees, the sound of a stream, the water. There's music everywhere, and I love to, when I go on hike or walks, just listen to whatever is around with no music at all. I feel that's my music, and I think that's what is beautiful to me, that nature has music. It's nice to incorporate the natural elements of things into other sonic soundscapes, and I like doing that.”
After graduating from Idyllwild Arts Academy, Fayluna studied at the Berklee College of Music, where she learned the intricacies of music production and was able to turn her loftier sonic ambitions into actualized output.
Under her given name, Francesca Londono, Fayluna released a number of tracks that represent this growing and shaping of her sonic intention. Yet, upon the release of her album Fayluna, the young artist has announced herself as a deeply intentional, acoustically gifted lyricist and producer, operating in the trance-like state between dream pop and ambient-inspired soundscapes.
From the strummed progressions and hushed melodies of songs such as “Tulips of Gold” to more rhythm-driven tracks like “Melancholy Girl”, Fayluna’s immersive talent is evident across the entirety of the album, and, as she continues to push toward new sounds for her second album, the listener, to fully appreciate Fayluna, must continue to fall deeper into the trance that has been induced by her sonic minutiae.
“This [second] album has the Fayluna touch, I believe, but it's different for sure. It's a lot more poppy and a lot more top line than soundscape-y. It definitely still has the soundscape elements, and the dreamy, but it's also a bit more dance-y as well, kind of channeling some of the older European dance music, but still keeping the ambient soundscapes.”
