Filah Lah Lah talks to Apple Music’s Nadeska about her Latest Album ‘On Air’

Nadeska:    00:00    Nadeska here on Apple Music One. Right now I’m catching up with our Africa Rising cover star, Filah Lah Lah, here to talk about her new album. How are you, love?

Filah Lah Lah:    00:08    I’m doing amazing. How are you?

Nadeska:    00:10    Good. I’m excited to be talking to you about the album. Congrats, by the way, on the project being out.

Filah Lah Lah:    00:15    Thank you, thank you so much. It’s so surreal.

Nadeska:    00:17    Listening to your music and watching the videos, it seems to me that you’re someone who maybe knew from a very young age that this is what you needed to do, even if you didn’t say that out loud to people. When did you realise that music was the path for you?

Filah Lah Lah:    00:30    Yeah, like you just said, I think there was always this sense of, I need to be a creative in some way or another, and music spoke to me the most, but like you said, I didn’t say it out loud, I was so scared. I was not the type of person that at school talent shows wanted to sing or, that was not me. So I think what happened was that COVID hit and oh, I thought the world was going to end, girl. [inaudible 00:00:59].

Nadeska:    00:59    It was a dark time.

Filah Lah Lah:    01:00    It was dark. So I just told myself like, oh my gosh, you got to do it because, what do you have to lose at this point? You got to have something out there that will live forever through this medium that you love so much. So yeah, that’s how it all started, 2020.

Nadeska:    01:17    What was the very first song that you recorded? So the first one I remember hearing is, Feel’s Like.

Filah Lah Lah:    01:21    Yeah.

Nadeska:    01:22    There was a lot of intention in that song. Was that the first one or just the first one I heard?

Filah Lah Lah:    01:26    That was the first one that was across all platforms. There were definitely some cruddy SoundCloud songs that-

Nadeska:    01:33    Those are the gems, girl, don’t say that.

Filah Lah Lah:    01:35    You know what? And people have been telling me that, there’s a lot of people who are like, where are the songs on SoundCloud? And I’m like, they will never be heard by human ears again.

Nadeska:    01:43    Well, I’m glad that we got to hear Feel’s Like. So now we’re a few years later, we’re going to talk of course about the debut album, you had some EPs in between, but I want to talk about what was in your head at the time you were recording this very first song.

Filah Lah Lah:    01:55    You know what? Most of my songs are basically about my past or my present or whatever future I perceive for myself. So I was definitely just in love, really just down bad for somebody that didn’t even deserve it, but yeah.

Nadeska:    02:12    That’s how it goes.

Filah Lah Lah:    02:14    When I… I feel so deeply and I love so deeply. So I think Feel’s Like really just was me pouring, I was just pouring.

Nadeska:    02:21    And it still feels like that., It still feels like you’re pouring in the new music. So I’d love to get into a song from the album and catching up with Filah right now, we’re playing music from her debut album on air. This one is called, PAST MYSELF.

02:33    So that was PAST MYSELF. The video for this song is incredible.

Filah Lah Lah:    02:35    Thank you.

Nadeska:    02:36    It’s very unique the way that you approach your visuals because even the video for CALL ME, it’s very different, but I love Past Myself. I would love if you could tell us a little bit more about your intention with that, because I love the way we get these different glimpses of you as the video goes forward. Tell me about it.

Filah Lah Lah:    02:51    From the beginning of this album, I’ve really had to tap into a side of myself I was really scared of before, just this confident and self-assured and not so self-deprecating version of myself. And even though I’m naturally very vulnerable and candid about my insecurities and my imperfections, this was the album that most of the songs were very like, this is me, I’m a boss, I’m this and that. And Past Myself is just my little refrain from that and my little okay, even in all of my girl bossing, I need to take a moment, I need to take a moment and come back to myself in whatever version of myself that is.

Nadeska:    03:32    Tell me how you feel like you’ve changed as an artist over the past few years. So, you put out the first EP in 2020, you followed up with another one shortly after, and now we’re about four years out and we have the full project. So, going from that person who was scared to really, really show the talent that you had, what has changed for you in the past four years?

