After posting covers on her Instagram profile (@nouhailamusic) since the first lockdown, the singer just produced her first song “Enfants du Monde” (available on YouTube and Spotify).
At the age of 19, Nouhaila is a business student settling in Berlin after growing up in Rabat, and having lived in many places including New York, Madrid, and Paris.
What is it about singing that you enjoy so much?
The most important thing for me when I was a kid and even more now is to bring people together, and give feelings to people, because that is what music is about.
How did your journey start?
I did a lot of performing at high school events, and these were my first concerts. They were scary but I enjoyed standing in front of a crowd so much. I then started writing songs during my first year at university; my heart was broken, I had so many guy issues, it was the perfect timing. Most of the songs I have written are on the ukulele, but actually I think my vibe as an artist is the piano vibe, a little bit nostalgic but I still want to tell you “life is good”. There is one of my originals that I know is really good, but I am protecting it because it’s my baby. It is one of those songs that you just know will work, but I am yet too scared to release it, because I am very emotionally attached to my songs.
I also created a profile on Instagram and uploaded one or two covers, and it sort of worked out. After this, I stopped posting anything for a long time, and it was not until my friends told me I had to continue that I started uploading songs more often.
Talk to me about your recent project and how it came about
It started on my Instagram page where I was discovered. The manager of the artist I worked with was looking at my covers and thought they had potential. My covers were not amazing, let’s be honest, but she saw something in them so we talked and we bonded so much, and that’s how I got involved.
I was in Berlin at that time, and we had to decide on a date for me to fly to Paris for a week. On my first day, I was just introduced to the producer and the artist, and the funny thing is we talked more about business than about music, which I was not expecting. Then, on the second day, we went to the studio to record the song, and I just wanted to stay there forever.
I had to practice a lot, because it is a happy song, which is not necessarily my vibe. I loved the concept of the song though, because it is something to lift people up, and if I can give you a happy feeling, I will go for it. However, it’s not the same process as for a cover, in the sense that when you interpret a song for a cover you can really be yourself; but if someone writes a song for you, they want you to sing it in a very particular way. It took some time getting used to it.
What’s been the most surprising element of the job?
As an artist, you always see your music as your own baby. But it’s not your baby in the music industry, it’s mostly all business. How do you get the most views, how do you promote the song, and what story can you build around it to create a buzz… I knew that, but I had never really thought about it before.
What do you want to achieve in the future?
I definitely want to have more activity happening on my YouTube channel (Nouhaila Music), post more videos, maybe even share my own songs. But most importantly my ultimate goal is just to give people feelings.
Stay tuned for the music video, coming soon!
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