MOBO Exclusive: Nadia Ali- Empress of the Empire

If there is an Empress who reigns supreme in the dominion of Dance music, it is undisputedly Nadia Ali. Few mortals can match her lyrical depth and eloquence; fewer can produce a voice as rich as the Dance scion. Masterfully encapsulating euphoric and melancholic, Ali’s signature music style sees Eastern mystique caressed with intelligent Electronica and fortified with Soul.

The gifted singer/songwriter has enjoyed an illustrious career spanning a solid decade. Born in Libya to Pakistani parents and raised in America, stunning Ali was discovered in her home town of New York in her late teens by producer Markus Moser. The duo went on to form Dance act iiO and caught the world’s attention with their 2001 smash hit single ‘Rapture’. Dance music would never be the same again. iiO produced classic  global tracks such as ‘At the End’, ‘Smooth’ and ‘Kiss You’. Nadia Ali enriched and invigorated the genre in a way none of her predecessors had before her and subsequently was placed in the Dance super league with her distinctive voice becoming the definitive one in the industry.

Gaining exclusive vantage atop that pedestal is by no means an easily attainable feat. The Dance music community is vibrant- and highly competitive. If the annual Winter Music Conference in Miami, the Dance industry’s jewel in the crown is anything to go by- 100,000 attendees were recorded in 2010 with a mammoth 1,909 artists and DJs and 3,763 industry delegates from 70 countries participating; the Dance industry continues to attract a phenomenal concerted global following and unassuming, hard working Nadia Ali is most definitely at the forefront of recording artists.

From world number one DJ and Trance producer Armin van Buuren to the respected Schiller, Ali has collaborated with the world’s most formidable producers. 2006 saw her single ‘Is It Love’ top the US Billboard Dance Chart and Ali’s solo success has seen her 2009 debut studio album “Embers” produce four consecutive hit singles with ‘Love Story’ topping the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play. The Recording Academy announced earlier this month that the Morgan Page remix of Ali’s fourth single ‘Fantasy’ has received a prestigious Grammy nomination. Written by Ali and sought after DJ/producers Sultan & Ned Shepard, Page was chosen to remix the track under Ali’s own record label Smile In Bed.

‘Fantasy’ is the perfect prologue to Ali’s “Queen of Clubs Trilogy: Best of Nadia Ali Remixed”. Consisting of the Ruby Edition, Onyx Edition and Diamond Edition, the compilation series features contributions from a myriad of talented producers and has been creating a lustrous storm in the dominion.

Nadia Ali allowed me to probe her mind in October and went on to reflect over a prolific decade before December brought further acclaim...

MOBO: Tell us about your childhood…

Nadia: I grew up in Libya for the first six years of my life.  My parents played a lot of music and films around the house so my sister and I were always exposed to the Arts.

MOBO: How did you enter the ubiquitous realm of music?

Nadia: When I was eight years old, a friend of mine encouraged me by telling me I had a nice singing voice and so it planted a seed in me. It was mainly a hobby for me throughout my teens and when I was nineteen, I finally met a producer through a mutual friend. That producer was Markus Moser who later became the other half of iiO which was my first Electronic Dance music project.

MOBO: Who are your musical influences?

Nadia: Everything from Classic Rock to Eastern music, artists like Stevie Nicks and Bono of U2 are some of my biggest influences.

MOBO: You were highly successful as one half of iiO. What spurred you to go solo?

Nadia: I felt it was time to express myself musically as an individual with no limitations or boundaries.

MOBO: The first album from your "Queen of Clubs Trilogy" the ‘Ruby Edition’ was released in August and the second ‘Onyx’ and the third ‘Diamond’ shall soon follow. What inspired you to release a compilation series? What can fans expect?

Nadia: "Queen of Clubs"  title was originally inspired by my desire to connect my upbringing in Queens and going clubbing in the city (Manhattan) as a teenager and how that heavily influenced me wanting to do dance music. Since at this point I have been making dance music for almost at decade now, I thought it would be fun to relate the play of words of a queen and a nightclub and come up with the whole concept of the "Queen of Clubs" figure. The compilation is a three part series (Ruby, Onyx and Diamond that represent the crown jewels of a Queen) of songs that bring together my past present and future as being the  former voice of iiO and now with my solo project to the various work I’ve done with Electronic Dance music producers like Tocadisco, Schiller, Armin van Buuren etc.

MOBO: No one can do melancholic and euphoric quite like you. The songs you write are poignant intimate masterpieces with the abstract that is love often at the core. Where do you draw inspiration from?

Nadia: Almost always, the inspiration is drawn from my own personal experiences in life. Also, sometimes when a person shares a moving story with me, it can often lead to me writing a song about it.

MOBO: If one was to single out a definite voice of the decade in the Dance industry, it is unequivocally Nadia Ali. Over the years, you have collaborated with the world’s best DJs and producers. Which project has been the most enjoyable?