Filah Lah Lah:    03:52    I think I’m just doing it anyway. I think I’m just doing it. I’m still terrified, I don’t even know what I’m doing, but I am doing it anyway. I’m much more intentional. I’m really grateful to just the people around me that I’ve had in the last four years that have just been reassuring figures. But I’ve definitely learned to not let the imposter syndrome and that deep-seated feeling of like, you don’t deserve this, who are, you? Just subduing it more, and I’m seeing the benefits of that now, I’m seeing the blessing in that now. So yeah, I’m just like, I’m not Super Saiyan yet.

Nadeska:    04:35    But we’re on the path.

Filah Lah Lah:    04:36    But we’re on the path, yeah.

Nadeska:    04:39    Girl, yes. You don’t know how many conversations I have with women I respect in this music space who say the same thing, that imposter syndrome can really get you, but I’m glad it’s not getting your way because the music is amazing.

Filah Lah Lah:    04:50    Thank you.

Nadeska:    04:51    And I’m curious about your influences growing up, because it feels like we get this really amazing blend of black music. You can’t pin it to just one thing.

Filah Lah Lah:    05:03    I’m such a student of the music my parents listened to. They loved Lionel Richie and Marvin Gaye and Nina Simone and Miles Davis and Diana Ross and Minnie Riperton. Oh, there’s just so many people, just so many people.

Nadeska:    05:17    Your parents had excellent taste in music, lucky for you.

Filah Lah Lah:    05:20    Lucky for them too, because they’re not really musical people like that. My parents can’t sing, they can’t, no, but the taste, taste was there. And my brothers with hip hop. I’m also a student of hip hop. I’m not really a rapper, but I like to write like I am one. [inaudible 00:05:40].

Nadeska:    05:39    I mean, there are a couple of songs where it kind of sounds like you’re getting some bars off. You know?

Filah Lah Lah:    05:45    Yeah, so, yeah, maybe. But yeah, I’m a student of black music in general, in general, and my family is a huge part of that influence.

Nadeska:    05:57    That’s amazing, and so with all of those influences, when you get in the studio, how do you really begin crafting a record? What is it for you? Does it always start with the writing? Is it about a melody? Is it about a beat? What pieces do you cling to in the beginning?

Filah Lah Lah:    06:10    Yeah, I mean, the process changes. Sometimes I have a melody in my head for days, weeks, months, even years sometimes. For instance, nobody, that nobody, that thing was in my head for two years and I just kept on singing it. So sometimes the melody comes first and I’m like, okay, let me see if we can turn this into something. And then sometimes I’ll get a beat that’s like, oh.

Nadeska:    06:35    This is the one.

Filah Lah Lah:    06:37    This is the one, this is something. So yeah, it changes, it changes.

Nadeska:    06:43    I love it, and out of it, we just get a beautiful album. So I think we should jump into that record right now. I’m catching up with Filah here on the Nadeska Show. This one is Nobody, featuring Blxckie.

06:53    So one of the earliest songs, I don’t know, do we call it a song or is it an interlude? 818 is very interesting. Tell me a little bit about this record. So it sounds like we’re skipping through a radio station and the bits of chatter. Why are we Tolerating Gluten, was probably my favourite, my favourite bit from that. Tell me about putting that one together.

Filah Lah Lah:    07:17    It was completely, it was our dedication to randomness. I’m a huge fan of the-

Nadeska:    07:25    Dedication to randomness is elite.

Filah Lah Lah:    07:27    Yes.

Nadeska:    07:28    Thank you.

Filah Lah Lah:    07:29    I’m a huge fan of the GTA franchise, and I’ve always loved skipping through the stations on GTA. Like some of them, you could confuse them for really real stations and some things are just silly, so I loved that. I loved that effect and I thought, Alvin’s called on air, something should feel a little skittish. I called Loyiso Gola, who’s a really popular comedian on this side, I mean, he’s pretty popular everywhere but I was like, I don’t know what I want you to do, but send me a voice note of just you just talking nonsense, just nonsense. And that’s what happened, it was the toleration or intoleration of gluten is what happened with that.

Nadeska:    08:15    Incredible. I ran that one back a couple of times. I thought I was maybe hearing that incorrectly. I love the dedication to randomness, but it’s all of these thoughtful pieces that go into the project that really make it special.

