Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Nissa
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
Micheal Jackson on MTV. I would watch this channel endlessly starting my first years as a toddler and each MJ’s video was the highlight.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
It’s a long-lasting passion. It started in my childhood, with me wanting to reproduce what I was seeing/feeling on MTV.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
30 years of having the desire to do music professionally and never being able to. Either it wasn’t an option after high school, due to my family background, either I got lied to or abused during my professional years as an actress, when I tried to do music on the side. Either other people deceived me later on in life, while I went back to studies at the university in social sciences. In total, over the 15 years during which I tried to actively set a foot in the industry, 13 people played a negative role in my journey. After an empth burnout, I decided to start all over again and I created my first EP. That’s why the EP is called “Débâcle.”, because it’s filled with all this accumulated backed-up energy.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
You’ll hear a lot of sadness and a lot of anger, because both are the sides of the same coin. That’s why I do both pop and rap.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
I don’t know, I make music from the heart. Life lessons fuel my creativity, but they don’t shape it, nor its process.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
The “Dictaphone” and the “Notes” apps. I don’t play any instruments, the melodies come from within. So in order to not forget anything, I record the melodies, and then type the appropriate text.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
Toomaj, a GOAT in Iranian rap. He was imprisoned and tortured several times for standing against the Iranian Islamic regime.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
The question is: “How haven’t they?”, haha. I’m a neurodivergent, so I’m a sponge; a lot of things hit me, so I have many traces on me, either positive or negative. Plus, I have a very complex life-path, with multiple branches and a multicultural background.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
Be yourself.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
I always say: «Art is my essence, music is my oxygen.». So it’s not about a lesson, it’s a lifestyle. Music helps me to stay alive. Even when I don’t have public recognition, just listening to music and singing in the streets while walking make me feel better.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Glastonbury.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Céline Dion. I would love to write a song for her, because she’s sensitive, authentic and funny at the same time.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music?
Spotifiy: https://open.spotify.com/intl-fr/album/5NrkBzCQbZFVBQbSyxPEt1
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/fr/album/841972362
Apple Music:
https://geo.music.apple.com/album/d%C3%A9b%C3%A2cle-ep/1847615785?app=music
YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@nissa.music.official?si=0ffolaboLfXMxwGR
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
Having a public recognition, i.e. social media visibility. I’m still in the anonymous zone.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
I’m a multidisciplinary artist: I’m an Oscar-nominated actress, I direct my own music videos, I dance, I draw, I write poetry. Therefore, people can see that creativity is at the hands of anyone, you just need to start somewhere.
