Modern Classic Rock Singer Ayline Artin Proves It’s Never Too Late to Make Good on a Promise

At 5 years old, Ayline Artin sat at an upright piano purchased by her mother for their San Fernando Valley home. The youngest of three siblings, Ayline played the instrument for a decade, until the distractions of her teenage years set in. But she promised her mom she would continue to play. Many years later, the piano lives on in Ayline’s Redondo Beach home—as does her passion for music.

Born in Sudan, Africa, to Armenian parents displaced a generation earlier by war and genocide, Ayline enjoyed the influence of Armenian, Arabic, French and classical music. “I grew up listening to instrumental dance pieces that would easily get your belly dancing, and also passionate songs sung by Edith Piaf,” she says. “I also loved KC and the Sunshine Band.”

After two years of completing all the music major courses in college, Ayline says life threw her a curveball leading to depression. She changed her major to “unknown” and went in and out of college. 

Eight years later she graduated from Cal State Dominguez Hills with a kinesiology major and went on to get a graduate degree and teaching credential in adapted physical education from Cal State Long Beach, working with children with various disabilities. After 23 years of teaching, she resigned this school year to pursue her passion for music again. 

“My South Bay community has been very supportive of my music career. Saint Rocke kicked off my music career and gave me an incredible platform to showcase all my original music. I even shot my first music video, I’m Through, there.”

“I feel like I have my life back—doing what I love, doing what I am meant to be doing, writing, singing and performing, and doing it well.” In a magical twist, percussionist and original member of KC’s band, Oliver C. Brown, is now a part of Ayline’s band. 

Ayline says she’d been planning this reemergence into music for a long while. After the birth of her twin daughters nearly 19 years ago, Ayline’s wife bought her a guitar. “I taught myself how to play the guitar at age 35, walked into cafés, contacted local farmers markets and began to play cover songs,” she says. “After about five years of gigging here and there—local cafés and street fairs and coffeehouses—I decided it was time to take some voice lessons, mainly because I began to lose my voice and knew I needed some extra help.” 

She took classical voice lessons from coach Charles GaVoian and muscled up enough confidence to audition for The Voice—making it past the producers’ round before being cut. “It was that moment of rejection when Charlie said to me, ‘You need to stop singing other people’s songs and start writing and performing your own music.’” 

So she did. Ayline joined a local songwriters class and began performing at famous venues all over Los Angeles like The Troubadour and The Viper Room.

“I was fortunate enough to be the opening act for the legendary Kenny Loggins twice,” she says, “once at the Saban Theatre and another time at The Rose in Pasadena.”

As these gigs started to pour in, she began offering voice lessons to children and teens in the South Bay community, where she and her wife moved 27 years ago. The lessons provided a second income that would fully fund her albums and pay for studio time, pro musicians and producers. 

“My South Bay community has been very supportive of my music career,” she says. “Saint Rocke kicked off my music career and gave me an incredible platform to showcase all my original music. I even shot my first music video, I’m Through, there.” 

On March 5, Ayline and her band will perform at The Lighthouse in Hermosa. “I have released two albums with all original music and lyrics written by yours truly,” she shares. “I have attracted into my life professional, humble, talented and kind musicians who bring only special elements to my music and sound, and I feel blessed.”