Pigeon Spins Featuring an Interview with Fiona Amaka

Fiona Amaka - Wingman

Wingman was released at the end of May last year and was recorded in London with vocalist, producer, and guitarist David Taro. It’s a love song Fiona Amaka gigged in acoustic venues first, before deciding to rock it up a little. She'd planned to keep the vocal simple without any harmonies or BV,s but David kept hearing additional vocal lines that she could be putting in, so they met somewhere in the middle! They decided to go for a jangly, echoey guitar sound to give it some retro indie vibes.

Fiona Amaka, hailing from London, England, is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for her captivating "rock'n'soul" sound. With influences ranging from Stevie Nicks to Smashing Pumpkins, Fiona's music blends bluesy vocals with driving rock guitar or chill folk vibes. Her 2025 singles, "No Daylight" , "Cowards and Shadows" showcase her signature soulful indie-rock sound, with some throwback vibes, taking listeners on a no-holds barred journey through surviving betrayals of trust and ghosting. Her latest release Honesty (Psalm 139) throws a spiritual element into the mix while giving a nod to her folk-rock roots.

Interview with Fiona Amaka

(º)> What inspired the creation of “Wingman” and its layered guitar sound?

I guess Wingman celebrates the joy of having that special person or those special people in your life who bring you through the difficult experiences that you thought had crushed you and who make you feel stronger.

(º)> How do you balance rock and soul elements in your music?

I don’t really think about genres when putting a song together, but probably a lot of the soul in Wingman comes from my voice

(º)> Which lyric or moment in “Wingman” resonates most with your personal experience?

All of it! Of course, it’s great when you know that someone has your back, but it’s also important to be a person who gives the support back - or at least tries to!

(º)> How did collaborating with David Taro shape the track?

David picked up the heart of the song and carried it through to the sound of the guitars so you can feel the essence of the song through the instrumentation as well as the lyrics.

(º)> How do your influences, from Stevie Nicks to Smashing Pumpkins, show up in your sound?

My songs tend to touch lots of different genres, but I am inspired by the honesty and rawness of Stevie Nicks’ songwriting and try to bring that no-holds-barred approach to my songwriting. The wistful and bittersweet edge to a lot of Pumpkins songs also resonates pretty strongly with me, so I guess it’s no surprise if that pops up in my songs.

(º)> What’s the story behind your 2025 singles “No Daylight” and “Cowards and Shadows”?

No Daylight is a song about the feelings you’re left with after a betrayal, compared with the feelings of deluded comfort you had when you thought everything was good. The song came out after a conversation with a friend where we were exchanging gritty experiences. As soon as she shared her story (which was quite graphic), I just knew that a song was going to come out of it. And it did - in the early hours of the morning after the conversation. It was literally all there at 2 am -words, chord changes, etc. Cowards and Shadows is a song about ghosting. It aims to empower people dealing with the trauma of being ghosted on how to bounce back!

(º)> How do you integrate spiritual themes like in “Honesty (Psalm 139)” with folk-rock elements?

Honesty (Psalm 139) is inspired by the message in Psalm 139 about the depth of God’s deep knowledge of and relationship with us humans. That message brings me such a sense of release and freedom to accept my own limitations in reliance upon the limitless divine guidance and leading on offer. So it was pretty easy to write about it in the same way I write about other things that I feel and experience in life.

(º)> How do you approach songwriting about betrayal, ghosting, and trust?

I try to describe as accurately as I can the emotions I want to share with my listeners.

(º)> What feedback from listeners surprised you the most about “Wingman”?

The comments that made me smile- like the person who said that Wingman was like a song from a Tom Cruise movie! I love it!

(º)> What’s next for you in 2026 musically and creatively?

More music, more festivals, and more collaborations. I can't wait!

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check out Fiona Amaka on the Pigeon Spins Playlist