Nadia Kazmi doesn’t want a lot of an introduction. She’s a fiercely unbiased singer and songwriter with a voice as robust as her beliefs. For years, she’s been creating music that blends honesty, poetic lyrics, and daring sonic experimentation.
Her sound is tough to place in a field. It’s impressed by the emotional energy of ’70s rock legends like David Bowie and Kate Bush, however with a contemporary and socially conscious edge. With a observe file of success, Kazmi has proven she’s a storyteller with an vital message to convey.
Her newest single, The Conflict Inside, is a robust and emotional return. Written throughout a deeply private time after shedding a beloved one, the music explores the internal battles that many people face: self-doubt, perfectionism, procrastination, and the worry of each failing and succeeding. As Kazmi shares on this interview, the music isn’t nearly battle—it’s about dealing with it, accepting it, and inspiring others to have a look at the truths we regularly attempt to disguise.
Nadia, thanks for sharing this interview with us. It’s an honor. Let’s begin together with your new single, “The Conflict Inside,” which appears like a robust comeback. What’s the music about, and what private feelings or experiences impressed it?
Thanks for having me, really. The Conflict Inside is a really private piece. It got here from a second the place I used to be reckoning with dualities in myself—the wrestle all artistic folks really feel after they pursue their passions, between the worry of failure and even success, and the need to specific their creativity. I believe all of us use distractions to keep away from doing the very factor that can fulfill us as a result of we’re afraid of making an attempt and failing. It’s simpler to look at a present or use the numerous screens in our lives to maintain our minds occupied, though there’s that nagging feeling beneath the floor that we must be doing extra vital or fulfilling issues with our time on earth. Procrastination is a instrument to keep away from ourselves and our fears and the necessity for perfection in our passions. This music is a type of exorcism, but in addition an embrace. It’s about proudly owning your contradictions so you possibly can reside a extra fearless existence and pursue your ardour, for me, that’s music. I used to be impressed by the e-book The Conflict of Artwork, which encapsulates the artist’s wrestle.
Have been there any explicit challenges in creating “The Conflict Inside”—whether or not in writing, recording, or manufacturing?
Positively. Emotionally, it took a toll. My father died whereas I used to be engaged on the music, so I shelved this music for a pair years and got here again to it this yr. It was a wrestle to choose it up and end it with totally different folks than I had began it with. So this music is certainly a collaboration with totally different producers and engineers at a couple of studios. I didn’t wish to write a music that simply sounded highly effective—I needed it to really feel prefer it took off like a band of horses within the choruses, so I needed the sensation of galloping. That’s the reason the refrain modifications feeling rhythmically.
How would you describe your creative development out of your early work to now?
At first, I believe I used to be nonetheless in search of my voice—there have been moments of honesty, but in addition moments of efficiency. Now I write with out armor, however I nonetheless love my metaphors. I’ve stopped making an attempt to suit genres or expectations. I’ve let go of needing to be palatable or polished. And mockingly, I believe that’s made the work stronger and extra resonant. It’s nonetheless evolving, however the core now could be unflinchingly mine.
You’re clearly somebody who stands strongly for significant causes. Does that affect your music in any method?
It influences every part. I generally write protest songs within the conventional sense, however I consider artwork is inherently political if it’s sincere, so I write quite a lot of songs that aren’t clearly political however have many interpretations. For instance, the music Mom is about our earth dying, however might be interpreted extra actually as a music a couple of man asking for forgiveness for killing his brother. My music isn’t about preaching—it’s about sharing actual feelings, particularly those we’re typically advised to cover. I believe that in itself challenges lots, and the tip purpose is expression, but in addition for folks to narrate to, and convey us collectively.
After this single, one other is coming in July and an EP in 2026. Are you able to give us a sneak peek into this subsequent chapter of your music?
Sure, and I’m trying ahead to new music and the following chapter. The following single feels extra political than The Conflict Inside—extra in regards to the outer world and fewer about our internal worlds. I believe the present local weather wants that, but in addition that’s what has been on my thoughts the final couple of years, in order that’s what’s popping out within the songwriting. The upcoming EP, which we’re planning for early 2026, is shaping right into a journey via mild and shadow. It blends natural instrumentation with synths in a method that feels new for me. Lyrically, it leans into the concept of survival, not simply bodily however emotionally and spiritually. It’s uncooked, however there’s magnificence in that unraveling.
You’ve obtained exhibits lined up in NYC, Mexico Metropolis, and Europe. What do you hope followers take away out of your reside performances with this new materials?
I hope they really feel seen as a result of they see themselves within the songs, and the performances carry these songs to life. For me, it’s at all times about songs first, and every part else is in service to the songs. I’ve suffered from quite a lot of stage fright in my life, and I’ve been in a position to overcome that to a fantastic extent, however I can nonetheless have panic moments and fully mess up one way or the other if I get nervous. I energy via it as an alternative of avoiding efficiency as a result of I really consider the reside efficiency is the catharsis I would like to complete the expression of the music itself. It’s the fruits of the creative expression to carry the songs to life and breathe. My reside exhibits are like rituals to me—intimate, messy, alive. I don’t carry out to impress; I carry out to attach. I would like folks to stroll away feeling like they really perceive what every music carried out means to them. That’s what one of the best live shows I attend make me really feel in regards to the efficiency.
Lastly, what message or feeling would you like listeners to stroll away with after listening to “The Conflict Inside”?
I would like them to really feel braver in their very own chaos and know that we’re all going via this wrestle to comply with our passions. I maintain quite a lot of guilt for understanding what my ardour is however avoiding the work due to the worry that it gained’t be adequate or that I’ll fail. Not everybody is aware of their life’s objective or what provides their life that means. That could be a stunning factor, however it’s a nice duty to not squander it. Generally that comes with worry, guilt, and a heavy burden. For those who merely rise up and do it, the fears fall away like grains of sand. This music doesn’t supply an answer—it’s a mirror. If somebody hears it and thinks, “I’m not the one one feeling like this,” then that’s stunning, however the music is my very own catharsis; that’s why I write. Vulnerability might be radical. And generally, the act of merely naming the conflict is a type of peace.
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