Marcus Hart’s Kinetic PE MIXX Show Unveils Alya’s Grammy Journey from Burnout to Breakthrough March 1
MILWAUKEE, WI – February 28, 2025 – Marcus Hart, host of Kinetic PE MIXX Show and Transform U founder, drops “From Burnout to Grammy Award Breakthrough: Alya’s Journey,” airing Saturday, March 1, 2025, at 8:30 PM CST on YouTube and podcast apps. Grammy-winner Alya’s faith-fueled rise targets 10,000 views, inspiring burned-out believers nationwide.
For believers like Sarah—exhausted, spiritually adrift, and purpose-starved—Marcus Hart’s latest Kinetic PE MIXX Show episode is a soul-lifting jolt. Premiering Saturday, March 1, 2025, at 8:30 PM CST on YouTube and podcast apps, “From Burnout to Grammy Award Breakthrough: Alya’s Journey” pairs Hart’s Milwaukee grit with Alya’s Grammy-winning glow. This 25-minute faith-driven feature aims for 10,000 views/downloads, sparking a renewal movement.
Learn more about Alya and her music: www.alyaofficial.com
------
Hart’s raw—once a DJ dodging napkins, he hit burnout like a “demolition derby.” “Psalm 23 pulled me out,” he says. Alya’s story mirrors it—Soviet roots, caroling at six, Grammy gold with Eric Clapton on “Silent Night.” “Burnout’s when I wrote ‘Hope’—a viral TikTok prayer,” she told Hart. From journalist to Grammy stage, her faith-first sound—uplifting, soul-deep—resonates with Sarah, 40% of whom battle burnout (Gallup). Hart’s 2024 episodes spiked 50%—this one’s SEO-charged—“faith-based burnout recovery,” “Grammy inspiration”—to triple that reach.
The episode’s fire—Hart’s napkin-flop meets Alya’s writer’s block, capped with three faith-fueled tips to flip despair into breakthrough. “It’s Chris Rock with a Bible—real talk, real hope,” Hart quips. Listeners can grab Transform U Coffee and join Hart’s coaching via marcus-hart.com, where his free “Renewal Toolkit” PDF awaits. Journalists, this is gold: a Milwaukee host and a Grammy soul redefining resilience—share it, and 10k could soar.
Drink your new favorite coffee and contribute to a bigger cause: https://www.transformumedia.com/products/transform-u-merch/transform-u-roasted-coffee-blend-53302098
Buy the Book on Amazon now! https://www.amazon.com/Transform-Unlocking-Leadership-Psychology-Perspective-ebook/dp/B0DTVQ5XPH?ref_=ast_author_mpb
------
Transform U, led by Marcus Hart, empowers burned-out believers with faith and purpose via coffee, coaching, and media. Based in Milwaukee, Kinetic PE MIXX Show delivers raw renewal tales. Explore more at transformumedia.com and snag free resources or coaching at marcus-hart.com—join the faith-first movement!
“From Burnout to Grammy Award Breakthrough: Alya’s Journey,” airing Saturday, March 1, 2025, at 8:30 PM CST on YouTube (https://youtu.be/FuwTWY24iEs) and podcast apps (https://www.spreaker.com/episode/from-burnout-to-grammy-award-breakthrough-alya-s-journey--64639298)
Transcript
Marcus Hart (00:00)
Hey Connect PE mix audience out there, if you burned out, far from God, or just feeling like life's hitting you with a folding chair, this one's for you. I'm Marcus Hart, your host on The Connect PE Show, where we're in reuniting faith, renewing purpose, and telling burned out to kiss it. Today I've got Alia, Grammy winning singer, songwriter, worked with Eric Clapton, basically the kind of talent that makes me wonder why am I still holding this little mic here?
But real talk, she's been through the burnout, bring her to and came out swinging with faith. We're diving into how she did it and how you can stop looking like you just lost a rap battle with your own mirror. Grab your trash from you because I got mine because DCAP ain't saving you today and let's roll out. let's let me set this up for us. Now with some realness. 2020, man, I hit a wall so hard I thought I was auditioning for a demolition germy. Exhausted.
down to God wondering if my purpose was to just be the Wi-Fi guy who loses his password. And I was done. And this is why I like talking to people like you, Anya. Welcome to the show, by the way.
Alya (01:08)
Thank you. Hi Marcus and friends.
Marcus Hart (01:11)
Yeah. So, you know, first of all, I find it very interesting that you have, you come from the same region that our First Lady comes from, which is fantastic. It's not many times that I meet people from that region. From what I hear, you guys are very direct, very great people to connect with because you guys.
You guys, you know, you stay like how it is and I love them. So take this to your burnout moment. You know, when, when the writer's block had you staring at a blank page, like it owed you money or something, you know, what was the vibe and where was God where you while you was losing it?
Alya (01:49)
Well, I did grow up in the Soviet Union and I was born in a little town close to Moscow and spent my childhood in the Ukraine region near the Lviv. It's also a beautiful, very old town. from the moment I remember myself, from a very little age, the thing I enjoyed the most was music and art.
and specifically music that has to do with spirituality or Christianity because my family, my grandma and my mom, were baptized in Greek Orthodox Church or Russian Orthodox, if we would be more precise. And so like this spiritual sort of connection was always in the family, mainly coming from my grandma.
and she loved to sing. I don't have any musical roots in my family, so I would say I'm sort of an oddity. But I really, really enjoyed it from the very, very early age. And I like to tell the story how the first money I earned were at the age of six when I was caroling on the streets of that little town close to Lviv, which is pretty amazing. I...
I can't call myself a professional singer because I started early at age six.
Marcus Hart (03:07)
That was great.
