Singer-songwriter Nazanin has just released her second single ever, dubbed "Red Light." The song invites listeners in with a graceful and enticing sound, defying rigid classification of genre.
We talked to Nazanin about "Red Light," her creation process, and what's next for the rising artist. Read the interview and listen to Nazanin's single below.
What do you find to be your favorite part of songwriting? What’s your process like?
I love creating something out of whatever I was going through in the moment and having something relatable to share with others. Music is a universal language.
Where do you find inspiration for your work?
From my own life and personal experiences.
How would you describe your songs to those just discovering your music?
My genre is pop, but with elements of dance, R&B, and/or soul pending on the song. I definitely love a beautiful acoustic song and ballad here and there, and am a sucker for guitar. My tracks lean towards dark pop and whether a song is fast or slow, I am big on melody and rhythm and usually have my tracks in the minor key.
If my track is pop or R&B, it's classified as contemporary and alternative R&B. When it comes to my pop-dance tracks, they usually blend a lot of sub genres as well such as tropical house, R&B house, dancehall, synth pop, electro pop, and alternative pop. My biggest inspirations for my pop/dance songs are Dua Lipa, Naika, J. Lo, Mabel, and Sabrina Claudio. I love throwing in some throwback '80s, '90s, and early '00s vibes in as well.
What inspired your song “Red Light” and what message do you want fans to take away from it?
I was seeing someone once I knew wasn’t for me in a lot of ways, so I ended it despite liking him to some extent. He was a jerk and f*ckboy — but this song wasn't necessarily about him, but a concept — I didn’t want my heart to end up overruling my brain and get hurt in the end (even if I was the one who didn’t view him seriously to begin with).
When you love yourself and know you're a dope person, you don’t entertain anything or anyone less than.
My message to fans is to know yourself, trust your intuition, be strong, and maintain your dignity. When you love yourself and know you're a dope person, you don’t entertain anything or anyone less than. And I do not mean that from a point of cockiness or pride — just from a point of confidence, authenticity, and self respect which are notions I definitely want my fans to take away.
Has your creation process changed because of the pandemic?
I recorded my first song ever, "Dangerous," at a local studio before the pandemic hit. Once the quarantine started though, I didn’t know what to do — I had all these songs written and I didn’t want to waste any time. So, I bought myself a mic to plug into my laptop and just recorded a bunch of songs in my apartment (I already had all the instrumental productions created). Now that I'm vaccinated, I’m excited to go back to recording in a studio as I noticed there is a major difference to how I sound recorded professionally as opposed to recorded on a $60 mic in my apartment.
What’s next for Nazanin?
Going to be releasing my single "Dangerous" this spring alongside some really cool pop/dance tracks throughout the summer. Ultimately, I'll be releasing all the songs I’ve been working on for the past 1-2 years. My goal is to go as big as possible.