ALINA ALENS BIO

Alina Alens is a singer-songwriter and writer of English expression born in Romania.

“I guess I was about 8 or 9 when I got my first guitar, as a birthday present. My investigation of sound has always been more connected to what I could imagine as a song rather than to what I could actually play.
When I’m writing songs, I mainly rely on words and the sound of the voice that carries a melody. The words, and certain sounds that resonate with my version of reality, reveal the right melodies to my ear. When a perfect match between sound and word is created, a new song is born. After this stage various musical instruments can come into play and I turn to skilled musicians to further develop the songs. I believe it is a paradox to call these songs mine, as we are never in possession of the music we are making. What I can say is that I AM in the time and place of the birth of my songs.”

At 18, after completing in excess of 25 original compositions, Alina Alens leaves her hometown of Sfantu Gheorghe and moves to the University city of Cluj, the cultural capital of Transylvania. Here she takes a break from playing and writing music and over a 5-year study period obtains a Master’s degree in English and Romanian language and literature.

The Year of Change: 2007 or Going “Back to Myself”

In October, 2006, Alina Alens, then an AIESEC NGO member, becomes freshly settled in Krakow.
The end of January, 2007, brings the death of Alina Alens’ father. In April, 2007, Alina picks up where she left off years before and begins writing music again. Alina records “Saying Goodbye”, her first song in over 8 years, in her kitchen with a Sonny camera. This song is dedicated to her now international group of friends, who warmly welcomed her to the cultural capital of Poland in the winter of 2006. “Half an Hour”, “Miss You”, “Hang a Curtain”, “Down to our Names”, “Wonders” and “Beautiful” are the next songs written in the series she calls “Songs for Heart Tuning.” Some songs from the Heart Tuning series are going to be featured on the upcoming ALENS release, “Back to Myself.”

Between the middle of May and July 17th 2007 Alina Alens writes nineteen poems in English that would be translated into Polish by Jan Szutkowski by the end of 2008 and published in a bilingual edition under the title “The Incomplete Fantasy We Call Love / Niedokonczona fantazja zwana miloscia”, at Drukarnia Krakow, in April 2009.

Atma Anur, producer of “Back to Myself”:

“My first encounter with Alina Alens was as a singer-songwriter. I found her lyric writing to be uplifting and thought-provoking, while remaining uncomplicated and anthemic. When I discovered she was also a penned poet, I was excited to read her new work. To my great surprise, I found many revealing differences between her written work and her sung expression of words. Alina has made clear her total understanding of a song… simplicity”.

Writing poems and writing music are all parts of one reality for Alina.

“The start of my self-revealing writing marked the start of my rebirth in music”.

January, 2008 brought about the beginning of the pop-rock band, ALENS. The original group of musicians realise the first raw versions of the ten songs to be recorded for “Back to Myself”. They perform shows in Krakow, starting with the December 13th show at ARKA Club.

In January, 2009, Alina starts writing music to some of the poems from “The Incomplete Fantasy We Call Love”, which was then undergoing preparation for publication.
Her book, “The Incomplete Fantasy We Call Love / Niedokonczona fantazja zwana miloscia,” is released in April, 2009, and celebrated by two performances:

1.) April, 25th, PIEC ART (Krakow) – The Book-Release Show and ALENS Concert – PART I
2.) May, 21st, POD BARANAMI (Krakow) – The Book-Release Show and ALENS Concert – PART II

These shows included a melange of music, acting and poetry reading in both English and Polish.

Alina Alens is currently in preproduction for the first ALENS album, and is working on new musical and literary material.