Nala’s Riot Grrrl Revolution: From Viral Coachella Set to Elevating Femme Artists
2024 has been nothing short of monumental for Los Angeles-based DJ and producer Nala. When Frank151 last caught up with her after her electrifying daytime set at Hard Summer Music Festival, she hinted at some big moves on the horizon—and she delivered in full.
Her EP Me Me Me, featuring the two tracks, “Hot Mess” and “Me Me Me“, collaborations with Polish duo Catz’n Dogz, became a favorite in DJ sets across the globe this summer.
Nala’s signature sound—an industrial, punk fusion of house music—offers a captivating blend of sultry, rebellious energy. Her unmistakable vocals infuse her tracks with a Riot Grrrl spirit, while the indie dance twist keeps listeners hooked. Opting for a Sprechgesang or talk-sing delivery, Nala creates an intimate, conversational vibe that feels raw and authentic, yet fiercely aligned with her punk-inspired electronic sound. It’s this edge that continues to define her as one of dance music’s most exciting talents on the rise.
Her Coachella performance this year, a back-to-back set with her friend VNSSA under the name Girl Math, went viral, partly due to the unexpected moment when Billie Eilish, fresh off her surprise set at the Do Lab stage, stuck around to dance along with the duo’s electrifying set.
Nala’s extensive U.S. tour—which included stops at major festivals like EDC Las Vegas, Ultra Music Festival, and Outside Lands—seemed like more than enough for one year. Yet, she also released several standout tracks, including the edgy “IWNSLY,” a collaboration with Blondie’s Debbie Harry and The Dandy Warhols, as well as her latest trippy single, “Spiritual Psychosis,” which showcases her new Moog Sub 37 synth.
As 2024 winds down, Nala has also re-launched her own label, Mi Domina. With this revival, she aims to elevate femme artists in the dance music scene, providing a platform for left-of-center sounds and igniting a fresh wave of artistry in her hometown of Los Angeles.
Her recent headlining show at Sound was nothing short of electrifying, as fans packed the club, eager to catch every beat of her extended three-hour set. Delighting the crowd by going beyond her set time, the dance floor remained packed as Nala kept the energy soaring until 3 a.m.
With such a packed year of achievements, we can’t wait to see what Nala has in store for 2025. Check out our exclusive interview with her below, and don’t miss the chance to catch her live when she hits your city!
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***Nala Interview Below***
(this interview has been edited for brevity)
Frank151: Ready for your set at Sound this Friday?
I am, yeah. Well, I’m ready, but I’m also kind of like, “all right.” Last weekend was just a doozy, so I’m like alright, back on the road again.
Last time we asked you the question: “What three artists would you have headline your dream festival? Artists can be dead or alive.”
I remember that question. I’m wondering what I answered. Was it like Soulwax or something?
Yeah, Soulwax. And you got excited for the other stage. You wanted Honey Dijon and Green Velvet, who actually played at Coachella at that new stage this year.
I predicted that, right! (laughs)
I’m gonna mix it up today for this interview: What three historical music concerts or festivals from the past would you like to attend?
Okay, so historic. I would love to have gone to Woodstock (laughs), obviously, but I also would have loved to go to Rave America, which was Destructo’s first ever festival that he threw in the nineties at Knott’s Berry Farm.
No way!
Yeah, I just learned about that in January, actually. And I definitely would think that it must have been a spectacle (laughs). He also threw the first Electric Daisy Carnival, so yeah, whatever he was doing in the nineties in California, I would have liked to go to that. And then Woodstock. I think that would be my two. Do I have to pick three?
Yeah, three. Or concerts or anything.
Okay, concerts.. It’d be cool to have seen the Beatles or to see Nirvana or maybe something from the grunge era. It would have been nice to really experience the nineties.
You played Coachella this year with VNSSA as Girl Math, right?
Yeah!
That’s a good name.
Thank you!
