Cover photo by Nyah & Journey Skye & inRage Entertainment
LA-based alternative rock singer, songwriter, and performer Nyah is an artist to watch. Hot on the heels of her June EP Goodbye, Adolescence comes single "Last Days of Summer". The track, which dropped on August 30, 2024 is a perfect close-out to the season. The haunting melodies of "Last Days of Summer" stay with listeners long past its end. Introspective lyrics, gentle guitar melodies, and continual harmonies set the mood for a calm, melancholy fall season. The lullaby feels like it belongs in the fall-favorite film Coraline, with its bittersweet and graceful sound.
Goodbye, Adolescence captures the trials, tribulations, and tones of the transition out of adolescence. The EP's four songs highlight different topics, ranging from burnout to self-doubt to facing the realities of girlhood. The project embodies the iconic "hell is a teenage girl" attitude of Jennifer's Body in all the right ways. "The Wolf and the Lamb" opens with a vulnerable guitar and vocal combination before exploding into a fiery rock arrangement. The song strikes a beautiful balance dynamically, with instrumental pauses so crisp and clean they could cut.
"Nothing To Look Forward To" channels the Riot Grrrl movement. Unceasing drums and gritty guitar riffs keep the energy on level ten in this made-for-moshpit anthem. Lyrically, "Nothing To Look Forward To" is biting, cynical, and strikes a chord with teenagers and twenty-somethings everywhere. The following track, "Burnout", hits home once again. The song, which was released as a single ahead of the EP, is a standout in Nyah's discography. Her prowess as a songwriter and lyricist shines extra brightly. Ironically, "Burnout" proves that we can expect great things to come from Nyah. "Nobody Stays" features a layered guitar that utilizes high and low registers cleverly. As a whole, Goodbye, Adolescence feels like a soundtrack to the in-between years of teenager and adult, packed with angst, anger, and striking emotion.
We talked with Nyah about her musical influences, songwriting process, and Goodbye, Adolescence. Read the full interview below and listen to the EP. Let us know what you think.
Tell us about how you got started in music. Who or what were your biggest influences growing up?
This is a difficult question for me to answer because music has essentially been in my life since I was born. I've always been into the Disney Princess movies. When I was little, I would sing along to all the songs and when I was living in Washington, there was eventually this version of Cinderella that one of my friends told me I would love doing. I did it and then that started getting me really into musical theater. I just always really loved singing. I would also listen to a lot of post-punk and new wave because those were the genres my parents listened to most.
I also listened to Lady Gaga because that was my grandma's favorite artist at the time and she'd always have her playing at her house. I would always sing along to songs and that eventually turned into, “well, what if I wrote my own songs?” It was originally just a hobby and I don't even remember when the switch was to, “what if I tried this for real?”
"I would always sing along to songs and that eventually turned into, 'well, what if I wrote my own songs?'"
What is your favorite Disney soundtrack, since that’s where it all began?
There are a lot of really good ones. I think I was about six when The Princess and the Frog came out, but my parents got me the little sheet music songbook, so I've always had an affinity towards those songs. “Friends on the Other Side” is one of my favorite Disney Villain songs. The Little Mermaid, specifically, I would watch all the time… daily, if I was allowed to. Those two movies probably have my favorite soundtracks, for nostalgic reasons.
Who are your biggest musical influences now?
It jumps between a lot of things. I definitely still love post-punk and new wave. I love the goth rock and synth pop bands I grew up hearing. The Trinity at my house was always the Cure, the Smiths, and Depeche Mode, which is really funny to me because the Smiths and the Cure don’t like each other. Tears for Fears is another great one. I always see those groups coming back to me. Musical theater still also definitely has its roots for me. There’s an artist named dodie; she’s the reason why I started playing ukulele, which was the first instrument I learned how to play. I’ve also been taking a lot of inspiration from Nirvana, Paramore, and Hole lately. I’ve started listening to Babes in Toyland, Jack Off Jill, and a few more. I feel like those groups are influencing my current sound a lot.
Tell us about your lead single “Burnout”.
Well, “Burnout”, conceptually, is a song that I wanted to do for a while before I actually sat down and wrote it. I already had the idea to write a song about feeling burnt out and like you’ve wasted your potential… you just don’t know where to go from there. I started listening to songs with similar theses. It was a lot of Nirvana songs and “I hate myself and wanna die” type songs. I was inspired by “Creep” by Radiohead and “Better Than Me” by the Brobecks. It just kind of came to me from there. Like I said, it’s a song I’ve wanted to do for a while and never liked the lyrics or how it sounded.
