Published on October 29th, 2020 | by Guest Contributor

Introducing Alia Lene – The First Signing To Haqq Islam’s Contra Worldwide Recordings

Alia Lene is poised to make her mark on the musical landscape. The Minneapolis born singer songwriter has just six singles under her belt and is starting to see some impressive social media plays and radio spins across the country with the track ‘Morning’ seeing over 500k views on Facebook and over 250k streams on Spotify. Her current single ‘Die For You’ and the single before it, ‘You Ain’t Ready’ have both surpassed the 200k mark on Spotify. Her soulful voice and sharp production make her a stand out in the pack. Her creations are all her own, she is a multi-instrumentalist as well as a producer and engineer and people are already starting to take notice with some key placements: Her music can be heard in Tyler Perry’s hit comedy Sistas on BET, as well as their holiday movie ‘Twas the Chaos Before Christmas’ for which she wrote three songs, including the title track ‘Christmas Morning’ – the highest rated Christmas movie in BET history. She was invited to do a residency at The Grand Bohemian Hotel in Orlando after staffers heard her sing and fell in love with her voice while she doing a photo shoot on the property. She is planning some additional shows around Election Day. Alia Lene is also busy putting the finishing touches on a Christmas EP entitled Christmas Miracle with details to be announced soon as well as her debut album, expected in Spring of 2021.

Listen to ‘Die For You’ on YouTube:

Alia Lene was the first signing to Music Industry veteran Haqq Islam’s new venture Contra Worldwide Recordings, a label he formed in 2018 with nephew and business partner Aaron Eubanks. He prides himself in working hand in hand with his signings and was instrumental in breaking the careers of Mya, Dru Hill and Sisqo, all signed to his first label, University Records. He discovered each artist, provided artist development from the ground up, and executive produced their albums and is now doing the same with Alia Lene. He talks about first hearing about her: “About two years ago I called a friend of mine from Howard University who had started a performing arts high school in Minnesota. I asked if he had any song writers, and he said he had the perfect candidate for me, Alia Lene. I then met her by phone, and she was completely unimpressed with my record of accomplishments! Nonetheless we began working together. I was very impressed with her song writing, more impressed with her voice. It was very unique, with presence and texture. Moreover, she had a great work ethic. This journey has had many ups and downs, nonetheless I’m enjoying watching Alia Lene blossoming and becoming an artist I believe will have a significant impact on the world and the world of music.”

He certainly discovered a diamond with Alia Lene who has been making music since she was a child: “I have a couple of different methods for writing songs. Sometimes I start writing while I’m making the beat. Sometimes I start with the concept and play the piano to develop the record. Sometimes I load up old beats I made and do melody freestyles until I find the song in my mumbles. It’s different every time and that’s what makes it so exciting. There’s really no science to it and that’s what I want to encourage as a writer. Encourage creatives to embrace their freedom and create literally whatever. But most importantly, have fun while doing it. Sometimes we’re so hard on ourselves that we block the beauty. We try to force the vibe. But nothing gets done that way. All we need to do is get out of the way of the music and let it write itself. Having the ability to express ourselves in a universal way is such a gift. So I take the pressure out of it and just create what I feel at that moment.”

Necessity is the mother of invention as they say and Alia Lene was raised in a small Baptist church, joining the church band as a child. Due to the congregations’s small size, like most preacher’s kids she and her family doubled as the church band and choir and found themselves also tackling the task of audio engineer. This early education served as the foundation for Alia Lene to learn to produce, mix and create the beats for her own music in addition to learning piano, guitar, bass and cello. She went on to study sound engineering, graduating from The High School for Recording Arts in Saint Paul. Alia Lene plays a part in every aspect of her musical process and her goal is to bring self-expression, creativity, and healing through the musical stories she creates.

Watch Alia Lene ‘How I Want It’ on YouTube