Were you expecting that Billie Eilish would have a set before you…
No, we didn’t find out until, like, that morning that it was going to be her. They wouldn’t tell anyone. They just kept telling us, “It’s the biggest artist we’ve ever had at the Do Lab.” And I was like, cool. What does that mean? Like, is it bigger than… I don’t know, David Guetta? Like, how big is it? You know? But yeah, that was pretty wild. When we found out, I was like, oh, let’s change our set a little bit. We’re gonna have a lot of pop kids there, so let’s start more commercial and then go into a more fun, underground kind of sound. It was nuts!
@vnssaofficial What an epcic start to an epic summer. The @Nala B2b VNSSA tour about to be so 🔥 #djtok #dolab #billieeilish #billieilishcoachella #coachella2024 @coachella
Was it your best festival moment this year?
Yeah, that was a really good one. That was definitely a very memorable festival moment. I’ve had other great ones with Vanessa this year. I’ve also had good solo ones as well. I really enjoyed Bonnaroo. That was fun. It was like a really magical moment, I think, for both me and Vanessa. We were in the woods, and we played, like 3 to 5 a.m. It was pretty late, but we had a really big turnout, and people were really enjoying themselves, so it was a fun party.
That’s awesome. And who came up with the name Girl Math?
It was kind of like a joint effort. I had come to her because we were trying to figure out a name for ourselves, and I was like, oh, you know, it’d be really good to do something like, girl.. whatever, or, like, girl.. something, you know? And then she’s like, oh, what about Girl Math. And I was like, oh, that’s so smart. (laughs) She’s honestly really good at coming up with funny names and brand names, she’s really good at that.
One of your recent releases has an interesting name too. I was like, how do you read “IWNSLY” (laughs)… and then I saw the cover, ahh… It’s, “I Will Never Stop Loving You.”
Oh yeah.. yeah. (laughs)
How did that song come up? How did you collaborate with Debbie Harry?
Yeah, so… My team got an email that the Dandy Warhols were looking for a remixer for their album, and they sent a bunch of songs over. I saw the one with Debbie Harry, and I thought it was just like, oh, my God, here’s my chance to work with Debbie Harry of Blondie. Like, this is the greatest thing that could ever happen to me! So I picked that one and remixed it, and it ended up coming out before the album. So it went from, a remix to an original. I was tasked with working with all the stems they had already recorded for the song. I don’t think that album is out at all still. I don’t know. But I have this song with Debbie Harry and the Dandy Warhols, which I think is the pinnacle of awesome for me. I’m very grateful.
Yeah, absolutely. It’s like three different artists, different genres, you know?
Yeah, yeah. There’s a through line. We all have this kind of rebellious energy. I think. Three generations of rebellion (laughs).
You mentioned rebellion, and I read that you have categorized your sound as Riot Grrrl-inspired indie?.
Yeah! I think my vocals are very Riot Grrrl inspired. I think a lot of how I value myself as an artist and as a person in general is very rebellious. I value honesty, and I think honesty can be kind of jarring for people at times, which is why they refer to it as rebellion. But yeah, I think speaking on topics that maybe other people don’t tend to speak on, or as bluntly as I do, is kind of where that comes from (chuckles).
Yeah, that’s what makes a good artist, right? Honesty.
Yeah and transparency. But, you know, there’s also great artists that are just technically really, really talented. And I think there’s room for all different kinds of artists in the music industry. But I would like to see more honesty in the electronic space, especially in songwriting and lyricism
Any three artists that you would like to collaborate with anytime soon, since you already have such legendary collaborations as such with Debbie Harry?
I would love to collaborate on the rock side with Metric. They’re a female-led, late-2000s rock/electronic group. I’d love to work with them. Emily Haines is an incredible lyricist. On the electronic side, I’d love to work with Justice, Soulwax, or maybe someone from Ed Banger. I love the indie dance world and the electro world. I’ve always been someone that leans more towards synthesizers versus drums and bass. Sonically, I really enjoy that world, like Soulwax, Justice, Chemical Brothers. Although they are a little bit more drum-forward, but I still love them.
