“A remarkable talent and a delightful voice"  - SBS Worldview

WINNER of the 2010 Queensland Music Award for Best World Music Song, and nominated for Best Blues & Roots Song

 A descendant of Spanish Gpypsies and with of hints of Irish blood, award winning songwriter and guitarist Alesa Lajana spent the first 4 years of her life living in a tin hut deep in the middle of the Conondale Ranges rainforest in South East Queensland Australia. Here she learned to listen to the land, while her zoologist father conducted studies into crayfish and rare frogs in the area. At 16, inspired by rebellious world roving troubadours such as Bob Dylan and Paul Kelly, she took up guitar and began to kindle her own burning desire to explore storytelling through song.  After finishing secondary studies Lajana was selected for entry into the prestigious Victorian College of the Arts classical guitar Bachelor of Music Degree under the instruction of Antony Field.

Upon being offered a record deal by ABC Classics, Lajana ceased study to release and tour her debut commercial album Celtic Gypsy, a collection of instrumental celtic pipe and fiddle tunes performed on solo guitar.

In 2010 her second album “Secret Garden”, a collection of all original contemporary folk/world music songs, was released independently in Australia. A track from the album “The Owl The Fairy & The Grasshopper" was the winner of the Best World Music Song of the Year Award at the Q Song Awards, while the song "Get Me Out of Here" also receivied a nomination for Best Blues & Roots Song of the Year. Aside from her professional performance career, Lajana has always harboured a keen interest and passion for First Nation issues in Australia and has taken large measures to undergo private study to investigate the events that have shaped First Nation politics since the colonisation of Australia. Her skill and refined talent as both a singer, songwriter, guitarist and composer has fuelled her desire to explore early Australian history and the displacement of First Nation people through these artistic mediums.

Lajana has performed both in Europe, the US, and at many festivals around Australia including the Woodford, National, Yungaburra and Port Fairy Folk Festivals, and has composed music for short films such as “Aeroplane Dreaming” directed by Tristan Pemberton.

 She has been influenced by a wide range of musical genres, ranging from Bob Dylan to Augustin Barrios. Her enthusiasm for music was sparked after listening to folk artists such as Bela Fleck, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lang, Lunasa, Tony McManus and Ani Difranco. This led her to explore the traditional music of Scotland, Ireland, Eastern Europe and Spain, as well as Jazz and Bluegrass. She has a deep love of both Western and Indian Classical music.

2011 sees Alesa touring Australia as part of the Hidden History Album Project. This project aims to research the historical figures and events that feature in the conflicts between Indigenous Australians and early European settlers during the colonisation of Australia, delving into both the aural and written heritage that is of deep cultural and historical significance to Indigenous and non-indigenous community members. A final selection of stories from this research will then be converted to lyrics and songs by an internationally recognised award winning songwriting team, and used to create an album of contemporary Australian folk/roots songs that explore the largely unknown events and historical figures that feature in Australian history. The finished album will then be released for national distribution and toured with the aim of promoting understanding and reconciliation between Indigenous and non-indigenous communities.

“Tabla! Lap Steel! It's the soundtrack to your next session of transcendental meditation. Sounds superb.”  - Dom Alessio, triple j

“Alesa Lajana hits all the right notes on Celtic Gypsy. Economic arrangements, unusual musical choices and virtuosic play make this a real keeper. Be prepared to give Celtic Gypsy your full attention. It demands it.” Wildy’s World

“Alesa Lajana's second album Secret Garden is well worth attention. Abundantly talented, innovative, skillful and adept at acoustic and lap steel slide guitar and vocals. 4/5 stars” - The Courier Mail

As a singer and a storyteller, Lajana is full of sweet wit, genuine gratitude and a natural friendliness that makes the whole experience so relaxed and joyful. Each song is the perfect vehicle to show off Lajana's considerable instrumental talent on both the acoustic guitar and acoustic lap-steel slide guitar and her powerful and highly polished voice. - Australian Stage

"She plays with authority, musicality, and also an unrushed quality that usually takes players years to come by - maturity in other words. She's one very impressive musician, and I look greatly forward to hearing more from her through what will doubtless be a long and successful career."  - Jeff Lang

“She creates a complex and textured piece of music with her intricate finger style. “  - www.duggup.com

"Alesa has managed to absorb and respond to various influences and turn them into something truly original and creative. Her playing of celtic music on dobro, for example, is unique. It's great to see creativity drive technique into new areas - and this is at the heart of Alesa's playing." – Tony McManus