It's fantastic. I love that you pointed out that where your foundation comes from and where your heritage started at. And I think that's very crucial in understanding just the type of soul you put into your music. And I got a chance to listen and sample a bit. It's amazing. And I just wonder, was there any trials that you came across where you had to claw yourself out?
Or was it a particular song that kept you moving forward and doing what you do now in prayer? Or did you just yell at the devil until he left the room?
Alya (03:43)
Well, you know, the artists, they're very insecure people and I'm not an exception. daily do very profound spiritual work and talks with myself, reminded you about my path as an artist and a human. And my...
A road to artistry to be singer-songwriter as I am right now was not an easy one. I was transitioning from different profession. I used to work as a journalist for quite a while, military journalist in fact, but I never gave up my love for music. And as soon as I had a chance, as soon as I felt that time was right, I fully committed to doing this and enjoying.
Marcus Hart (04:08)
Good night.
Alya (04:22)
that sings and in terms of you know the songs and the genre and the kind of like essence of the music that I'm doing right now that you're asking I'm I'm I think I'm still on a way trying to figure out you know my own my my my sound but whatever is on the market right now song hope or my latest Christmas album and my upcoming album and remix
for my single Hope, which was very popular, is the best description of the style and the sound that I have right now. Inspirational, bright, something that brings pleasure to people and hopefully changes them for the better. It's a music with the soul. It's a music with the heart, with purpose. Something that maybe comes a little bit from...
my Grammy-winning experience, which was in the category of the spiritual music. I definitely want to bring it towards a more mainstream audience, but not lose that uplifting and beautiful spirit that I think we're lacking in the popular music today.
Marcus Hart (05:23)
Yes.
You know, that's very wild, you know. And I really do feel it in my soul, you know, just listening to you. And I mean, I ain't Grammy level at all, but I screamed at a Blank Podcast group once, like I stole my lunch. you know, just to be able to really hear you say that and really, like, sincerely mean that you would like to bring it to the forefront without losing, you know, the true intent, the true spirit.
behind it is so important. I mean, Anya, you jammed with Eric Clapton, who's a legend. Was there a lesson at all that that collab came out of where it made you keep the fire from fizzling out?
Alya (06:09)
the lesson, I don't know if there was a lesson, you know, when I learned that I will have this collaboration with a legendary artist, that was, there was like an aha moment, obviously, and a big surprise for me. And, I guess maybe the lesson was that I just said to myself, don't have any expectations, don't have any,
sort of, you know, just let it unroll and surprise. when we didn't work in the same room, Eric worked from London and I, Los Angeles based musicians. So we all were collaborating distantly and when we received the track from him and I put together my vocals and instrumentation that we had, that's when the magic happened. And I think maybe that was sort of
great lesson, just, you know, let really life universe and Providence sort of speak for itself versus trying to make a plan and make sure that the plan implemented in a very little detail. And I really love that collaboration. You know,
I'm blessed to be the only one artist that Eric Axelor collaborated on a Christmas record. He only has one Christmas record and he never did collapse with anyone on a Christmas song. So for me to have him on legendary song by itself, know, he's singing on my silent night. Did you hear by the way the song? It's, I mean, the song is very...
I mean, it's a known song. Everybody knows Silent Light. I don't know if there is one person on planet that can't hum a tune, but it's a beautiful song by itself. And we did an arrangement with my partner, Tim Carman, which is very airy and almost absent. It's a very floaty song. And Eric Fresens...
Marcus Hart (07:39)
I'm
Yeah.
you
Yeah.
Alya (08:01)
added this sort of, you know, legendary and airy quality in that every time I turn on this music, I feel like I'm on a cloud. It's a beautiful, very spiritual, very, I don't know, very meaningful composition. And I'm very grateful for Eric that he agreed to participate on this record.
Marcus Hart (08:21)
I love that, you know, that is straight gold right there. And I agree, you know, that song truly do put you in place, you know, and there's an opportunity right there to just make you say, snap, you know, where can I go from here? You know, what else can I do beyond this? And I'm wondering, you know, did you get anything out of that record, you know, after hearing it back?
that inspire you to do more or draw from other influences that are like something, some people that you may look up to that may have a parallel or somewhat parallel to the direction you want to go in the future.
Alya (09:08)
Well, you know, I would probably name another song Hope, which is definitely something that you're referring to. So original Hope that I wrote and released last year, it's definitely broke this boundaries to be just a song and become something bigger. And I did have a vision for this song from the very, very beginning that is very unusual because I wrote it from the
place from the dark place when things were not very good around me. And I had this urge to write something very uplifting for myself, for people around me and sort of be this helping hand to anyone who's experiencing some dark moments in life. And I wrote this song very fast.
you know, sometimes songwriting process could be daunting and this song came out very fast, very easy. And as soon as I recorded it and released, I made this announcement to my fans, followers on my social media, calling them to go out in the world and, you know, use my song as an inspiration and just try to do like one simple, good...
day in and a day, you know, make sure that you do not leave your day without not doing something good. And it doesn't have to be big. can just literally give a hug to person you love or even don't know, or just, you know, simple things that don't require even a minute of your time. And so this song became viral on TikTok and it's still going on across so many different countries, which, which,
Marcus Hart (10:41)
slice.
Alya (10:43)
was so fulfilling and to your point, you know, people need it. We do need a reminder that there is a good seed in every one of us. And especially when you feel like things are not really good around you or you feel like you're in a dark place, it might be not a dark place. You might be just right in front of something really wonderful and bright and it just blinds you. So this song, Hope.
Marcus Hart (10:48)
Mm-hmm.
Alya (11:10)
It was a very beautiful name for the song. It was sort of very catalytic to this movement. And we're doing a remix that will be out this year with another two beautiful collaborators. So we will have my friend Tina Campbell and, you know, Death Smoke. We're several genres together, but with the same great idea to bring inspiration to people's lives, to inspire them to be better.