Chemical Brothers shows are amazing.
So amazing! I also love the way they perform their shows. All of them have these incredible sets, and I definitely aspire to do that one day.
Speaking of that, since you sing on some of your songs and have quite a catalog, do you see yourself starting like a band in the future?
Yeah, I mean, that’s definitely the goal, especially for next year. I’m trying to put together what that would look like and how I can do it in a way that is affordable, honestly, because touring right now is really expensive. If I can find a way to do something cool that makes sense, is creative, and boundary-pushing, I’m absolutely going to explore that next year and start building that world out. I love performing and DJing, but I get a lot of excitement and energy from live performances. I do hybrid DJ sets where I get on the mic to make it more live. But yeah, if I can explore that more, that’d be great.
I feel like your signature voice could be a good fit for an opening set for like, The Prodigy or something.
Oh, that’d be sick! (chuckles) Yeah, I would love that!
You just had your label Mi Domina relaunched. It started in 2022 but you relaunched it this year. What pushed this comeback and what inspired you?
So I think last year, a lot of the focus that my team had wanted me to put energy towards was releasing with other labels. And after about a year and a half of that, I kind of recognized that more often than not, I would probably have a better experience self-releasing. So I just figured, we’re just in a weird place in the industry so I feel like a lot of what labels are supposed to be doing are not really happening at the moment. I just have this vision of what labels are supposed to do for artists, and that’s totally based on my experience with Dirtybird where I feel like they held such a high standard on how to operate a label properly. So to experience that and then go out in the world and try and work with other labels, and I’m just like… I can do this myself. It’s kind of the attitude that it re-inspired me to put all my attention towards that. So that’s part one. And part two is that I recognized that without Dirtybird being operated by Claude VonStroke anymore, there was this kind of absence within the community, and I really want to be able to start building community again. So I guess the label kind of has this, twofold thing where I’m like, I could probably do it better than some of these other people. And also, I would like to make people feel they belong somewhere again, and I’d like to build this kind of sonic identity again. I’d like to promote other female artists, and I’d like to be able to just do some good in this weird space that we’re in as artists in dance music. So it’s both rebellion and also trying to do some good for the community as well. I’m still open to it [corporations], and there are some labels that are great, so it’s not a knock on everyone, but overall, for the songs that are unique to my sound and maybe are not super commercial, I think it’s great to have my own label to self-release and explore creative avenues that are different from what maybe some of these other labels are looking for at the moment.
So is it due to creative limitations?
No, it’s not really creative limitations, but I do feel a lot more freedom regardless. Even if there is no limitation, I feel more freedom being able to self-release, and build this sound. It’s an exploration of my own creative sound that’s not being restricted by conventional dance-pop standards. So that’s really nice. It also allows me to sign records that fall into that category. I think, more often than not, it’s like you’re either doing really, really underground-sounding music or super commercial-sounding music. And then there’s this nice sweet spot in the middle where indie dance exists. It doesn’t fit into either category, really. It’s still catchy, like a dance-pop song, but it’s still underground and niche, you know? So I’ve been trying to explore those things as well with artists that I’m signing, and exploring sonic identities. But honestly, at the end of the day, the reason I wanted to start it again is to build community.
Yeah, it’s like giving back.. Is it exclusive to female artists?
No. I put an emphasis on wanting to sign female acts because I’m a woman and I can really help other female artists in that way. And I want them to know that I’m listening to their records and that I’m actively looking to help female artists, you know? But I have a lot of people from all walks of life sending me music, and I’m signing records from men as well. I think creating a safe space and a space where they can release music that’s electro-leaning or indie dance-leaning is kind of where I want to exist, especially within Los Angeles, where I feel like that kind of indie label sound isn’t currently existing, even though it’s so ingrained in our culture.
Maybe I can send you some of my music? (jokingly)
Yeah, yeah, please do!
In the early mid-2000s, a lot of indie labels became big companies.