Nadia: Thanks so much for that kind compliment! Honestly it would be very hard to say what project has been the most enjoyable as every experience in making music is incredibly gratifying. I do have a favourite pair of producers I like to work with and that would be Sultan & Ned Shepard whom I’ve had the pleasure of recording dozens of songs with for both my solo album and theirs.

MOBO: Whom would you like to collaborate with in the future?

Nadia: In the future, I would love to collaborate with artists like Faithless, Moby, Röyksopp, Guy Sigsworth and others. I firmly believe that magic comes out of the chemistry of different musical energies coming together and making music.

MOBO: From Swedish House Mafia teaming up with Pharrell to David Guetta featuring Akon, what are your thoughts on the current trend of the musical marriage between Dance producers and Urban stars?

Nadia: I think it’s interesting to see how well those two genres work together. I am a little over exposed to it at the moment but nonetheless, it has brought a lot of mainstream attention to the dance genre especially for the otherwise unexposed Pop listeners in America.

MOBO: As a South Asian woman, do you see yourself as a role model within the community?

Nadia: I do consider myself fortunate to have been able to pursue a professional recording career in music and throughout the years, a lot of women have told me that my story motivated them to pursue something that they loved aswell.

MOBO: You have performed across the globe, which gig has been your most memorable?

Nadia: The first time I ever performed in Egypt was one of the best live performance experiences I have had yet. The crowd in Sharm el Sheikh made me feel so loved and appreciated that I had a really great time.

MOBO: Are there any plans for you to play any UK dates in the near future?

Nadia: I do plan on performing there soon enough. I love the UK!

MOBO: If you had the power to create THE musical artist, which artists from the past and present would you use as building blocks and why?

Nadia: I would take Sade’s voice, combine it with Stevie Nicks’ lyrics and add Bono’s melodies and mesh them all together to create the ideal artist for my listening pleasures.

MOBO: Do you have any pearls of wisdom for aspiring artists?

Nadia: I would suggest to always aspire to cultivate something original in you. That is what Markus Moser encouraged me to do as a developing artist in my earlier years and hence I felt free to have my own personal vocal style. It is always easy to imitate but true originality is something that people are always drawn to.

MOBO: What does the future hold for Nadia Ali?

Nadia: I plan on having another year of releases in the Dance music genre.  I have recorded a ton of music in the last two years that will continue to be released with various labels. I have also been quite busy writing songs for artists like EDX, Avicii, Tocadisco, Hardwell, Pete Tha Zouk, Sultan & Ned Shepard and more...

MOBO: What does music mean to you?

Nadia: To me, music is the universal language of emotions. It always makes me smile knowing that even when I perform in countries where the average music listener hardly speaks a word of English, they can often recite my lyrics back to me during a live show and to see that being embraced is truly remarkable.

For Nadia Ali’s decade long supporters, her global eminence was pre-empted before we even graduated from University. As an adolescent growing up in India the spiritual home of Trance music, I saw my musically astute peers embrace Nadia in all her splendour from the embryonic stage. I vividly remember the first time many of us heard her, at an outdoor bash at the Turf Club. As the well-heeled customarily danced under the stars, a track received our undivided attention. Soulful, sultry, mesmerising vocals laden with wisdom and sincerity emanated from the speakers and we were drawn into what can only be described as a cerebral rapture to a track bearing the very same name. 

As the years went by and our privileged tribe continued dancing under moonlit skies, Nadia’s songs were omnipresent as a background score to our lives touching upon the plethora of emotions one experiences. She was at times a catalyst, at times a panacea.

Whether I was attiring myself for a social soirée, giving my Pioneer CDJs due love and respect, speeding down National Highway 4 with friends, catching my weekend flight to Bombay to spend time with famille, diligently revising for an Economics paper, travelling to an obscure part of the subcontinent for a philanthropic project, mourning loss or celebrating gain-Nadia’s music was a beautiful constant; and in my adulthood still is.

I often get dressed for MOBO HQ listening to an Ali track, mix ii0 with Lost Stories on my decks, race down the expressway in the subcontinent winding through the mountains with Nadia permeating the Sahyadri range, happily wile away time with a Tocadisco track featuring the minstrel as I wait to board a plane for a geopolitical conference in Europe, revise for my Masters, graciously accept loss; or humbly be thankful for gain.

To the music aficionado’s sheer delight, Nadia Ali made her Indian debut last night delivering a blistering set at Asia’s premier Dance festival Sunburn in Goa. For my peers, that coveted dance under the stars was bliss personified and absolutely worth the wait.

I call a spade a spade and with deep earnestness I believe that Nadia Ali really is the Queen of clubs, the Queen of the Dance community’s heart and truly is a rare artistic diamond. The artist's brilliance illuminates the dark and magnificently amplifies the light in life’s vast concourse and one can only wait with bated breath for her next triumph; and triumph she shall... 

For she is Nadia Ali- the exemplary Empress of the Dance empire. 

For more information on Nadia Ali please click here.

Reema Kumari Jadeja ©