One day, it just happened. I ended up writing that song in a weekend. Ironically, despite the song’s themes, I’m really proud of it. It’s actually probably the song I’m the most proud of, even though it’s about feeling like a worthless burnout. I hope it resonates with other people, along with the rest of my songs.
Walk us through your songwriting process.
It usually starts with either a lyric or a concept that’ll pop up in my head. I also sing to myself all the time and sometimes I’ll just stumble on something I want to build a song around. If I fall into creative writer’s block, I’ll come up with a few lines and then come back to them after a few months. Very rarely do I start with the music side of things, but there are some songs that do start out with a riff or chord progression. Typically, I’ll think, “I want to write a song about the horrors of girlhood,” and then go from there.
"It usually starts with either a lyric or a concept that’ll pop up in my head."
When do you feel most creative?
I’ve noticed that the later in the day it is, the more creative I am. I’m definitely a night owl and my energy levels follow that path. I’m much more likely to write a song at 10PM than at 10AM.
Share about your EP, Goodbye, Adolescence.
This is the project that I’m most excited about. I had the concept at around the time of my 18th birthday and I had the title and basic concept of writing a time capsule of my teenage neuroses. It’s all of the confusion and violent emotions that come with being a teenager. You have all these hormones and new experiences that you’re not used to because you’re in this weird child-adult limbo where people start treating you differently.
There were certain topics I wanted to cover. I actually had a whole list of different themes and I don’t remember how many there were, but they took up an entire page. Then, I narrowed it down to four ideas. Back when I first came up with the idea, I wrote about two and a half songs. I say a half because the half song was a concept and a few verses, but I scrapped it because I didn’t like it. One of the other songs was an acoustic pop type song, which is “I Can’t Write Love Songs”, and ended up being on my previous EP, Head Under Water. The other one was based on the Riot Grrrl sound. The EP was originally going to be more of an acoustic pop album before we decided to make the whole thing more rock-inclined.
"It’s all of the confusion and violent emotions that come with being a teenager. You have all these hormones and new experiences that you’re not used to because you’re in this weird child-adult limbo where people start treating you differently."
Which song are you most excited for people to hear?
My favorite song sonically is “Burnout”, which is why it’s the single. I think it’s just the easiest one to jam to. I’ll listen to that song more than I catch myself listening to any of my other work. It’s weird to listen to your own stuff, but I will unironically listen to “Burnout” in my free time. My favorite song lyrically is “The Wolf and the Lamb”. That one is about my relationship with girlhood and how that affects my relationships with society and everything around me.
How has your sound evolved since your last EP?
This is my third EP. The first one I made with InRage was when I was still a development artist. I was around 13, 14, 15 at the time–I was a young teenager. I knew that I liked singing and writing, but I had no idea what kind of sound I wanted yet. A lot of it was me writing lyrics and then Automatic helping to write the tracks and we’d come together. I still love those songs, but I didn’t know where I wanted to go with my music yet. Head Underwater, my second EP, was similar in that I still wasn’t exactly sure about what I wanted to sound like, but I had more of an idea. “Trigger”, “Lament”, and “Grayscale” were all pretty intentional in how I wanted them to sound, but some of the other songs ended up being more cool mixed-genre and alt-pop songs to experiment with my sound.
When I started writing Goodbye, Adolescence, I kind of changed around genres, but as soon as I knew that I wanted it to sound more alt rock, I was very adamant in how I wanted everything to sound. It came out pretty much perfectly how I envisioned it. It’s definitely very different from my past projects because it’s the first one that I’ve had such a clear vision for. The past two projects have been pretty much just me, Automatic, and Ebony, but with Goodbye, Adolescence we have a whole backing band and all the instruments are live.
What’s next for Nyah?
Right now, I’m trying to do live shows with my band. There’s just something so fun about singing with live instruments. In my free time, I’ve been writing more, so maybe I’ll start pitching some songs as a side project in addition to performing for actual human beings.
Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?
Off the top of my head, I just want to say thank you all for listening. You can’t really hae a career in music without people listening to you and taking the time to pay attention and resonate with your work.
Who are three other artists or bands that you’d like to see on Enharmonic Magazine next?
I love Chappell Roan, even though I saw that you guys did an article on her recently. She’s so awesome. I think Lady Gaga would be so fun to cover just because she’s been making a resurgence. She was one of the biggest pop stars in the 2010s, but I see people talking about her more again. In general, there’s such a 2000s to early 2010s revival right now and it would be fun to revisit those artists who we all listened to growing up. If I could grab some names, I think Britney Spears and Lady Gaga would be great in that sense. And then, one of my favorite artists is Hosier. Anyone talking or writing about him makes me happy because I just love his music.
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