British vocalist HAYLA creates atmospheric electronic music with her haunting voice. Just listen to her collaboration with John Summit for the track “Where You Are” where dance fans are transported to another place sonically. She has worked with stellar musicians such as Kygo and MEDUZA over the years, which keeps her in demand.
Her debut solo album, Dusk, was released in 2024 with 10 tracks of powerful music. Her latest single, “In My Arms,” has her working with American DJ Illenium.
She talked about her music and much more while at Pride Fest on June 21 in Chicago.
JN: (Jerry Nunn) Chicago is not your first Pride festival. Was Sydney Mardi Gras your first one?
H: (HAYLA) Yes and it was absolutely incredible.
JN: Did you always want to be a singer?
H: Honestly, I was always really shy. I always did it for sort of self-therapy. I always sang to myself and that was like my little confidence bubble on my own. I never felt the confidence to perform in front of people. That took years!
JN: How long have you been performing?
H: For about 15 years now. I was in bands playing all kinds of genres.
JN: How do you connect with all of these DJs?
H: Good question, I started working with incredible DJs as a backup vocalist in the UK, who had me on tracks in the choruses. This brought me into the world of house music and more people began to hear my voice. I was a demo singer before that and I had done a few sessions where I may not have stayed on the records but then was asked to stay on.
It was a process of doing it for a few years and then sending out examples of my work. Behind the scenes, people may have only known me for about five years, but I have been working for a long time.
JN: Have you been to Chicago before?
H: Never.
JN: This is the birthplace of house music.
H: I know and I am loving it so far.
JN: How was working with Kygo?
H: He’s a wonderful human being. Every time I am with him and his whole team, it feels like a family and very natural. Have you met him?
JN: Briefly at Lollapalooza. Have you played at that festival yet?
H: No, but I would love to.
JN: EDM artists bring in guest singers all the time there so I am sure it will happen one day or maybe you can perform as a solo act.
H: Let’s put it out into the universe!
JN: Yes! Talk about the creation of Dusk.
H: It was three years in the making, which seems like a long time in the making. I always wanted to have a solo body of work, but I have always worked with other people. My influences have always been mixed, so I didn’t know how it would look for me as an artist. I looked for songs that would resonate with who I am.
I wanted people to get to know me on a deeper level than just the collaborations. I compiled the tracks that felt like mine and nobody else’s in that way.
It was an amazing, cathartic process. The title track “Dusk” I completely wrote, recorded and produced myself. I was so nervous and I nearly didn't put the song on the record, but the whole exercise was about feeling the fear of doing it anyway.
JN: How rewarding it must have been for you.
H: It was, thank you. If you had asked about it five years ago, I wouldn’t have believed it was going to happen or when that time would be.
JN: How does the track “Fall Again” represent you as an artist?
H: It came from a breakup that really rocked the foundation of who I thought I was. My living situation changed and so did my friendship circle. This was around the time of COVID so we couldn’t meet up to speak about why we weren’t together anymore.
The lyrics are “If you were here now, would I fall again?” I haven’t seen this person for many years and until recently, I wondered how I would feel if I saw him again.
JN: That resonates with me. “In My Arms” is your current single?
H: Yes. I am going to sing that song tonight. It’s about being in a safe space thanks to the person you are with. It can be about a friend or a lover.
JN: This is a Cinematic Version of “In My Arms.” Do you want to make a movie soundtrack one day?
H: I would love that. I find orchestral music in the cinema as magical.
JN: How do you take care of your voice?
H: I drink a lot of Throat Coat, even though there are other teas available. I can’t buy it in the UK. I drink water as well, so I hydrate and try to avoid loud environments. My speaking voice can be low at times and that gets tired quicker than my singing voice.
JN: Does an alto range have more challenges than a soprano?
H: It depends on where I am placing my voice. If I go into some areas of my soprano voice as opposed to my chest voice, then I can alleviate that pressure.
I am good at measuring it, but I forget my technique sometimes. I feed off the energy of the crowd when I am performing. I feel like we are the same and all together.
I try to balance it out. If I am smart about it, I can flip around and make sense of it.
JN: Talk about your connection with the queer community and performing at several Pride festivals.
H: I make music so people don’t feel alone. Music is an amazing unifier. Spreading love through music is important to me. Music helped me when I was shy and I would sing to myself.
If I can make people feel connected, safe, loved and unified through music, then I want to continue to do that.
JN: I really liked your Apple Music Pride playlist.
H: Thank you!
JN: One of the artists you featured is in Chicago this week, FKA Twigs. Are you going to the show?
H: Maybe, I am sticking around! [laughs] I am going to a Cubs game tomorrow and then I will make my way to her concert. It looks like it will be incredible with a mix of art, dance and theater.
JN: I’ve seen her a few times and she is worth the ticket price. Where are you going after Chicago?
H: Sugarland Toronto Pride and Dreamland NYC Pride next week. I'm going to Ibiza in August with Kygo, which will be so cool. For the rest of the year, I have a few gigs sprinkled here and there!