Alewya Demmisse, known artistically as Alewya (pronounced ah-leh-wee-yah), is a British singer-songwriter, producer, multidisciplinary artist, and model.

Biography

Demmisse was born in Saudi Arabia to a Sudanese-raised Egyptian father and an Ethiopian mother. She was brought up in Sudan before her family relocated to the UK as refugees when she was five and then grew up in West London. She is heavily influenced by her African and Arab roots. Her name means "the highest" in

Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...

. She released her debut single "Sweating" in mid-2020. The song was produced by UK and Ghana-based production duo Busy Twist and was mixed and mastered by Shy FX. The video accompanying the song includes some of her visual art and was directed by Jack Bowden. She later made a guest appearance in Little Simz's track "Where's My Lighter". British entertainment website NME included Demmisse in its fifth edition of "The NME 100: Essential emerging artists for 2021" selection. The artist's second single, "The Code", was released on 17 March. It is a collaborative record with British drummer, producer and composer

Moses Boyd Moses Boyd (born 30 April 1991) is a British jazz drummer, composer, record producer, bandleader and radio host. His debut solo studio album ''Dark Matter'' (2020) was nominated for the 2020 Mercury Prize. In 2014, Boyd and saxophonist Binke ...

, who also stars in the song's live performance video. In the summer of 2021, she supported rapper Little Simz on a tour across the UK. Demmisse is also a sculptor and illustrator. In March 2021, she starred in ''Tall Are the Roots'', a short film directed by Fenn O'Meally for

Byredo Byredo is a Swedish company producing fragrances, leather goods, and accessories made in Sweden. Byredo is a portmanteau of "By Redolence". It was founded in Stockholm in 2006 by Ben Gorham. It deals with leather products, perfumes, and the fi ...

. In November 2021, Demisse performed "Ethiopia", a track from her EP ''Panther in Mode'' on ''

A Colors Show ColorsxStudios GmbH (formerly Colors Media UG), commonly known as Colors (stylized in all caps), is a German music performance platform that aims at introducing and showcasing emerging artist talent in the form of videos with minimalist aesthet ...

''.

Modelling

While dancing on the set of the film ''Kids in Love'', she was discovered by Cara Delevingne, who got Demisse to sign with her modelling agency. At the time, Demisse had been accepted into

King's College King's College or The King's College refers to two higher education institutions in the United Kingdom: *King's College, Cambridge, a constituent of the University of Cambridge *King's College London, a constituent of the University of London It ca ...

to study maths and philosophy and was working as a waitress and as a marketing assistant before the semester started. She was introduced and presented as "new model obsession" by '' Vogue'' in September 2014, and at that time her agencies were Women in New York and Storm in London. She walked the DKNY runway at

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is a series of international fashion weeks sponsored by Mercedes-Benz, a brand of Daimler AG. Designers featured during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Weeks include notable designers such as Rosenthal Tee, Mary Katrantzou and David ...

Spring 2015 in September 2014.

Discography

EPs

* ''Panther in Mode'' (2021)

Singles

* "Sweating" (2020) * "The Code" (2021) * "Jagna" (2021) * "Sprit_X" (2021) * "Play" (2021)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alewya British women singer-songwriters British models Living people British people of Ethiopian descent British people of Egyptian descent Sudanese emigrants to the United Kingdom Elite Model Management models Aboah family Year of birth missing (living people)