Music & Lyrics

Her first music video Sing For You, hit all the right notes and went viral once it got the nod from Young The Giant. Now all set with the release of her next video, What I’m Looking For, we touch base with the new voice on the block, Nilu Madadi.

How did your journey as a songwriter and singer begin? What is your first memory of singing? My first memory singing is with my mother. She has a beautiful voice and would sing to me often (mostly Iranian tunes) when I was young. We still sing together today and I am thankful for that. I would say that is when my journey began. She supported me constantly and once I got into college I decided to take writing and performing more seriously.

Which emotional space were you coming from when you composed Sing For You? Vulnerability and restlessness.

Your track went viral with a genuine recommendation from Young The Giant. How did they come across your music? And how has that helped you move forward in your career? We were in Honors Orchestra together in middle school, and I ended up being great friends with them later in my life. They are kind, genuine and talented boys, and I have only good things to say about all of them. With one post of my video on their facebook page, they changed my life. Trust me.

Could you share your favourite lines from your next single, What I’m Looking For? ‘May they be still, in a sleepless night, because I never wanted them to fear tomorrow like me.’

You will also be releasing your EP soon. Could you tell us a bit about it? It will be released this year, hopefully in the summer. It will consist of four songs displaying rock, classical and soul qualities. I’m very excited to finish recording it.

What inspires you to write? Life. Emotions. People. A lot of my songs develop from my practice of classical piano. I was playing a (Johannes) Brahms’ Intermezzo the other day, and it inspired a new song I’m working on. I also spend a lot of time writing at local coffee shops, by the lake, wherever… and I just wonder what’s going on in peoples’ lives that I see near me. Do they have kids? What do they want to do with their lives? Are they happy? I often write about them.

One artist/band you’d love to compose a piece with? Radiohead.

Three music festivals you’d love to perform at? Coachella (America), Summer Sonic Festival (Japan), Java Rockinland (Indonesia)

Top five songs on your playlist right now are? Golden Star by My Brightest Diamond; Like Spinning Plates  by Radiohead; Come all You Weary by Thrice; Inside a Boy by My Brightest Diamond; Zion by Lauryn Hill._

By: Radhika Iyengar