And not just treat art as a music, something that entertainment, it's bigger than that. And I think people are looking for that.
Marcus Hart (11:44)
love it. So we're gonna go into a break here, ladies and gentlemen. We are rocking with Anya, who's just a beautiful soul and out here inspiring and doing God's work. We'll be right back on the other side to talk more with Anya.
Marcus Hart (12:48)
Okay, well, we are back, ladies and gentlemen. I like to always talk to that one woman out there who's, I like to call her Sarah, who's feeling like faith is on life support and passion is in witness protection. You Aya, you're proof that you ain't gotta stay down. God's got a remit for you, Les, trust me. So let's break this down a little bit more. How do we go from burnout to breakthrough without losing our minds or our salvation?
Well, put it more like this. I'm sorry. You know, what's your morning move? You know, we all got things that, you know, help us reset in the morning. Let's start there.
Alya (13:21)
Yes, you know.
Right, you know, like, I hate to give people any advice because we are on our separate ways, our separate journeys. But for me, very transformational was the spiritual work that I'm trying to do every day. which I think could be very similar in different cultures. It doesn't matter what religion you are or what do you believe beliefs are. But
Marcus Hart (13:34)
Mm-hmm.
Alya (13:53)
I guess just waking up in the morning and before even you put your souls on the ground, just reminding yourself that this is a good day. Everything's going to be good. You already hear your life, your soul within your body. So that's going to be a day. And remind about your mission, whatever your mission is, whatever you're trying to achieve at this particular moment. That's what I'm trying to do in my daily routine.
and that was really helpful and transformational for me. also, you know, also trying to, which I read recently from a very wise book, always try to look at yourself and everything is going on in your life from the perspective of the third person, because that gives you sort of this different dimension of yourself and different perception of what's happening and
We as a human, we're very attached to lot of things and the emotions and insecurities that we have, these are big attachments. And the more you remind yourself that these attachments and you don't have to carry them and you actually could be the boss of this attachment, so drop them completely if you don't need them in the life. It really helps. I can tell that I'm good in it. I'm working daily on this myself, but this is...
was great advice from the book that I, read recently that I probably would recommend anyone to try.
Marcus Hart (15:11)
Excellent, excellent. That's a good sauce right there that you're giving us. Truly waking up with a positive mind or shifting yourself to a positive mind, I think that's a beautiful way to start the day along with some coffee to push you forward. But there's these different attachments that don't serve us.
Alya (15:27)
Great.
Marcus Hart (15:32)
There are people who can serve. I remember I was out playing long rangers. That's actually a dude's horse that left me too. And Anya, you got a squad. How do you pick folks who don't suck the life out of you?
Alya (15:45)
I'm sorry, could you repeat that?
Marcus Hart (15:47)
A good way to put it is, what's your trick for finding a team that's a ride or die for you that's not just sucking up your Wi-Fi?
Alya (15:54)
Well, you know, when I guess to talk to the talk, I like to, I like to actually understand and feel people that I work with. And it took me a while to find the right team in Los Angeles, because, you know, I am from a different country, there is a lot of obstacles I have for the foreigner, mainly related to, you know,
kind of our cultural differences. And although, I mean, there's a lot of differences when you come from a different country. So I would say the best people that I found so far, they came through the great conversation and the shared love to make positive changes.
So I would say when you look for the right people, for the right team, for yourself, doesn't matter what are you working on, it doesn't have to be an art project or whatever you're into. I would say just try to find the people that have the same vibe with you, whatever this word means for you. usually, yes, usually it comes through the conversation or sometimes you don't even need to say much. You know, when you meet the right person, you...
You feel it. You feel this connection. You you pick the same things. I, my personal experience, that's how the right team and people came to me. Sadly, you know, before that happens, you make a lot of mistakes along the way, but I think if you trust your intuition the most and really don't let the mind take over all the time, because mind asks a lot of questions.
and let sort of heart make decisions sometimes, that also helps.
Marcus Hart (17:37)
I that, you know, and I chuckle little bit when you say vibes because that is a very trending word right now, know, like filling the vibes and, it's real though, you know, God will send you the right person when you're not looking because, you you guys got something in common or the conversation just going in the right direction and you don't really have to say much, you can be who you are. And likewise, they can be who they are without hiding.
and concealing anything that they would normally conceal in. I think that's so important, especially when you create a purpose and you create a purpose just like how you do. You're out here changing the world with your tones and I think that's so beautiful. I tie everything back to faith, as you can tell in for me podcast and coaching and coffee, because if it ain't pointing to God, it's just noise.
How does that juice you up? What's one time your music made waves and you were like, yeah, this is why I'm here.
Alya (18:33)
Well, the song Hope is definitely what's the beginning of this transformation for me, not the transformation, as I said, you know, I received my Grammy being a part of the album, which is inspirational music, best new age music album. This is the music that helps people to grow in their spiritual road, whatever they're taking. So I really, you know,
My journey as an artist, as I said, it wasn't straightforward. Sometimes people go to this industry very young, they don't quite know who they are. They just know that they love music, they have calling for music. very often this is just, you know, broken souls down the road because the music industry breaks them and make them into money-making machine.
I believe that the artist and the music is about something different. From the ancient time, music is something to inspire people, to connect people, to bring people together. And I see the artist's purpose in this. So when I was signed up with the BMG after the Grammy win, that was sort of my vision of the...
sound that I will be bringing to the market. It will be inspirational. It will have all these beautiful, united qualities. It will change the trajectory of how we will see the music. It's not going to be just for the entertainment. you know, I released several singles that I tried a lot of different genres, but they all pop music. And the hope, even though it's inspirational music, and we...
were nominated at Grammy this year in the gospel category as well. It's still beyond that. I don't really like to put labels on the music because as I said, I believe that the higher purposes of music is a unite. So when you start to categorize things, it sort of dilutes the purpose. If I like the music, I don't look at the label as a gospel or as a trap or whatever. I listen...
