AT HOME: Alela Diane 
Photos by Nicholas Peter Wilson

Alela Diane is a singer/songwriter living in Portland, OR with her family of four. She was raised in the picturesque mountain town of Nevada City, CA among a creative music community and began writing her own music at the age of 19. Her career has spanned nearly 20 years in which time she has released six studio albums and toured extensively across the US and Europe. Her name is a staple in the indie folk music scene and she has grown a loyal fanbase who feel connected with the often raw and heartfelt storytelling in her lyrics. On stage she captivates an audience who sway in rhythm to her beautiful vocals.
 
We caught up with Alela at her 5000 sq foot 1892 Victorian farmhouse in SE Portland where she has lived for four years with her husband and two daughters. The attic has since become her music studio and is filled with instruments, sheet music, and many corners to explore including a short staircase to a light filled tower. It is a spectacular place that makes you feel nostalgic, evoking another era. You want to open every door and explore every passage and shelf and wall. The home is surrounded by gardens that are embracing Summer, filled with flowers and vegetables with a clawfoot bathtub set right in the middle, a homage to her own upbringing. The house suits Alela, rich in history and depth, full of stories.

 

 

You grew up in a creative community surrounded by musicians and artists. What was your personal path to creating music?

 

I began singing in the school choir at a young age, and grew up in a home filled with music. My parents sang a lot of songs around our kitchen table, and played in local bands. I always loved singing, but I didn't pick up the guitar or start writing songs until I was about 19. I'm mostly self taught and learned to play guitar through my songwriting.

 

 

 

You have been making music for more than 20 years through all the growth and change that life holds. What does your music say now that it didn't at the beginning of your career and what themes have remained the same?

 

I'm always balancing the beauty of this world with the darker themes. There is such duality in being alive, and that is something I am always grappling with in my music. I have been writing songs through all of life's chapters - there is love and heartbreak and nostalgia in my earlier work; themes that still turn up, but from a different vantage point. My 2018 album, Cusp, was written after I became a mother, and that experience has deeply influenced my work. There is such a profound awakening and perspective shift that can happen through parenting, and for the last decade, I have been writing through that lens.

 

 

 

 

 

How do you keep creativity flowing?

 

To keep my creativity flowing, I have to prioritize it and make time for it. My life no longer allows for songs to flow out of me whenever they call. I have to treat it like a job and work during school hours. I have to climb the stairs to my 3rd floor music studio and pick up the guitar. I have to sit at the piano. I have to pick up a pen and stare at a blank page, even if I feel uninspired. It is wild how many things can get in the way of just getting up there to my studio, and sitting down to do creative work. Besides just showing up to do the work, I also have to live creatively to stay inspired. I love to go on walks. I strive to be present with my kids, and try to see the world as they do. Every day is full of such beauty and chaos, and that alone is enough to inspire something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do you have a favorite song of your own to sing? Favorite song from another artist?

 

A song that has remained in my setlist for the last 20 years is called The Rifle, it is a song that I dreamt, and I think because of that, it holds a certain mystery. I keep singing it. Recently, I covered my favorite Michael Hurley song, Wildegeeses, for his memorial. I love singing it, and will be happy to spread his music now that he is no longer able.

 

 

 

 
Your music has been described as touching on the various meanings of home, past and present. What did you feel the first time you walked into your current home?
 
The first time I walked through our home, I was struck by how it feels lost in time. Once you cross the threshold, it's like entering another world. The house and property feel like they exist in some lost corner of reality.

 

 

What is the home's history and what has been your approach to its restoration?

 

Our house is the original home of the Woodstock neighborhood in Portland, Or. It is rumored to have been built by the postmaster in 1892, and the guy must have been an eccentric, because it's an incredibly unique house. Our approach to restoration has been to do our best with the resources we have available. There is so much history intact in this house, and we don't want to mess that up. There is a lot of unpainted original trim, and we're not going to be the ones to paint it. We've fixed a lot of walls and refinished the original floors. We've peeled back layers of wallpaper, and replastered many walls and painted almost all of them. We haven't taken anything down to the studs, we're just doing our best to fix the lathe and plaster and keep it from crumbling for as long as possible. We hope to restore the exterior and repaint the outside as soon as possible, but have to be patient. Old houses are total money pits, and it will take us a while to fix everything that needs to be fixed

 

 

How do you approach getting dressed for everyday? For the stage?

 

For everyday, I'm in jeans & a t-shirt. I love to accessorize with a silk bandana. I like a light weight jacket in spring, and have quite a collection of wool sweaters for the colder months. When I dress for the stage, I go fancier. I love lace blouses, and have a great collection of vintage pieces as well as some gorgeous smaller label pieces.  For concerts in Europe, I will usually wear a dress or long ball skirt and blouse, and for more casual shows (typically in America) you'll find me in jeans with a fancy blouse and lace up boots.

 

Do you have a special piece in your closet that stands out or carries a story?

I have a gorgeous antique lace blouse that is probably from around 1900, that my mom used to wear in highschool. I wore it for some press photos in 2008, and wore it again in a music video I did for my song, Dream A River, which came out in 2022.  

 

 

 

What are you currently working on and/or what's something you are learning?

 

I'm in the process of writing a new collection of songs. I almost have enough material for a new album, and am looking forward to figuring out where and when I will record it. I've been taking guitar lessons lately, and it is incredible that in music (and life), there is always more to learn

 

How do you welcome Summer and set the pace for the coming months?

 

I've been enjoying these warmer days, and will be doing my best to somehow find moments for music while my children are home from school. I think I'm going to have to settle into the reality that I'm just going to need to go swim the river and mother the kids. Besides the odd stolen moment, most of my creative work will be patiently waiting on the back burner until school starts again. I'll be eating berries and watering the garden in the meantime...

 

What makes you feel grounded?

 

My home and family keep me tethered and at ease. I love a quiet walk with our little dog Fern and a cup of tea in the morning, upon waking. Ritual and routine are helpful companions these days, when so much in our greater world feels chaotic and unmoored.