Ayla Schafer is a multilingual visionary musical artist, acclaimed as the “Voice of the Earth.” Her music weaves a spellbinding tapestry of world folk and medicinal song, and her poetic repertoire, sung in Spanish, English, and Proto-Celtic, threads memory, remembrance, and power into every note. Each performance is an enchanting musical journey, a sacred, heart-opening encounter through visible and unseen worlds, inviting listeners to reconnect with themselves, the earth, and the quiet power of presence.
A pivotal moment in Ayla’s musical journey occurred in 2010 when she travelled through South America. The years she spent away from home profoundly influenced her writing, as she explored the mystery of the inner landscape and learned from various indigenous traditions about the healing power of song. This soul-deep quest revealed new layers of depth and honesty in her compositions, which now reflect the beauty, shadow, and rawness of human experience, intertwined with a passionate commitment to earth consciousness and ancestral wisdom.
Ayla began performing at sixteen, gaining experience across the UK festival scene, including collaborations with Brit Award winner Ben Howard and as part of the folk-soul duo Susie Ro and Ayla. Her music has been praised for its originality and emotional resonance. Folk Radiohighlighted the strength and clarity of her songs, while Higher Plains Music described her performances as some of the most moving world folk experiences. Songlines noted the Latin mystique woven through her work, and Chalked Up Reviews observed, “the wisdom of Mother Earth is clearly channelling through Schafer, and just as our mother is, this music is also stunning.”
Ayla is also a passionate advocate for the earth. She leads the ‘Music Plants Trees’ campaign, an initiative to reforest the world through music. Ima Adama (2018) donated 25% of profits to the Pachamama Alliance, and her single Music Plants Trees (2020) donated 100% of profits to tree-planting projects. She prioritises sustainable touring practices, travelling by train and boat whenever possible.
Alongside her recordings, Ayla shares her knowledge of the voice and its healing power through workshops, retreats, women’s circles, one-on-one coaching, and ceremonies such as Song of the Soul and Womb Song. Her work invites others to discover their own soul expression, reconnect with ancestral and earth wisdom, and experience the transformative power of song, presence, and remembrance in everyday life.