Lyla sings to her own tune

Lyla Illing has made her first strides to dominating the pop-rock music industry.

Growing up, Illing spent a lot of time learning to play the piano and guitar. “I first entered competitions such as Idols in 2011 , which I tried and failed at three years in a row. I soon realised it’s a show and I just did not fit the profile,” laughed Illing.

In 2014, she decided to try out performing at live venues, and since then she has never looked back. “When I moved up to Joburg, the guys from No Regret sort of took me under their wing and dragged me along to their gigs as an irritating little ‘sister’ – introducing me to the venue owners, event organisers and sound engineers,” she said.

At 23 years old, Illing has worked on various singles and was signed to a music label. Her career took a bit of a back seat when she started to study radio production. Now she is recording an acoustic album independently.

Illing’s music covers a multitude of genres ranging from grunge to pop-rock. “I go for an edgy pop-rock sound, something someone can relate to and sing along to, but with a bit of a ‘shock jock’ factor as we would call it in radio,” she explained.

Listen to her original song Sober here:

Aside from being an incredibly talented singer, Illing has written some of her own songs. She writes songs as a form of a cathartic release for struggles or issues in her life. “Be it heartbreak, loss, anger … At the end of the day, I always say, ‘sorry if you come across one of my songs with your name or our story in it’ … it happened, and this is me dealing with it, and to me, it is just part of experiencing life.”

Illing’s dream would be to release an album once she has become confident enough.

In terms of inspiration, Illing’s answers change day by day. From new artists and old documentaries as well as music, she has drawn something from each piece. “Right now my obsession is Alanis Morissette, whose music I was only introduced to earlier this year. Insane, I know, but I grew up in an Afrikaans family, with Kurt Darren and Robbie Williams playing in the car,” she laughed.

To see Layla Illing in the flesh and live, catch her at her next gig at Rumours Lounge on 3 September at 5pm.