Alysha Brillinger

Alysha Brilla
Performing at The Jazz Room, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada on June 13, 2014
Background information
Born	Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Origin	Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Blues, jazz
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, Piano, Drums
Labels	BMG, Lava/Universal Republic, Sunny Jam Records
Website	www.alyshabrilla.com

Alysha Brillinger (born November 3), better known by her stage name Alysha Brilla is an Indo-Tanzanian-Canadian musician. Born in Mississauga, Ontario and raised in Kitchener, Ontario, Brilla started singing in her early teens in local bands and at various festivals, including the Coalflats and Kitchener Blues Festival, where she was the 2008 winner of the Grande River Youth Legacy contest. Brilla briefly attended Humber College's Jazz program in Toronto while playing local gigs and building a fanbase. In 2010, she was signed to Lava Records/Universal Republic. Brilla was a featured performer at the 2010 Kitchener Blues Festival and Gala. Alysha is now independent and runs her own music label, Sunny Jam Records Inc. and has released three self-produced studio albums on that label. The first two were Juno Award nominated.

Brilla was influenced by her mother's Canadian folk and American jazz music and also her Tanzanian father's Afrobeat/Indian music. With a strong pop influence until she was 14, Brilla immersed herself in blues and jazz music when she moved to Southwestern Ontario and began frequenting open mics.

Always having a love for blues music, she started up a band composed of musicians aged 13–17 called "Alysha and the Allycats" and played gigs, parties and festivals around Ontario. Brilla cites Amy Winehouse, Bonnie Raitt and Joni Mitchell as her biggest influences.

Brilla's first instrument was piano and she grew up with an organ and keyboard in the house. She began playing self-taught and composing music on the piano at the age of seven.

In 2005, Brilla won the "Rhythm of The Future" contest hosted by a local radio station. This sponsored her $20,000 to record a demo with producer Marcus Kane in Toronto. Brilla's mother would drive Alysha to Toronto after school several nights a week, sometimes coming home after 2 a.m.