Yeah and their sound has shifted over time, and their priorities have shifted. I understand if you’re a label that is worried about paying for people’s salaries and stuff, you kind of have to go with the times and that’s when capitalism takes over. The freedom of having an indie label is that I don’t have to worry too much about that. All I get to focus on is whether or not the music’s good (chuckles).
That’s true and speaking of your music, “Spiritual Psychosis” is awesome. I can definitely hear the Moog synthesizer and then on the last drop, I like that—was that also the Moog?
Yeah, it was also the Moog. It was like a higher note. I was transposing it. So it goes like.. (imitating a pitch note) You know (laughs).
Right.. (laughs) What made you inspired to make the track? Is this the first track that’s released on your label?
Yeah so I had just bought the Moog, and it was the first song I wrote with it. (chuckles) It was kind of difficult to write too because it was interesting. It was an interesting writing process. Basically, I had to simplify a lot of it because I had a lot of different elements in it that were clashing sonically. It took months for me to figure out why certain sounds were… It was a mixing engineering nightmare but, I actually love the bass and it’s one of the best sounds I’ve ever created with a bass line. It’s so good! (laughs) And I have to thank my Moog for that because I finally achieved a sonic sound that I had been trying to make forever. So yes, I wrote it with that. Then the lyrics are just about… Living in Los Angeles and being born here, I was always keenly aware of people’s kind of obsession in this city with the occult and holistic practices, spirituality, and just cults in general. I kind of think I was witnessing a couple of my friends talk about spirituality and health and wellness and magic and religion and all of these things in a way that felt a little aggressive (chuckles). Then I was just kind of I guess, making fun of it a little bit because I get it. Growing up here, you just see it all the time. It’s part of the culture of Los Angeles. I guess because I’ve grown up with it, I just have a very cynical stance on it, which is like, “Oh, yeah, here’s another girl.. telling me about a magic spell that she’s casting on an ex-lover.” You know, it’s just some silly thing that they’re getting involved in, and I think it’s stress-induced, but that’s just because I’m watching objectively (laughs).
It came out great. I could definitely hear the moog there.
I really love hardware synthesizers. I think they’re my favorite. It’s great to write music that is more in line with the vision that I had for my project. I feel it was kind of funny releasing this song because everything right now—all the trendy tracks—are very fast and very breaks-oriented and things like that. And here I am doing something that’s completely off-trend. It’s like 120 BPM, an indie-dance track that is pretty slow, funky, and groovy or whatever. I kind of went.. if they’re going this way, I’m going to go that way with it. We’ll see what happens.
It has this eerie vibe which is perfect for a Halloween website.
Oh, yeah (chuckles), yeah, true.
Are there any other artists getting signed to your label?
I have a couple, but I don’t know if I’m allowed to really talk about it just yet.
That’s exciting… Any plans for Halloween? Got a costume?
No, I don’t have a costume. I wish I did. I guess for Halloween… Well, it depends on when you celebrate, but if it’s the weekend before, I’m doing Hulaween. If it’s the weekend after, I’m doing Girl Math or the first Girl Math headline in New York.
Where are you guys going to perform? What venue?
What can we expect from Nala for the rest of the year?
I don’t have any plans on releasing at the moment until the end of the year. Next year, we’re throwing all the music out. We’re going hard! We’re going to start releasing a lot more, whether that’s on my own label or with another label as a partner. We’ll see. I am currently leaning towards just self-releasing and pushing that on a much stronger scale.
Thank you so much, Nala, for your time. Have a nice evening!
Thank you so much! You too! Bye-bye.
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NALA TOUR DATES
NALA TOUR DATES10/11/24: EOS Lounge – Santa Barbara, CA
10/12/24: Darkstar – Tempe, AZ
10/26/24 – Live Oak, FL – Hulaween
11/1/24: The Chocolate Factory – Brooklyn, NY – **Girl Math**
12/31/24: Forever Midnight – Los Angeles, CA – **Girl Math
Written by Eric B. Thornton | Edit by Bernadette