Marcus Hart (20:18)
you
Alya (20:28)
all sorts of music and love, know, sometimes it could be in the mood for trap and there is nothing bad about it. It's just what you want to hear at this moment. It's music. It's supposed to complete you in a certain moment of your life. So song became this, song co-op became one of this big sort of catalytic moments in my career as a when whatever I wanted to say in music resonated with the people online because
I'm very active on Instagram and YouTube. To my big audiences, I was very happy to see this instant connection because sometimes as an artist, we have this dilemma. You have this in your hat, you create a beautiful piece of music and art, and you exactly what you wanted to say, and you put it out there, and there is crickets. Or people see completely different from what you wanted to put in your artistry.
Marcus Hart (21:04)
Yeah.
Alya (21:19)
This time, the hope was the moment when everything came together. And the remix that will be out this year, I'm really, really excited about that because with the spoken word genre, which is very popular these days, I think people starting liking to hear the word, to go down to the meaning, to really kind of, know, really...
Marcus Hart (21:35)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Alya (21:43)
have responsibility for what they hear and what they say, and together with the beautiful melodies that were in the core of my song, Hope. also, Tina Campbell, she's just incredible gospel singer. So that gives this uplifting and spiritual sort of degree to the song. I really feel like it will fly. So you'll see if song Hope making so many waves, because like original song,
Marcus Hart (21:47)
Yeah.
Alya (22:10)
We donated shares to UNICEF. mean, it's obviously just from this little acts of kindness from the donating shares to UNICEF, helping children around the world. It's already doing good, but then you hope it's going to be a new dimension of that. And I think it will touch so many souls in a good way. I'm really so curious and so I can't wait to get this song out of the studio and distribute it.
Marcus Hart (22:36)
Yeah. All right. I like that. I like that a lot. And we spoke about that when you don't look at the labels of music. That really speaks to, you know, the question I had about like, you know, creating with purpose and how you do it. And you're not really thinking about, you know, it's got to go to this specific type of people. know, you just want to make people feel good. You want it to be universal. want.
You want to bring everyone in and draw everyone in and out so that they can be able to see your light and then that light be role model to help others and pass it on to others. when you talk about resetting your mornings, the way you reset your mornings and the way you choose and lean on a real crew, we begin to see that light.
You don't need a Grammy to start this. I think this is very useful information you are giving us to that person I call Sarah out there, who's that woman that looks up to you, woman in the room, that looks up to people like you. And you're truly an inspiration. I really thank you for that.
Alya (23:51)
Well, you know, I'm not pretending to be a role model for anyone and I actually don't want to be a role model to anyone. I'm just, you know, we people, we're social animals. We do need to have an inspiration. We do look at each other. It's just the nature, human nature. There is nothing bad or good about it. And I myself need an inspiration. So if somebody inspired by my personal journey, I'm just...
Marcus Hart (24:06)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Alya (24:17)
I'm just trying to be the best version of myself. I'm not pretending anything, not in art, not in my just regular life. I do believe that, for example, in musical, in music industry right now, there is a lot of pretending because, because it's became like all about money. It's a lot of pretending, a lot of technicalities. There is a bazillions of people who can say, you know, I'm the second Whitney or I'm the third Mariah Carey or anything else.
Marcus Hart (24:42)
Yeah.
Alya (24:43)
But
if you will look at the roots of the music, and majority of the roots of the music lies within spirituality or religion, you will see that, for example, among Buddhist monks, the people who had the better voice or technique were not considered the best. They couldn't care less about these qualities that you can train your vocal muscles.
the best part, the most important mantras or prayers were given to the people who had something inside. Sometimes they didn't even have a good voice as a technique, but they had a spark, they had a spirit. And this is, in my opinion, completely absent right now on the music industry. And this is something that I'm trying to bring in. I am a classically trained opera singer. I know all the tricks. I know how to, you know...
give the high notes or the low notes, I can do the runs and trills, but this is not my focus. I'm really trying to bring on the market the music that has a spirit, that has a soul, that moves people. And when they hear it, they can associate with that. They not listening to my technique and not saying, my gosh, she's a great singer. They actually hear the song and song moves them.
they want to sing this song, they want to be the part of the songs. And the majority of lyrics that I come up with, it's very easy. Again, I'm not trying to impress. I can write all day long, you know, all these beautiful metaphors and long sentences and some exquisite, you know, rhymes, but this is not about that. I really want music, my craft to be connected to people. want it to move people and hopefully for the better.
Marcus Hart (26:10)
you
Like you said earlier, there is a return back to the word and just the deep rooted meaning of those words and simplicity. People don't want to be concealed from what something means and decoding stuff all the time. And especially if it's not delivered or presented with soul in the first place. just, let me hurry up and put this in the microwave and get what I want out of it.
versus like let's make a full course meal where we all sit at the table, commune together and exchange. There's an equal exchange for that. you got some tracks that I want you to just remind us about those tracks drop in and tell us where we can hit you up at.
Alya (27:10)
So right now out you can enjoy my latest track, which is Hope. And you can find it on every streaming platform, whatever you listen to your music or buy it from whatever platform you buy your music from. It's distributed everywhere digitally. And there is a beautiful video on my YouTube channel, Ali Official, and you can subscribe as well.
do post very frequently some glimpses from my studio life, how I create the music, whatever I think about this and that. So you might like that. And you also can watch a beautiful music video for Hope in there, which is everything you talked about, about simplicity and inspiration and basically just comfort and feeling for someone who needs it in the moment.
