The world can be divided into two groups of people: those who inherently believe in what messages or proverbs are found within fortune cookies and those who don’t. For Southern Oregon-based folk roots musician Aliza Hava, she falls into the former. “I have a whole box full of them at home that I’ve collected over the past two decades,” Hava says. However, a moment of serendipity arrived while working on her phenomenal new studio album Into the Light with producer Mikal Blue and, more specifically, the fantastic title track, which is also the album’s lead single.
“While I was making my album with Mikal Blue at his studio, we ordered Chinese takeout and Mikal got the fortune, ‘Courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s facing your fear,'” Hava says. “I tripped out because that’s the line I wrote in verse two of ‘Into the Light’ — ‘Courage ain’t the absence of fear, it’s the power to face it…straight clear.’ I couldn’t believe he got that as a fortune as we were just wrapping up the recording. Talk about a sign from the universe.”
“Into the Light,” written by Hava and Alan Roy Scott, is a powerful, uplifting track that would find artists such as Amanda Marshall, Melissa Etheridge, and Brandi Carlile envious. The artist belts out the chorus with precision and soulful prowess as its mid-tempo feel provides a great counterbalance to her stellar, rock-solid pipes. Meanwhile, its message is near and dear to Hava, who survived a traumatic childhood.
“It took a lifetime for me to find the courage to speak up about the painful things I’ve been through and start healing from extreme child abuse,” Hava says of “Into the Light.” “But developing that strength is exactly what helped me find my voice and use it to move the trauma out of my body. That’s why I was able to write this song. I hope you feel as empowered by it as I do.”
“Into the Light,” produced, mixed, and engineered by Blue, and mastered by Daniel Rowland, whose impressive credits include Pixar (2017 Academy Award winner), Seal (2018 Grammy nomination), Star Wars (Clone Wars, Rebels, Battlefront, Squadrons), Nine Inch Nails, Adrian Belew, Lady Gaga, Marvel (Avengers, Jessica Jones)has gained terrific traction since its release. It was Number Two on the North America College and Community Chart’s Top 5 Folk Adds for the week ending Feb. 18. The song features Hava’s glorious vocals, Blue playing both acoustic and electric guitar, Toad The Wet Sprocket’s Dean Dinning on bass and organ, keyboardist Dalton Cyr, and drummer Gregg Bissonette (Ringo Starr’s All-Star Band). A video for the single, shot in Romania and directed by Andrei Zaitui and Kalman Eszter Antonia, has over 64,000 YouTube views in its first month of release.
“Into the Light” is the lead off track of Into the Light, a brilliant 10-track effort highlighted by Hava’s ridiculously powerful vocals, heartfelt lyrics, and craftsmanship. Hava and Roy co-wrote four songs (“Into the Light,” “The Last Goodbye,” “Behind Your Eyes” and “The Invitation”) while Hava also co-wrote two tracks with Marla Rubenstein (“Let It Roar” (with its spine-tingling, marathon-length note Hava holds in the middle) and “The Only Way Out Is Through”). The album, recorded at California’s Revolver Recording Studios, also includes keyboardist and guitarist Jason Achilles, guitarist Jason Perno, and cellist Giovanna Moraga Clayton.
Aside from three songs she wrote alone, Hava offers an exquisite cover of White Lion’s signature ballad “When The Children Cry.” “I chose to cover it because of its profound anti-war message and the impact it had on me as a kid,” Hava says. Other standouts are the gospel-tinged “Fix My Fate,” the impactful and deep “Behind Your Eyes” and the closing “Love Who You Are,” a song which lyrically brings to mind Christina Aguilera’s poignant “Beautiful.”
“Into the Light is a thematic rock album that takes listeners on a profound, transformative journey from trauma to triumph,” she says. “The songs on this album are reflections on my healing process. They are raw, vulnerable, honest, and the best work I’ve ever done. People who have heard these songs live told me they’ve felt their own trauma lifting off their bodies as I sang, as if some form of transmutation was happening in the room. My prayer is that these songs heal others as much as they’ve healed me.”
Inspired by artists such as Stevie Nicks, Indigo Girls, Ani DiFranco, Janis Joplin, and Brandi Carlile, Aliza Hava has crafted a sound that blends raw emotion with powerful storytelling. In 2006, she released her debut album, Rise. In 2017, she released her Songs for Social Change EP, followed by her breakout full-length album, Natural State, in 2020. Her re-record for “RISE” was featured on the star-studded compilation Occupy This Album: 99 Songs for the 99%, solidifying her place as a voice for change.
And her music was included in the soundtrack for Femme: Women Healing The World, a documentary directed by Sharon Stone. Hava also worked with the United Nations for seven years, being a vital catalyst and chair of the International Day of Peace NGO Music Committee.
Hava has shared the stage and billing with an incredibly eclectic array of talent, from the late Dr. John and Zac Brown Band to Loreena McKennitt, Pete Seeger, and members of both Cheap Trick and Deep Purple. And she’s logged ample air miles with performances in North America, Europe, India, Israel and Palestine, South Korea and Morocco, among other locales. She’s also been featured in Americana Highways and Americana UK.
Now with a memorable message-laden single “Into the Light” from a simply equally stunning album of the same name, Aliza Hava is doing what she was born to do. It’s music that should radiate with anyone who has endured and persevered through whatever life has thrown at them.
