Just before lighting up the BBC Introducing stage at Leeds Festival, we caught up with rising alt-pop star Nxdia for a quick chat — and they didn’t hold back. From the artists who shaped their sound to the emotional highs of performing live, Nxdia gave us a glimpse into the heart behind the music.

Photography By Nora Toth

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, who you are and your musical background?

NXDIA: I am Nxdia. I spell it N-X-D-I-A, cause I’m super edgy. I make English and Arabic music—it’s pop punk. I like stuff that is fun to scream, dance to, and sing on stage. And if you like that too, then we should be friends.

Who are your musical influences?

NXDIA: Loads. I’m obsessed with—we were just talking about Queen, actually—but like I grew up on Fall Out Boy, Janis Joplin, Tracy Chapman, My Chemical Romance, and Paramore. So there’s so many… Stromae, huge for me. I don’t speak French or anything, but the way he talks about music, the way he makes it—I love him. There’s a few people I’m starstruck by, Conan Gray included.

I feel like you could be French.

NXDIA: I want to be a little bit French. I want to be like ‘ooh désolé Je n’ai pas les paroles en Français like Je suis whatever,’ but I can’t. 

Who would be your dream collaboration?

NXDIA: Right now, Conan Gray. I think his pen is crazy—the way he writes hurts my feelings—and I think I just wanna even see it. I think I would be able to die happy.

If you could describe your music in a scent, what would it smell like?

NXDIA: I think it has to be something sweet but also a bit smoky. So maybe—I love the smell of amber, so amber maybe—and I do like a little oud. So, amber-oud kind of situation. I think if that was the smell of it, it would be that.

What’s your writing process like for your music?

NXDIA: You know, it’s never the exact same, obviously. I tend to write in my journal a lot, and then that will fill and creep its way into everything else. But yeah, I think I tend to go for a feeling, write everything, and then get in the studio and just, like, throw music at me until I feel something.

You’ve got a tour coming up, which city are you the most excited to play at?

NXDIA: I’m so excited about any of them. I was literally like, well, Katowice I’ve never been to, so I’m super excited to see that. I’ve never actually been to Warsaw either, or Vienna. So I think there’s a few places where I’m like, I’ve never been in this part of the world yet, so I think I’m really excited for those. But the fact that there’s a tour, the fact that it’s selling out and everything, is ridiculous. I can’t believe it. I’m literally like, no, me? What the hell. Thanks, guys, this is so fun.

Do you have any pre or post show rituals?

NXDIA: I used to listen to “Explode” by Mother Mother, cause I love that song. The kick is so—like, when it drops in, it’s so fire, it’s so good. Now I just tend to just run in place and jump up and down a lot, and then yeah, I get really excited, and then I just jump on.

How have you been finding the festival so far, what’s the fan response been like?

NXDIA: I mean, Reading was amazing. I think the thing that got me, which I thought was so sweet, is—I’d sit there at the end of the song, I’d be like, “Thank you so much,” and I’d explain that it was a special night for me, cause it is a f*cking honour this weekend, being part of it, headlining BBC Introducing. I’m so grateful, and it’s so weird, cause I was there, and I’d end the song and then I’d just keep tearing, and I would be like, ‘Okay, guys, I only have 25 minutes.’ Just that kind of love in that moment—I was so touched. I was like, this is so, so beautiful, and people are being so open. But yeah, it’s been such a beautiful weekend, really overwhelming in a really nice way.

Will you be coming back next year?

NXDIA: Obviously. I’m coming back in a few months, Live at Leeds mate. You’ll see me a lot.

Photography By C Williams

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