Nxdia – in the flesh

By starrymag | October 17, 2023

By: Malasha Parker

 

 

Q) You’ve had a variety of songs come out over the last couple years. How would you describe the progression of your music?

 

A) Honestly, I kind of jumped from some very pop heavy stuff to something that feels more alternative, one of the biggest changes being the decision to include Arabic in my music. That opened me up so much more to thinking about what I was writing about and wanting to include more of myself in the music I was making.

 

Q) Talk about your new EP in the flesh and how it came together. 

 

A) It was a lot of listening back to music I’d made and picking it apart and then bringing it back together. There were songs I knew I wanted to have out, so it was making things from a few years ago coincide and make sense next to stuff made more recently out. It was fun, but also quite daunting, having never released a project before.

 

Q) This is your first EP. What challenges did you encounter while preparing it?

 

A) Just structuring and thinking about what to focus on – you have so many ideas in your head of what you want and what you want to say, pacing yourself into understanding you can’t do everything you’re thinking of in one EP was something I found initially tough. I was really excited to begin the process and see it through, though I’m still excited to do this again knowing what I know now.

 

Q The EP is described as getting yourself out of your own head. The song titles provide a great look into the emotions explored while struggling with your inner thoughts. How did you decide on the flow of the EP?

 

A) Thank you! I was following what sonically made sense to me. I feel like most of these songs are observational and I wanted to be able to listen to the project while I was focusing and also not focusing to find what order was my favorite to listen to the songs in.

 

Q) So many of the sounds on in the flesh are synth alt pop sounds with a colorful feel and look in the videos. How do the music videos enhance or provide a bigger experience for the listeners?

 

A) After a song is finished, the colors I see when I listen back heavily influence artwork and music videos. I guess it’s just trying to give people a look into what comes to mind for me, or what I had in mind when I made these songs.

 

Q) Describe the choices that went behind deciding which songs to give a music video to versus a lyric video or an audio?

 

A) I wanted a bit of something for everything, some kind of visual element, but for the actual music videos, some of the songs simply had more of a specific narrative I wanted to communicate, even though I always want people to experience my songs however they want to.

 

Q) Which song(s) on the EP hold a special significance for you and what makes them so personal?

 

A) They all mean a lot to me, but maybe “what’s it like?”. It was just a feeling I’d experienced growing up that I couldn’t put into words, but I’m really happy with it, even a while after it’s been written – it’s one of my favorites to perform as well. But “decay” is the most fun to perform at the moment!

 

Q) The songs on the EP have been released separately but can now be heard in a cohesive form. What do you hope fans will take away from in the flesh?

 

A) Whatever they need, I hope it makes people feel less isolated- the more I write about specific experiences the less lonely i feel in them- i forget how connected a lot of us are and how so many of us feel the same emotions even if we don’t openly discuss them.

 

Q) Now that you have finally released your first EP and been able to see fan reactions, how do you feel? 

 

A) Relieved, happy, grateful – a bit lost in a way too. These songs have belonged to me and the people I made them with for a while, now they’re out there for everyone and it’s time to look ahead at the next phase. It feels like it was both a really long process and such a quick one!

 

Q) Who would you most love to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) God so many people – I really like Spill Tab at the moment- so probably her!

 

Q) What would you like to say to your fans of you and your music?

 

A) Just thank you for listening, for paying attention and for the overwhelmingly positive responses – I can’t wait for what’s coming next!