Music – Los Angeles

Born in the Philippines to a music-loving family, Alfa grew up surrounded by the sounds of church hymns, folk songs and jam sessions. After emigrating to New York City at the age of 5, Alfa began piano and violin lessons, getting her first taste of the musician’s life as a violinist in the Long Island-based Children’s Orchestra Society. In time, Alfa began singing and songwriting, first influenced by Jewel and Fiona Apple, and later by Sara Bareilles, Regina Spektor and Ingrid Michaelson. So began the development of her sound – a mix of raspy-voiced sweetness, distinct melodies and smart lyrics, with indie-pop sensibility. Alfa’s catalog touches on love, literature, the number Pi and even a song partly-sung in French. After teaching herself guitar and ukulele, and penning hundreds of songs, Alfa debuted on the stages of the West Village as a New York University student in 2005, at venues like The Bitter End and Rockwood Music Hall with audiences drawn to her upbeat, interactive live shows. Now, with 4 independently-released records under her belt – including her full-length debut, “Second Skin,” Alfa has booked hundreds of shows across the U.S., and received invitations to play at venues like NYC’s Lincoln Center, the Greer Stadium in Nashville, and The Shrine in L.A. (where she once played to a crowd of 6,000). In 2009, Alfa received honorable mention from the New York Songwriters Circle and won Grand Prize at Kollaboration in Hollywood, a nationwide competition of Asian-American talent. Alfa has opened for such artists as The Rembrandts, The Kennedys, YouTube phenom David Choi, and Philippine multi-platinum artist Kitchie Nadal. In early 2011, Alfa left her full-time job as a journalist and moved to L.A. Recently, she embarked on a Texas tour, signed with Michigan-based Auburn Moon Agency, and signed an endorsement deal with Nashville-based Walden Guitars.