“Not being confined to making music for a specific environment is extremely liberating.”
Many have likely heard of Nadia Ali through her previous work in the electronic dance field. Now, she is expanding into the world of pop with her latest project HYLLS, a still danceable yet different vibe where all of the members might be a mystery but why you love it will not. Popdust has the exclusive premiere of their latest single “Miracle” plus an interview with Nadia about the band’s latest.
Listen to “Miracle” below.
How did you become interested in music?
Growing up, my parents watched Bollywood movies in our household. As you know, Bollywood movies are all about music and dance. I always connected with the beautiful melodies and scales. When we moved to the U.S. in the ’80s, Queens was a bustling/multi-ethnic environment with lots of musical diversity. I was exposed to all kinds of music genres: from Latin to hip-hop to rock music. There was no shortage of interesting influences. It was also then that I discovered Madonna and Michael Jackson. I became very interested in singing around the age of eight and haven’t stopped since.
What artists have inspired your music the most?
One of the biggest influences is Stevie Nicks.
You’re originally from Pakistan. Have any of those roots influenced your music?
Absolutely, yes! Also, the other factor being that I am not classically trained, so I was able to easily fuse Eastern and Western sounds as I did not have to abide by any rules.
Why did you start your new project HYLLS?
HYLLS is really a passion project that came about from spending a lot of time in the studio together with the other band members of HYLLS. My voice has most often been used in a dance format but we really wanted to experiment with blending acoustic and electronic sounds and stretching our imaginations of who else might hear this project besides people who were already familiar with my music. We also love being completely independent and relish the freedom to do whatever we want; for example releasing one new song each month and deciding just a few weeks before what that song will be would be practically impossible if were relying on a label.
The producing members of HYLLS supporting you as of now remain anonymous. Why is this?
We like the idea of revealing our story one layer at a time. We want people to hear the music first and fall in love with the soundscape that we’re creating before placing any judgments based on the names involved. When the time is right, perhaps on our first tour, we’ll reveal who else is involved.
Your sound with HYLLS is quite different from your previous work. What do you enjoy most about this new direction?
Not being confined to making music for a specific environment is extremely liberating. Working with new tempos and instruments has been something that we’ve collectively been craving for so long, so this project feels like an incredible release to be able to write some of the music that we’ve always known that we could write but never really had the avenues or time to do.
What can you tell us about this new single, “Miracle?”
This was one of the first songs we wrote for this project and it came out very organically. It’s inspired by the very special relationship you have with someone who makes you feel extremely safe and secure. Many times in life we become jaded by negative experiences that have made us sometimes lose hope in love. This song is supposed to capture the feeling you get when you realize the person you are with takes away your fears and troubles.
How do you think fans of your previous, more electronic-based work will feel about your new, pop-infused sound? How have they responded thus far?
The response has been wonderful to be honest. I haven’t released much music in the past few years, and all of a sudden my fans are getting this new project and one song a month, so it feels like I’ve unleashed a storm or something. But people are excited and have been messaging every month saying that they can’t wait for the next one to come out. In today’s world, people just want to hear music that they like and I don’t think that genres matter as much as they used to.
What else is coming up for you?
We’ve got four more songs coming out this year and then a little surprise at the beginning of next year that we think everyone will be very excited about.
Follow Nadia Ali on Facebook | Twitter
Rachel A.G. Gilman is a writer, a former radio producer, and probably the girl wearing the Kinks shirt. She is the creator of The Rational Creature and suggests you check it out. Also visit her website for more.
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