Alaina Castillo X FAULT Magazine

 

Words: Miles Holder

Alaina Castillo’s 2019 hit ‘i don’t think i love you anymore’ poetically translates every stage of heartbreak into an impassioned hypnotic ballad which has amassed over 4 million views on Youtube.

Singing in Spanish for her latest track ‘no vuelvas a mirar atrás’ she has proved that her empathic music-writing transcends the barrier of language and conjures emotion in the listener whether the listener understands the lyrics or not.

Currently locked down like the rest of us, we caught up with Alaina Castillo for a self-shot photoshoot and interview – check it out!

 

On track pass you by, you discuss sometimes getting so caught up in life that you miss living it, has quarantine helped you reflect more on your experiences?

Alaina Castillo: I definitely think that quarantine has helped me put things into perspective because now, I just want to do the things I used to do before quarantine and I’ve been calling my family a lot more often because I miss seeing them so it’s teaching me to not take anything for granted because life is short and you never know what’s going to happen so you have to make the most of it while you can.

 

 

What was the hardest song on ‘the voicenotes’ to write?

Alaina Castillo: ‘sad girl’ was for sure the hardest because it was me addressing all the people or things that have upset me that I wish didn’t have an effect on me at all but I didn’t want to call anyone out specifically so I always made sure I was getting my point across without making a call out song. I wanted it to be a song that would bring two opposing people together, not give them more reasons to fight.

You said the EP captures a moment of sadness, has it always come naturally to be vulnerable in your music?

Alaina Castillo: I’ve always used music as a way to really write whatever I’m feeling within that moment because talking never really connects with the emotions that I feel. When I started making songs with Romans, it took me a little bit to understand how I wanted to sing about my different emotions but for this EP, we were able to find a way to mix the feelings with different aspects to make it darker or maybe add a different kind of beauty to it which is probably my favourite thing to do now.

 

If you woke up on stage and had to perform a cover of a song word for word and blow the audience away, what would you sing?

Alaina Castillo: Make You feel My love by Adele. I always used to sing this song whenever there was a karaoke opportunity so hopefully, all that practise would pay off.

What’s been the best advice you’ve received on your musical journey?

Alaina Castillo: The best advice I’ve received on my journey is to do things that make you happy and to not care what others think.  Everyone has their own opinion about everything so there’s no point in stressing out if some people don’t like you because if you’re happy and surrounded by people who love you, then life is good.

 

What is your FAULT?

Alaina Castillo: Overthinking. (: It takes me such a long time to get used to things so until the click happens, my brain is constantly overthinking for no reason and it gets in the way of happy little moments. Music and staying creative are some of the things that really help me get out of my own head & doing that has also helped me get over some of the overthinking.

 

Alaina Castillo’s  EP ‘the voicenotes’ is out now!