Instagram is another platform where I'm very frequently live and it's aliamikelson, alia.mikelson. Please go join me there. If you, as I am, love Christmas music, my Christmas album, No More Lonely Christmas is up on every digital platform. It's an awesome, awesome record.
Marcus Hart (28:06)
you
Alya (28:12)
And I have friends that listen Christmas music all year round. It doesn't matter if it's July or not. And this is the record where a collaboration with Eric Clapton present and also Indiana Sphere, Indiaras Sphere from Brazil. Incredible harmonica artist, which you will just love it. And couple very cool upbeat songs that just will bring joy to your life. And I'm happy to have you all there. Please go listen and have fun.
Marcus Hart (28:37)
Yes, we make sure we do support you in all that you're doing. We're going to drop the links for people who want to find the music. We'll give it to them right away. And also just share social media presence with YouTube and Instagram, which is very important. So you drop some bars for us today saying thanks for not making me look too bad next to a Grammy Globe.
Alya (28:59)
Thank you, Marcus.
Marcus Hart (29:01)
Yeah. those who out there, know, especially, you know, those who feel like they're alone in this burnout mess and, you know, and lacking inspiration and lacking, you know, a place where they can just come and, know, and not be judged and be involved. You know, it's not your finale, it's your pregame, you know, and this episode here is just, you know, just a start and I want you to continue to follow on your journey.
She has traps as you know that awaken soul of faster than the double espresso So if this lets you up today share it with your burnout buddy leave a comment Marcus you wow and slide over to the TV show Keep the face stable and let's burn bright not out. Peace out
Hey Connect PE mix audience out there, if you burned out, far from God, or just feeling like life's hitting you with a folding chair, this one's for you. I'm Marcus Hart, your host on The Connect PE Show, where we're in reuniting faith, renewing purpose, and telling burned out to kiss it. Today I've got Alia, Grammy winning singer, songwriter, worked with Eric Clapton, basically the kind of talent that makes me wonder why am I still holding this little mic here?
But real talk, she's been through the burnout, bring her to and came out swinging with faith. We're diving into how she did it and how you can stop looking like you just lost a rap battle with your own mirror. Grab your trash from you because I got mine because DCAP ain't saving you today and let's roll out. let's let me set this up for us. Now with some realness. 2020, man, I hit a wall so hard I thought I was auditioning for a demolition germy. Exhausted.
down to God wondering if my purpose was to just be the Wi-Fi guy who loses his password. And I was done. And this is why I like talking to people like you, Anya. Welcome to the show, by the way.
Alya (01:08)
Thank you. Hi Marcus and friends.
Marcus Hart (01:11)
Yeah. So, you know, first of all, I find it very interesting that you have, you come from the same region that our First Lady comes from, which is fantastic. It's not many times that I meet people from that region. From what I hear, you guys are very direct, very great people to connect with because you guys.
You guys, you know, you stay like how it is and I love them. So take this to your burnout moment. You know, when, when the writer's block had you staring at a blank page, like it owed you money or something, you know, what was the vibe and where was God where you while you was losing it?
Alya (01:49)
Well, I did grow up in the Soviet Union and I was born in a little town close to Moscow and spent my childhood in the Ukraine region near the Lviv. It's also a beautiful, very old town. from the moment I remember myself, from a very little age, the thing I enjoyed the most was music and art.
and specifically music that has to do with spirituality or Christianity because my family, my grandma and my mom, were baptized in Greek Orthodox Church or Russian Orthodox, if we would be more precise. And so like this spiritual sort of connection was always in the family, mainly coming from my grandma.
and she loved to sing. I don't have any musical roots in my family, so I would say I'm sort of an oddity. But I really, really enjoyed it from the very, very early age. And I like to tell the story how the first money I earned were at the age of six when I was caroling on the streets of that little town close to Lviv, which is pretty amazing. I...
I can't call myself a professional singer because I started early at age six.
Marcus Hart (03:07)
That was great.
It's fantastic. I love that you pointed out that where your foundation comes from and where your heritage started at. And I think that's very crucial in understanding just the type of soul you put into your music. And I got a chance to listen and sample a bit. It's amazing. And I just wonder, was there any trials that you came across where you had to claw yourself out?
Or was it a particular song that kept you moving forward and doing what you do now in prayer? Or did you just yell at the devil until he left the room?
Alya (03:43)
Well, you know, the artists, they're very insecure people and I'm not an exception. daily do very profound spiritual work and talks with myself, reminded you about my path as an artist and a human. And my...
A road to artistry to be singer-songwriter as I am right now was not an easy one. I was transitioning from different profession. I used to work as a journalist for quite a while, military journalist in fact, but I never gave up my love for music. And as soon as I had a chance, as soon as I felt that time was right, I fully committed to doing this and enjoying.
Marcus Hart (04:08)
Good night.
Alya (04:22)
that sings and in terms of you know the songs and the genre and the kind of like essence of the music that I'm doing right now that you're asking I'm I'm I think I'm still on a way trying to figure out you know my own my my my sound but whatever is on the market right now song hope or my latest Christmas album and my upcoming album and remix
for my single Hope, which was very popular, is the best description of the style and the sound that I have right now. Inspirational, bright, something that brings pleasure to people and hopefully changes them for the better. It's a music with the soul. It's a music with the heart, with purpose. Something that maybe comes a little bit from...
my Grammy-winning experience, which was in the category of the spiritual music. I definitely want to bring it towards a more mainstream audience, but not lose that uplifting and beautiful spirit that I think we're lacking in the popular music today.
Marcus Hart (05:23)
Yes.
