With a musical palette that spans decades and defies categorisation, London-based artist AZIYA is poised to make a lasting impact, starting with her highly anticipated performance at Dot To Dot Festival 2024. Dive in with our latest DORK x DOT TO DOT festival guide cover feature.

Words: Stephen Ackroyd.

In an era where the idea of firmly established genre boundaries is basically a thing of the past, Aziya is every inch the modern superstar-in-waiting. The London-based artist picks from a palette that goes from the legends of rock to hip-hop to smart, brilliant indie-pop, redefining it for a new generation. With a musical range that spans decades and defies categorisation, she's a talent destined to make a lasting impact, starting with her highly anticipated performance at Dot To Dot Festival 2024.

Born into a world of diverse and brilliant sounds, Aziya's musical journey began long before she ever picked up a guitar. "I got into System Of A Down as a kid because that was what my parents were playing in the car journeys to school," she reveals. "My parents aren't musicians or anything; they just have great eclectic tastes, from Patti Smith and The Cure to Wu-Tang and OutKast." That early exposure to a wide variety of genres laid the foundation for Aziya's unique musical identity, one that would later manifest in her own boundary-pushing compositions.

As Aziya grew older, her love for music transformed from a passive appreciation to an active pursuit. She began writing songs, experimenting with different styles and structures. "Dude, I used to write some bizarre conceptual songs," she recalls. "The first song I ever wrote was a prog rock record that had two solos and lasted seven minutes. I love that I had the audacity to do that."

While her approach to songwriting has evolved over the years, Aziya has never lost that fearlessness in her music. "I've definitely kept that sense of adventure and escapism in my writing," she admits, "but I guess nowadays, my songs are shorter, lyrically simpler and more direct. I find the best songs usually have the simplest lyrics."