“I was making music while doing a million different things”: A conversation with Nxdia

Nxdia, an alt-pop musician, recently released their debut mixtape I Promise No One’s Watching, featuring viral hit ‘She Likes a Boy’ alongside nine other tracks. Following the release of this mixtape in June, in August Nxdia announced that they would be embarking on their first ever headline tour this October.

The first single of the mixtape, ‘She Likes a Boy’, was released back at the start of 2024. Blending emotive lyricism with an infectious instrumental, the single quickly became a viral hit among sapphic and non-binary listeners who connected with the chorus: “She likes a boy, she likes a boy / And I’m not a boy, I’m not a boy”. Regarding the virality, Nxdia commented that “a part of me saw it doing well and loved it”, noting that performing it live became “such a moment”. With this mixtape, they wanted to “honour that moment” with the refusal – “But f*ck I’m not gonna write the same song ten more times”.  

The tracks “reflect the beautiful year of figuring out who I need and what opinions I have of myself”

What direction does this take us? In this mixtape, Nxdia wanted “to feel I’m letting you in on all of me”. “The mixtape all started off with this gnarly little painting I made of my face”. The painting, which appears on the cover, was created while “life was kicking my ass”. This source of inspiration, inherently artistic, inherently vulnerable, culminates in a raw listening experience with energetic highs and heavy hitting lows.

The music within the mixtape “was made while doing a million different things”, and the tracks “reflect the beautiful year of figuring out who I need and what opinions I have of myself”. 
 
A stand-out would be the opening track, ‘Feel Anything’, which contains one of Nxdia’s favourite lyrics, “I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s gonna get better”. The single is dichotomous, opening gently before amping up into Nxdia’s classic high energy ‘chaos pop’ sound, mirroring the lyrical journey of “taking action into your own hands”.

This gentle sound is rare within the mixtape but can be located once again on the concluding track, ‘Tin Man’, allowing for a full circle moment. Nxdia acknowledged the sparing use of this sound: “I’m avoidant as f*ck, it’s hard to be sad about stuff now without making a joke. I don’t see an end to the emotion, like I’m going to feel a certain way forever”. Despite not being dominant on the mixtape, the contrast introduced by this gentle sound makes the mixtape feel infinitely more intimate. 
 
Nxdia also brought up ‘More!’ and ‘Puppet’ as two of their favourite tracks from the mixtape. The final single from the mixtape, ‘More!’ –alongside ‘Nothing At All’ – was described as “a favourite track to perform live”,  whereas ‘Puppet’ was labelled a “silly girl” track which reminisces on “the baby gay days where everything is so exciting”. 
 
All these tracks all blend English and Arabic lyrics, honouring Nxdia’s Egyptian-Sudanese heritage. When asked if they ever intend to release a purely Arabic song, Nxdia responded, “Oh God I want to”. The only limiting factor is a “nervousness”: “You know when people speak English with an accent and feel insecure – I feel that way with Arabic, despite speaking Arabic to my family and friends.”

Nxdia became elated at the topic of their headline tour: “I’m so f*cking excited… so excited to tailor it to me, to be more me”

In October, when Nxdia will be on tour, they want to portray the mixtape through their performance with “shades and colour and textures”. Mentioning that “when I hear songs I think of scenes“, it seems that we should expect a visually impactful performance via lighting and set design. 
 
Despite being their first headline tour, Nxdia is not new to the stage. This year alone they performed at Brighton Pride, Bludfest, and BitterSweet Music Festival. Nxdia became elated at the topic of their headline tour: “I’m so f*cking excited… so excited to tailor it to me, to be more me.” They are evidently ready for this more intimate journey as they can’t wait “to be able to look people in the eye and meet everyone”. 
 
Regarding atmosphere, Nxdia wants “it to be so stupid fun, a safe space to feel all the f*cking feels. I want to us all to be in that moment together, for those few hours to be ours and just really appreciate the moment – I’m desperate to be so present at this tour”. They also suggested that if you’re coming along, to “have a trinket. When does your trinket get to do anything? Bring it along!” 
 
Interested? Grab your trinket, get tickets, and listen to I Promise No One’s Watching.