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 Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

to a Sudanese-raised Egyptian father and an

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

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 West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North London ...

. She is heavily influenced by her African and

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

roots. Her name means "the highest" in Amharic. 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 Andre Williams, better known as Shy FX, is a British DJ and producer from London. He specialises in drum and bass and jungle music. Biography Shy FX's debut record was "Jungle Love", released in 1992 on the Permission to Dance label. Soon aft ...

. 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 Simbiatu "Simbi" Abisola Abiola Ajikawo (born 23 February 1994), better known by her stage name Little Simz, is a British rapper, singer and actress. She rose to prominence with the independent release of her first three albums; ''A Curious Tale ...

's track "Where's My Lighter". British entertainment website

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

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''.

Modelling

While dancing on the set of the film ''Kids in Love'', she was discovered by

Cara Delevingne Cara Jocelyn Delevingne ( ; born 12 August 1992) is an English model and actress. She signed with Storm Management after leaving school in 2009. Delevingne won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014. Delevingne sta ...

, 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 Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' in September 2014, and at that time her agencies were

Women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

in New York and

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...

in London. She walked the

DKNY DKNY is a New York City–based fashion house for men and women, founded in 1984 by Donna Karan. History Karan worked for 15 years at Anne Klein, including 10 as its head designer. In 1984 Karan and her late husband Stephan Weiss were offered t ...

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 Dav ...

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)