Start Listening To: Nailah Hunter

Prepare to be mystified by Nailah Hunter’s folktronica magic.

Trained in classical piano, classical voice, and now a master of the harp, Nailah's diverse musical background is a testament to her rich sonic palette. From the medieval to baroque, film scores to jazz, and the haunting influence of Billie Holiday, Nailah crafts a musical language that is uniquely hers. As a relative newcomer to the harp, she finds strength in the authenticity of her spirit's engagement with the instrument, creating sounds that are uniquely Nailah.

For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?

I’m Nailah Hunter, I use she/her pronouns. I was born to Caribbean immigrants in New York City and then raised in Los Angeles since I was six, so I definitely identify as a SoCal girl. I like to think of my music in its current iteration as harp focused folktronica with ambient leanings, but it really is always changing. I started off in the classical music realm, training in classical piano from elementary to high school, developing an interest in film scores, and finally attending college for classical voice. My music has always been inspired by nature, magic, and the exploration of inner worlds. I’m also really interested in capturing delicate feelings like yearning and nostalgia in the compositions. 

Lovegaze is your debut full-length album, and it's a mesmerising journey into your unique musical universe. Can you tell us about the inspiration and creative process behind this album?

Lovegaze is about that potent feeling you get from a lover’s eye cast upon you, the difference between loving and possessing, and how that relates to the lens of greed and consumption that we’re forced to see through in today’s society. I wanted to explore the feeling of tension that exists in any person who is in love. How do we let ourselves love fully in a world that is deteriorating?

You have a diverse musical background, starting with your early church involvement and then your studies at CalArts. How has your past influenced your current approach to music and the creation of Lovegaze?

I think Lovegaze utilizes almost everything I’ve learned on my musical journey thus far. After studying classical music for so long, that physical technique feels pretty embedded in my approach when I’m making sound. I’d say my fascination with music from the medieval period to baroque is a part of my sound world, especially when it comes to voice, harp, and piano. Then there are certain voicings, chords, and themes that I learned from the film score world, and a lot of those tie into what some would label jazz. I grew up adoring Billie Holiday. I was fascinated by the way her pain seemed to produce this grit in her voice that transformed any standard tune into a more meaningful experience. She never tried to sound like anyone else but herself. When it comes to playing harp, an instrument I’ve only been playing for 12 years, I know that I’m bringing something different to the table than all of the classical harpists who have been playing since they could sit in a lesson. At first, I was really anxious about that discrepancy in experience, and didn’t think that I’d ever be ready to produce sound on that instrument that would hold up next to other harpists. But I realized later that it’s all about how your spirit engages with the instrument, and that sound can never be reproduced by anyone else.

The album was recorded in a small coastal city along the English Channel. How did this environment impact the creation and atmosphere of Lovegaze?

I love the UK! I find the dark and dreary atmosphere in that part of the world to be tremendously inspiring. Those conditions allowed me to approach the heavier and more sobering topics with ease. In a sense, I think being on that land also helped me to tap into all of the human traditions of conquest, conjuring imagery of old castles, swords, and bloodshed.

You've mentioned that nature and the resilience of the natural world were significant themes in Lovegaze. Could you elaborate on how these themes are woven into the album's fabric?

I was thinking about nature beating back human greed, when and how it persists through all of our little civilizations.

The track "Cloudbreath" was inspired by the phenomenon of cloud iridescence. Can you delve into the connection between natural wonders and your music and how they find expression in this instrumental piece?

When I learned about all of the variables that have to be present to make cloud iridescence happen I was instantly inspired to make a song exploring them. I wanted to capture the sound of light and water interacting, which I imagine feels like drifting amongst the clouds, gently sprinkled by the warmth of the sun or the bright coolness of the moon. Harp wise, I experimented more freely on this track than any of the others to animate the texture of ice crystals and rain drops. 

Could you share some insights into your collaboration with producer Cicely Goulder? How did this partnership shape the album, and what did you learn from working together?

My relationship with Cicely began when she came to engineer my sessions the first time I went to the UK to write. We got along really well and decided to develop the demos together. Beyond her wealth of technical knowledge as a producer, I really appreciated how she worked as a sounding board when it came to lyrics and musical motifs. I learned a lot about how to record during this process as it was usually just her and I in the studio working very closely. 

What do you love right now?

Sunrise hikes, coconut water, flower arranging, yoga with Alice Coltrane, the Pagan Otherworlds tarot deck, creating memories with family. 

What do you hate right now?

Military budgets, the public’s inability to understand nuance, added sugar. 

Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?

I really wish I had a less obvious answer, but it has got to be Ys by Joanna Newsom. I listened to that album while reading my favorite books as a very young person, but this album became a real escape for me as a late teenager. The expansiveness of her lyrical and harmonic world provided me a safe place to experience playful joy and wonder during a really hard time in my life. I can still sing every single word of that record.

If your music were a movie soundtrack, what kind of film or genre would it best accompany?

I’d say sci-fi and fantasy would be the most likely pairings, but I do love the idea of making music for the horror genre. Harp when played with certain less traditional techniques can make for a really chilling sound experience!