REVIEW: Vayda @ the Fallser Club

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WRITTEN BY: Sydney Martin

Following acts from up and coming artists Deem Spencer, Shemar Pierre and Meltycannon,
feminine energy graced the stage in the form of Mijita, and finally Vayda.
Suiting the warmly welcoming attitude of Vayda’s music was the chosen venue of the Fallser
Club: wrist bands were given so attendees could come and go as desired, homemade punch
and dishes from tin foil platters were being served by the front bar-back, and the loft upstairs
held a space for vendors and henceforth artists. Unlike many venues, clusters of people
enjoyed the moments in between sets from the loft with a view of the stage from above, nests of
cushioned chairs and couches backing the floor before the stage awarding the venue the
hospitality and ambience of a jazz club.

From Atlanta, Georgia, Vayda composes, writes, and performs her irresistibly danceable music
and has been on platforms for the past few years. Lighthearted bass, self-celebratory nature, and unique airy-fallsetto vocals largely define her music today. Using adlibs and thoughtful pronunciation, Vayda never strays far from her given and chosen sound, all while creating dynamic and engaging compositions. A DJ at heart, in previous years Vayda released predominantly vocalless compositions. Songs from this period that do contain vocals have less prevalent lyrics, euphoric vocals melding into ambient compositions that have evolved to her identity as an artist and rapper today. Despite this stylistic shift, Vayda’s musical nature remains melodic out of the warmth her music conveys, a trait often awarded to compositions with harmonization and lyrical poetry, and rarely to those within the alternative pop-rap genre. Within simple deliveries and uniquely invented figures of speech, Vayda’s lyrics are humbly profound, words laced across subtly progressing compositions that deserve deeper examination than the affiliation with her nonchalant demeanor in songs assumed to listeners.

Beats off of Vayda’s album’s SILENT GARDEN and 2 HARD 2 WASTE curate a fantastical
video game-like world, a dimension full of pleasant and colorful animations with no other players
present. Her self assured, uplifting music frames solidarity as peaceful, beautiful, and sacred
rather than lonely. Having only been three years since SILENT GARDEN was released, Vayda
performed last week upon the low set stage of the Fallser Club summoning the same authentic
energy gleaming across her music– shimmering in a pink latex dress, wide eyed and smiling
infectiously.

Across the other performing artists of the night, predominately male audiences were gathered;
By the time Vayda came on some of the crowd had dispersed, a shift in gender demographics
prepared by Mijita’s set. Highly irrelevant from her quality of music was the audience’s cozy
size–Vayda’s talent foretells and supports her growing recognition in the music scene. Existing
alongside genreless female rappers such as Babyxsosa and TiaCorrine –combining rap with
some aspects of hyper-pop– Vayda is an East Coast artist helping redefine and expand the
space in which female musicians have within the male-dominated art and entertainment scene.
Radiating sunshine and love, Vayda’s lyrics infuse the typically male preformed misogynistic
mentions of the female physique in a more innocent manner, her music’s demeanor celebrating
rather than sexualizing them. Upon stage Vayda held quite the presence, dressed in pink and a
genuine smile, leaving the performance up to her soul delivered music.

As the notion of djing and production being mainly done by male artists has become dismantled
in recent years, Vayda’s history of production and lyrics in many songs like “Bingo” support the notion of being a self sufficient creator, a playful musical reminder to people of all demographics that “you can’t little sis me I’m too grown”. “Gummy Vaymix”, “Primma Donna”, and “Bingo”, are some notably top songs of her’s that were performed–upbeat compositions with playful satirical lyrics, centered around self-preservation and confidence. Textural sounds of squishiness, softness, and glitter projected over the sound system established a space to dance, float, and feel across the entirety of the venue.
“Hood Zendaya” and “venus on fire” contrasted the chronically positive tones of her top hits dipping
into angst. This “me against the world” attitude was supported by the crowd as much as the
previous songs, a display of Vayda’s ability to form lyrical resonance across all emotional tones.
Remaining true to her identity as an artist, gently delivered lyrics such as “I got a pretty face
even though my heart-full of hate” allow compositions that veer towards melancholy to be too
mesmerizing to be disheartened by. Professing her tiredness regarding performing her most popular song “Gummy Vaymix”, Vayda nonetheless showed up for each and everyone of her songs.

Following Mijita’s set my friend and I sat on the back couches of the venue, waiting for Vayda to
come on.“ You’re so pretty, you’re the girl we came to see!” My friend said, looking past me. I turned
around to see Vayda topped in a fuzzy pink hat to match her dress, as animated in person as
her unique sound paints her to be in her music. Our enthusiasm for her was kindly received,
beaming a smile back at us.
The energy she held within our brief interaction was matched upon stage in all sense of her
music, performance, and self. Near the end of her set she asked for the audience to say hi to her
grandparents in Atlanta whom she was flying out to later that evening. As the night came to an
end and her handle of tequila remained half full, she handed the rest out to the audience.
Upon forgetting her own words and brushing it off with a smile, Vayda’s music is wholeheartedly
a breath of fresh air, a self assured attitude that is undoubtedly infectious–especially while
having seen her perform live.

Vayda allows mature subjects to hold a child-like whimsy, a soft bit of herself she preserves and
expresses in her songs through dreamy vocals and friendly beats. Unapologetically herself,
Vayda admiringly proves that there is no need to find balance between innocence and rebellion,
childhood and adulthood, silliness and seriousness; because all can exist together
harmoniously.