The Official Website For Auriol Hays
Once upon a many moons ago my shaman visited me and saw the lyrics to a song I had just written. ‘Auriol, this is a curse. Burn the paper and don’t sing the song…’ I burnt the paper as I did so realised that music is a spell of sorts. With it you can call […]
I am being stalked…by a few ex’s. This bothered me for a while and while being bothered I paused. When I paused I counted my words….and as I counted I realised that I was being held ransom. I will take everyone’s feelings into consideration…..except when it comes to music. You can call me Mother Theresa, […]
Toni Morrison is dead! I recall being very pregnant, reading Beloved and feeling my womb along with my baby harden at certain passages. One of the books I relished was Black Milk by Elif Shafak. Why am I thinking of writers and babies? Ah yes, I have insomnia and my mind is littered with words […]
Only at Afrika Burn did I hear a conversation start with, ‘What are you on?’ If only that was answered honestly. Forget the drugs taken out of curiosity or boredom. What about the rage that sits at the bottom of your feet? The unfulfilled dreams stuck behind your eyeslashes or the sexual frustration pasted on […]
I always jot down small bits of nonsense. At some point they become parts of songs. Or I will turn them into small stories. Yes, the ramblings of a mad mind…or of those I call friends! * Best advice given to me by a friend: Don’t ground yourself in your past. Or pick yourself apart […]
Social media. I hate it most days. Yet, I have no choice but to gain some ‘attention’ as a musician who works alone. It is exhausting to be honest. It weren’t for friends I would be a hermit, observing the world and writing about it, but I do not have that luxury. Yet, what’s the […]
I love being a songwriter and a performer. Years ago I crystallize my thinking by saying that writing music brings clarity and catharsis. While performing the music allows for absolute release. Look, I have way too many thoughts and feelings rumbling in my brain. In order to make sense of my world I need to […]
Sometimes you gotta banish the beast or ride it. Other times tell the angel on your shoulder to shut the fuck up. These are the kinda thoughts that trouble my mind as I think of maintaining my balance. It’s the beast within, who has free reign when I write music, but cage when I am […]
Here are the lyrics for the song. Look, I laughed when I got to the chorus. No man, I thought…Auriol – stop your madness. But it just fit, those last words. I wrote this after my father, the revolutionary, kept on complaining that I need to write music about what’s happening in our country. This […]
The most inappropriate thoughts float into my mind. Dude, just die and get it over and done with I think when I look at my father sometimes. The drama of the final act of your play, stretched out over the last year is becoming tiring. Just take your last breathe and leave us in peace. […]