Inspired #351 - Onyda
Rising Stoke musician Onyda continues to create dreamy alt-pop with her latest single ‘Mediocre’ - a spellbinding track that confronts the unattainable standards young people are faced with today. Eerily calling out the pressures of having to “put on your face” and “suck in your waist”, Onyda declares it’s OK to be just mediocre.
She took a moment to talk to us about the inspirations behind her music.
Who are your top three musical inspirations and why?
It’s hard to pick a top three because there’s so many for so many different reasons but the first big one I can think of is The Beach Boys! The harmonies in ‘Our Prayer’ are out of this world, ‘In My Room’ has some of my favourite lyrics/melodies of all time and the originality of what they did as a whole just blows me away. I reserve the word ‘genius’ for very few people but I think Brian Wilson is one of them.Aldous Harding has a huge place in my heart, another master of just being original. It feels as though the only audience she caters for is herself and she inspires me so much.Thirdly I’m going to go with Todd Rundgren, I’ve drawn a lot of inspiration sonically from 70s pop/rock and he is definitely a top favourite. I think he’s an incredible songwriter and my music would take a much different shape now without this influence!
Is there a certain film that inspires you and why?
Yes! There’s so many. First ones to come to mind are The Big Lebowski and the soundtrack, same with Boogie Nights. This first EP I’m releasing wouldn’t be the same without Belgian film director Chantal Akerman’s films, most specifically ‘je tu il elle’. The imagery inspired me so much I had it on in the background whilst I wrote most of the songs. Film inspires me more than any other media, I could talk about it all day.
What city do you find the most inspiring and why?
My home town, Stoke on Trent, definitely. My people are here, I know the stories of the people, the place, I can get under the skin of it all and explore it and write about it. It’s my heart and so unique! To someone who is unfamiliar it’ll look like a collection of any other British satellite towns but it’s so special, home to the kindest people on earth and it keeps me sane. I can’t write when I’m stressed or sad and nothing makes me feel safer, more creative or happy than this city.
Who is the most inspiring person to you and why?
Probably my Grandma, Janet. She looked after me a lot when I was growing up and I used to spend most days with her in Tunstall (one of the 6 towns that make up Stoke on Trent) sitting in the cafe’s she worked in. She is so caring and so real, there’s no bullshit with her and she’s so supportive of me. She inspires me to be myself and that’s a huge deal, I’ve been so blessed to have such an incredible support system from a young age, it’s given me a lot of confidence to think for myself and that bleeds into me and every bit of art I produce.
What were your inspirations when writing your new track?
Al Stewart was a big one. ‘It’s the year of the dog baby’ as the opening line to the chorus was a nod to his album ‘year of the cat’ which I was listening to relentlessly at the time. As I mentioned I’m super inspired by 70s pop rock and I think the way this song moves is really following that, I can’t explain how because I’m just following a feeling but it’s very much there for me. I was also really inspired by this cult-like idea of utopia that you see in documentaries like ‘Wild Wild Country’ for the visual aspects.
How would you like to inspire people?
If I could do anything I’d just really like to inspire people to be themselves and follow their own path. To entertain their desires and fuck whatever expectations they feel need to uphold for the sake of other people. I have always been considered the ‘weird’ one in pretty much every given social situation in my life, and that still sometimes bothers me. But I have learnt that it’s better to be loved for who you are than to be loved for the person you have created to be more appealing to others.