08:29    And coming back to the visuals, so you’re dropping an entire visual album to accompany the music. Why did you want to do it this way? You’ll be the first South African artist to do this.

Filah Lah Lah:    08:45    I don’t know who I think I am. [inaudible 00:08:49].

Nadeska:    08:48    Exactly who you want to be, that’s who.

Filah Lah Lah:    08:51    Yeah. I think maybe because the album had so many sonic elements that felt like an experience of a movie. I think when we played the album for label the first time they were like, this could be a movie, and we were like, oh?

Nadeska:    09:07    Tell me more.

Filah Lah Lah:    09:09    And we were like, yeah, tell me more, let’s explore that, and that’s really what happened. I was fine with it ending in this sonic language, and then it just got bigger and bigger and bigger and the team got bigger and it was just like, okay, this is going to be a movie.

Nadeska:    09:27    Now with this project out, how does it feel for you? What is your next step, right? It seems like you probably always have ideas, just from that look I got from you, right? We’re always thinking and we’re always planning because that’s how a creative mind works right now. So you’re just peeling back the layers for your fans to see more and more dimensions of you and what you’re capable of. So I’m curious, what is it that you want for yourself next?

Filah Lah Lah:    09:49    Well, first of all, I’m already in the stage of, I’m so tired of talking about ON AIR. I’m already here.

Nadeska:    09:56    Been out less than a month, girl, maybe a month.

Filah Lah Lah:    09:59    No, I know, but it’s been almost two years in the making. So there’s this sense of when I’m around my people, let’s talk about literally anything else.

Nadeska:    10:12    Got it.

Filah Lah Lah:    10:12    It’s going to be hard, I think, to detach myself from this project, I’m not going to lie, because we’ve poured so much into it for so long. But the ideas are always there. I definitely don’t think I’m doing another visual album though. That’s just, no, it’s taxing. At least not now, maybe I’ll give it three more years. I need a three year break before I do something this big again.

10:36    I definitely want to keep conceptualising things. I want to keep conceptualising performances and do really interesting things with my performances. And I want to keep my creative juices flowing in other areas because the ideas are there, they’re always there. But in terms of ON AIR, and when this is all over, I don’t know. I get the sense that I’ll be really relieved and sad, but really like… It’s been crazy, but I’m super grateful. Super, super grateful.

Nadeska:    11:06    Yeah. I mean, look, two years in the making, that definitely is a long time, so understand your mind wanting to be onto the next thing. But getting to bring the album to life on stage now, I feel like for the next couple years, that’s also a really exciting chapter. So how do you feel about being on stage? Is that something that you’ve gotten super comfortable with?

Filah Lah Lah:    11:25    Yes, I used to have terrible stage fright. Like I said, I was not auditioning for talent shows. I wasn’t putting my hand up to be in school plays and stuff, I was not. I was terrified of the stage.

11:40    Now it’s so different, I want to include so much more elements in my performances, and I enjoy performing because we don’t always perform the songs the way that they were recorded. We always take them somewhere much more magical and ethereal and just a beautiful re-imagining of what we did in studio and I love doing that with my band. My band or my writers, they’re my fighters, I love them. So I’m excited for all that, I’m excited for the album to have this new existence through performances and just recreating that magic, yeah.

Nadeska:    12:23    I love it.

Filah Lah Lah:    12:23    [inaudible 00:12:25].

Nadeska:    12:25    I got you, girl. Let’s talk about the music. Let’s just play that music. Let’s perform that music.

Filah Lah Lah:    12:29    Yes.

Nadeska:    12:30    Matt, I feel you.

Filah Lah Lah:    12:30    Yes.

Nadeska:    12:32    I appreciate it, congrats. What an incredible album.

Filah Lah Lah:    12:34    Thank you.

Nadeska:    12:35    You can stream ON AIR from Filah anytime on Apple Music. Girl, what song are we going to ride out to? Something we haven’t played yet?

Filah Lah Lah:    12:42    I do want to write out to Von’s song. It’s the song I wrote for my late older brother, Vaughn. And it’s actually becoming a fan