You know, that's very wild, you know. And I really do feel it in my soul, you know, just listening to you. And I mean, I ain't Grammy level at all, but I screamed at a Blank Podcast group once, like I stole my lunch. you know, just to be able to really hear you say that and really, like, sincerely mean that you would like to bring it to the forefront without losing, you know, the true intent, the true spirit.
behind it is so important. I mean, Anya, you jammed with Eric Clapton, who's a legend. Was there a lesson at all that that collab came out of where it made you keep the fire from fizzling out?
Alya (06:09)
the lesson, I don't know if there was a lesson, you know, when I learned that I will have this collaboration with a legendary artist, that was, there was like an aha moment, obviously, and a big surprise for me. And, I guess maybe the lesson was that I just said to myself, don't have any expectations, don't have any,
sort of, you know, just let it unroll and surprise. when we didn't work in the same room, Eric worked from London and I, Los Angeles based musicians. So we all were collaborating distantly and when we received the track from him and I put together my vocals and instrumentation that we had, that's when the magic happened. And I think maybe that was sort of
great lesson, just, you know, let really life universe and Providence sort of speak for itself versus trying to make a plan and make sure that the plan implemented in a very little detail. And I really love that collaboration. You know,
I'm blessed to be the only one artist that Eric Axelor collaborated on a Christmas record. He only has one Christmas record and he never did collapse with anyone on a Christmas song. So for me to have him on legendary song by itself, know, he's singing on my silent night. Did you hear by the way the song? It's, I mean, the song is very...
I mean, it's a known song. Everybody knows Silent Light. I don't know if there is one person on planet that can't hum a tune, but it's a beautiful song by itself. And we did an arrangement with my partner, Tim Carman, which is very airy and almost absent. It's a very floaty song. And Eric Fresens...
Marcus Hart (07:39)
I'm
Yeah.
you
Yeah.
Alya (08:01)
added this sort of, you know, legendary and airy quality in that every time I turn on this music, I feel like I'm on a cloud. It's a beautiful, very spiritual, very, I don't know, very meaningful composition. And I'm very grateful for Eric that he agreed to participate on this record.
Marcus Hart (08:21)
I love that, you know, that is straight gold right there. And I agree, you know, that song truly do put you in place, you know, and there's an opportunity right there to just make you say, snap, you know, where can I go from here? You know, what else can I do beyond this? And I'm wondering, you know, did you get anything out of that record, you know, after hearing it back?
that inspire you to do more or draw from other influences that are like something, some people that you may look up to that may have a parallel or somewhat parallel to the direction you want to go in the future.
Alya (09:08)
Well, you know, I would probably name another song Hope, which is definitely something that you're referring to. So original Hope that I wrote and released last year, it's definitely broke this boundaries to be just a song and become something bigger. And I did have a vision for this song from the very, very beginning that is very unusual because I wrote it from the
place from the dark place when things were not very good around me. And I had this urge to write something very uplifting for myself, for people around me and sort of be this helping hand to anyone who's experiencing some dark moments in life. And I wrote this song very fast.
you know, sometimes songwriting process could be daunting and this song came out very fast, very easy. And as soon as I recorded it and released, I made this announcement to my fans, followers on my social media, calling them to go out in the world and, you know, use my song as an inspiration and just try to do like one simple, good...
day in and a day, you know, make sure that you do not leave your day without not doing something good. And it doesn't have to be big. can just literally give a hug to person you love or even don't know, or just, you know, simple things that don't require even a minute of your time. And so this song became viral on TikTok and it's still going on across so many different countries, which, which,
Marcus Hart (10:41)
slice.
Alya (10:43)
was so fulfilling and to your point, you know, people need it. We do need a reminder that there is a good seed in every one of us. And especially when you feel like things are not really good around you or you feel like you're in a dark place, it might be not a dark place. You might be just right in front of something really wonderful and bright and it just blinds you. So this song, Hope.
Marcus Hart (10:48)
Mm-hmm.
Alya (11:10)
It was a very beautiful name for the song. It was sort of very catalytic to this movement. And we're doing a remix that will be out this year with another two beautiful collaborators. So we will have my friend Tina Campbell and, you know, Death Smoke. We're several genres together, but with the same great idea to bring inspiration to people's lives, to inspire them to be better.
And not just treat art as a music, something that entertainment, it's bigger than that. And I think people are looking for that.
Marcus Hart (11:44)
love it. So we're gonna go into a break here, ladies and gentlemen. We are rocking with Anya, who's just a beautiful soul and out here inspiring and doing God's work. We'll be right back on the other side to talk more with Anya.
Marcus Hart (12:48)
Okay, well, we are back, ladies and gentlemen. I like to always talk to that one woman out there who's, I like to call her Sarah, who's feeling like faith is on life support and passion is in witness protection. You Aya, you're proof that you ain't gotta stay down. God's got a remit for you, Les, trust me. So let's break this down a little bit more. How do we go from burnout to breakthrough without losing our minds or our salvation?
Well, put it more like this. I'm sorry. You know, what's your morning move? You know, we all got things that, you know, help us reset in the morning. Let's start there.
Alya (13:21)
Yes, you know.
Right, you know, like, I hate to give people any advice because we are on our separate ways, our separate journeys. But for me, very transformational was the spiritual work that I'm trying to do every day. which I think could be very similar in different cultures. It doesn't matter what religion you are or what do you believe beliefs are. But
Marcus Hart (13:34)
Mm-hmm.
Alya (13:53)
I guess just waking up in the morning and before even you put your souls on the ground, just reminding yourself that this is a good day. Everything's going to be good. You already hear your life, your soul within your body. So that's going to be a day. And remind about your mission, whatever your mission is, whatever you're trying to achieve at this particular moment. That's what I'm trying to do in my daily routine.
and that was really helpful and transformational for me. also, you know, also trying to, which I read recently from a very wise book, always try to look at yourself and everything is going on in your life from the perspective of the third person, because that gives you sort of this different dimension of yourself and different perception of what's happening and
We as a human, we're very attached to lot of things and the emotions and insecurities that we have, these are big attachments. And the more you remind yourself that these attachments and you don't have to carry them and you actually could be the boss of this attachment, so drop them completely if you don't need them in the life. It really helps. I can tell that I'm good in it. I'm working daily on this myself, but this is...
was great advice from the book that I, read recently that I probably would recommend anyone to try.
Marcus Hart (15:11)
Excellent, excellent. That's a good sauce right there that you're giving us. Truly waking up with a positive mind or shifting yourself to a positive mind, I think that's a beautiful way to start the day along with some coffee to push you forward. But there's these different attachments that don't serve us.
Alya (15:27)
Great.
Marcus Hart (15:32)
There are people who can serve. I remember I was out playing long rangers. That's actually a dude's horse that left me too. And Anya, you got a squad. How do you pick folks who don't suck the life out of you?
Alya (15:45)
I'm sorry, could you repeat that?
Marcus Hart (15:47)
A good way to put it is, what's your trick for finding a team that's a ride or die for you that's not just sucking up your Wi-Fi?
Alya (15:54)
Well, you know, when I guess to talk to the talk, I like to, I like to actually understand and feel people that I work with. And it took me a while to find the right team in Los Angeles, because, you know, I am from a different country, there is a lot of obstacles I have for the foreigner, mainly related to, you know,
kind of our cultural differences. And although, I mean, there's a lot of differences when you come from a different country. So I would say the best people that I found so far, they came through the great conversation and the shared love to make positive changes.
So I would say when you look for the right people, for the right team, for yourself, doesn't matter what are you working on, it doesn't have to be an art project or whatever you're into. I would say just try to find the people that have the same vibe with you, whatever this word means for you. usually, yes, usually it comes through the conversation or sometimes you don't even need to say much. You know, when you meet the right person, you...
You feel it. You feel this connection. You you pick the same things. I, my personal experience, that's how the right team and people came to me. Sadly, you know, before that happens, you make a lot of mistakes along the way, but I think if you trust your intuition the most and really don't let the mind take over all the time, because mind asks a lot of questions.
and let sort of heart make decisions sometimes, that also helps.
Marcus Hart (17:37)
I that, you know, and I chuckle little bit when you say vibes because that is a very trending word right now, know, like filling the vibes and, it's real though, you know, God will send you the right person when you're not looking because, you you guys got something in common or the conversation just going in the right direction and you don't really have to say much, you can be who you are. And likewise, they can be who they are without hiding.
and concealing anything that they would normally conceal in. I think that's so important, especially when you create a purpose and you create a purpose just like how you do. You're out here changing the world with your tones and I think that's so beautiful. I tie everything back to faith, as you can tell in for me podcast and coaching and coffee, because if it ain't pointing to God, it's just noise.
How does that juice you up? What's one time your music made waves and you were like, yeah, this is why I'm here.
Alya (18:33)
Well, the song Hope is definitely what's the beginning of this transformation for me, not the transformation, as I said, you know, I received my Grammy being a part of the album, which is inspirational music, best new age music album. This is the music that helps people to grow in their spiritual road, whatever they're taking. So I really, you know,
My journey as an artist, as I said, it wasn't straightforward. Sometimes people go to this industry very young, they don't quite know who they are. They just know that they love music, they have calling for music. very often this is just, you know, broken souls down the road because the music industry breaks them and make them into money-making machine.
I believe that the artist and the music is about something different. From the ancient time, music is something to inspire people, to connect people, to bring people together. And I see the artist's purpose in this. So when I was signed up with the BMG after the Grammy win, that was sort of my vision of the...
sound that I will be bringing to the market. It will be inspirational. It will have all these beautiful, united qualities. It will change the trajectory of how we will see the music. It's not going to be just for the entertainment. you know, I released several singles that I tried a lot of different genres, but they all pop music. And the hope, even though it's inspirational music, and we...
were nominated at Grammy this year in the gospel category as well. It's still beyond that. I don't really like to put labels on the music because as I said, I believe that the higher purposes of music is a unite. So when you start to categorize things, it sort of dilutes the purpose. If I like the music, I don't look at the label as a gospel or as a trap or whatever. I listen...
Marcus Hart (20:18)
you
Alya (20:28)
all sorts of music and love, know, sometimes it could be in the mood for trap and there is nothing bad about it. It's just what you want to hear at this moment. It's music. It's supposed to complete you in a certain moment of your life. So song became this, song co-op became one of this big sort of catalytic moments in my career as a when whatever I wanted to say in music resonated with the people online because
I'm very active on Instagram and YouTube. To my big audiences, I was very happy to see this instant connection because sometimes as an artist, we have this dilemma. You have this in your hat, you create a beautiful piece of music and art, and you exactly what you wanted to say, and you put it out there, and there is crickets. Or people see completely different from what you wanted to put in your artistry.
Marcus Hart (21:04)
Yeah.
Alya (21:19)
This time, the hope was the moment when everything came together. And the remix that will be out this year, I'm really, really excited about that because with the spoken word genre, which is very popular these days, I think people starting liking to hear the word, to go down to the meaning, to really kind of, know, really...
Marcus Hart (21:35)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Alya (21:43)
have responsibility for what they hear and what they say, and together with the beautiful melodies that were in the core of my song, Hope. also, Tina Campbell, she's just incredible gospel singer. So that gives this uplifting and spiritual sort of degree to the song. I really feel like it will fly. So you'll see if song Hope making so many waves, because like original song,
Marcus Hart (21:47)
Yeah.
Alya (22:10)
We donated shares to UNICEF. mean, it's obviously just from this little acts of kindness from the donating shares to UNICEF, helping children around the world. It's already doing good, but then you hope it's going to be a new dimension of that. And I think it will touch so many souls in a good way. I'm really so curious and so I can't wait to get this song out of the studio and distribute it.
Marcus Hart (22:36)
Yeah. All right. I like that. I like that a lot. And we spoke about that when you don't look at the labels of music. That really speaks to, you know, the question I had about like, you know, creating with purpose and how you do it. And you're not really thinking about, you know, it's got to go to this specific type of people. know, you just want to make people feel good. You want it to be universal. want.
You want to bring everyone in and draw everyone in and out so that they can be able to see your light and then that light be role model to help others and pass it on to others. when you talk about resetting your mornings, the way you reset your mornings and the way you choose and lean on a real crew, we begin to see that light.
You don't need a Grammy to start this. I think this is very useful information you are giving us to that person I call Sarah out there, who's that woman that looks up to you, woman in the room, that looks up to people like you. And you're truly an inspiration. I really thank you for that.
Alya (23:51)
Well, you know, I'm not pretending to be a role model for anyone and I actually don't want to be a role model to anyone. I'm just, you know, we people, we're social animals. We do need to have an inspiration. We do look at each other. It's just the nature, human nature. There is nothing bad or good about it. And I myself need an inspiration. So if somebody inspired by my personal journey, I'm just...
Marcus Hart (24:06)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Alya (24:17)
I'm just trying to be the best version of myself. I'm not pretending anything, not in art, not in my just regular life. I do believe that, for example, in musical, in music industry right now, there is a lot of pretending because, because it's became like all about money. It's a lot of pretending, a lot of technicalities. There is a bazillions of people who can say, you know, I'm the second Whitney or I'm the third Mariah Carey or anything else.
Marcus Hart (24:42)
Yeah.
Alya (24:43)
But
if you will look at the roots of the music, and majority of the roots of the music lies within spirituality or religion, you will see that, for example, among Buddhist monks, the people who had the better voice or technique were not considered the best. They couldn't care less about these qualities that you can train your vocal muscles.
the best part, the most important mantras or prayers were given to the people who had something inside. Sometimes they didn't even have a good voice as a technique, but they had a spark, they had a spirit. And this is, in my opinion, completely absent right now on the music industry. And this is something that I'm trying to bring in. I am a classically trained opera singer. I know all the tricks. I know how to, you know...
give the high notes or the low notes, I can do the runs and trills, but this is not my focus. I'm really trying to bring on the market the music that has a spirit, that has a soul, that moves people. And when they hear it, they can associate with that. They not listening to my technique and not saying, my gosh, she's a great singer. They actually hear the song and song moves them.
they want to sing this song, they want to be the part of the songs. And the majority of lyrics that I come up with, it's very easy. Again, I'm not trying to impress. I can write all day long, you know, all these beautiful metaphors and long sentences and some exquisite, you know, rhymes, but this is not about that. I really want music, my craft to be connected to people. want it to move people and hopefully for the better.
Marcus Hart (26:10)
you
Like you said earlier, there is a return back to the word and just the deep rooted meaning of those words and simplicity. People don't want to be concealed from what something means and decoding stuff all the time. And especially if it's not delivered or presented with soul in the first place. just, let me hurry up and put this in the microwave and get what I want out of it.
versus like let's make a full course meal where we all sit at the table, commune together and exchange. There's an equal exchange for that. you got some tracks that I want you to just remind us about those tracks drop in and tell us where we can hit you up at.
Alya (27:10)
So right now out you can enjoy my latest track, which is Hope. And you can find it on every streaming platform, whatever you listen to your music or buy it from whatever platform you buy your music from. It's distributed everywhere digitally. And there is a beautiful video on my YouTube channel, Ali Official, and you can subscribe as well.
do post very frequently some glimpses from my studio life, how I create the music, whatever I think about this and that. So you might like that. And you also can watch a beautiful music video for Hope in there, which is everything you talked about, about simplicity and inspiration and basically just comfort and feeling for someone who needs it in the moment.
Instagram is another platform where I'm very frequently live and it's aliamikelson, alia.mikelson. Please go join me there. If you, as I am, love Christmas music, my Christmas album, No More Lonely Christmas is up on every digital platform. It's an awesome, awesome record.
Marcus Hart (28:06)
you
Alya (28:12)
And I have friends that listen Christmas music all year round. It doesn't matter if it's July or not. And this is the record where a collaboration with Eric Clapton present and also Indiana Sphere, Indiaras Sphere from Brazil. Incredible harmonica artist, which you will just love it. And couple very cool upbeat songs that just will bring joy to your life. And I'm happy to have you all there. Please go listen and have fun.
Marcus Hart (28:37)
Yes, we make sure we do support you in all that you're doing. We're going to drop the links for people who want to find the music. We'll give it to them right away. And also just share social media presence with YouTube and Instagram, which is very important. So you drop some bars for us today saying thanks for not making me look too bad next to a Grammy Globe.
Alya (28:59)
Thank you, Marcus.
Marcus Hart (29:01)
Yeah. those who out there, know, especially, you know, those who feel like they're alone in this burnout mess and, you know, and lacking inspiration and lacking, you know, a place where they can just come and, know, and not be judged and be involved. You know, it's not your finale, it's your pregame, you know, and this episode here is just, you know, just a start and I want you to continue to follow on your journey.
She has traps as you know that awaken soul of faster than the double espresso So if this lets you up today share it with your burnout buddy leave a comment Marcus you wow and slide over to the TV show Keep the face stable and let's burn bright not out. Peace out
Comments
Post a Comment