Coming off the release of her sophomore album DARK and a festival run around the world, the iconic EDM artist HAYLA has been nonstop working. Most recently, she brought her euphorically heartfelt songs to life on The Dark Tour, playing packed rooms around North America giving fans a more intimate experience into her alchemizing world of dance music. DARK signifies a bold shift for the Liverpool-born artist, from dance floor anthems to powerful alternative storytelling.
HAYLA played the final night of the DARK Tour at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles earlier this month, and the energy in the room was fierce. The singer, who is arguably the most prominent voice in the EDM space today, played a brilliant combination of both new and old songs, giving the audience a bit of everything — even playing familiar classics with a bit of a live-show twist. The dark lighting (which matches her album title afterall) set the mood perfectly well, entrancing everyone into the world of HAYLA for 90 minutes.
The night began with a set from Ella Rosa, a classically trained opera-singer-turned dance-pop queen. Rosa blends velvety vocals with electronic beats that got the whole place moving. Performing alongside her DJ setup, Rosa mixed live as she sang into the microphone, creating an energetic and seamless performance. She also treated the crowd to several unreleased tracks, including one titled “lobotomy” which quickly became a crowd favorite. By the time her set came to a close, the crowd was already bubbling with anticipation for what was next to come.
As the lights dimmed and shifted, the anticipation grew signaling the show was about to begin. From the moment HAYLA reached the stage, the crowd met her with deafening cheers. The entire place seemed to glow, with the energy between HAYLA and her audience creating an intoxicating atmosphere.
HAYLA commanded the stage throughout the night, performing with an intensity that matched the emotional weight of DARK.She was accompanied by four string players, positioned in pairs within alcoves framed by dramatic arches on either side of the stage. The strings added an unexpected cinematic quality to the performance, complementing HAYLA’s powerful vocals and giving some of the darker moments of the set an almost haunting atmosphere.
HAYLA moved effortlessly between the different sides of her artistry, blending the vulnerability of her recent work with the dance-driven energy fans had come to know from her. Her set included a couple tracks off her debut album DUSK, several off DARK, as well as some collaborations she had worked on with John Summit, Kx5, Sonny Fodera, ILLENIUM and many others. This set felt the truest to HAYLA’s evolution as an artist.
From start until the very end, HAYLA maintained a palpable connection with the audience. Throughout the whole night, fans all over the room sang along, from the barricade to the very top of the balcony, all carrying the same sentiment:
“You are not alone.”
Before taking the stage at The Fonda Theatre, HAYLA sat with Crave to discuss her latest album DARK, and her tour across North America.
CRAVE: Now that the tour is coming to an end, how has show-life been for you?
HAYLA: Honestly, it’s been something that, obviously, we knew we had it booked; we knew it was coming up. But, as soon as it arrived, I was like, Oh my gosh. [I’ve] been in the flow of it for such a long time, like five weeks now, and I kind of can’t believe that this is the last show and I keep on thinking the time has just felt like it’s been no time at all, but all the time in the world. It’s been the most amazing experience, honestly. Fully enjoyed being out on the road and just meeting new people and audiences and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it.
CRAVE: How has it been playing the smaller venues? How is that compared to some of the festivals you were doing earlier this year?
HAYLA: It’s a good question. I mean, I think that there’s not a preference, really. I think that it’s amazing because of these things; sometimes I’m able to meet people and obviously at festival sites you can’t. That’s a big difference that I’ve noted. But for me, I just think it’s so amazing that people want to come and see my show. Me just singularly on my own. So that is so not lost on me and I’m eternally grateful that people have actually maybe seen me at a festival and then seeing that I’m doing a solo show would have said they’d like to come along — and that, to me, is incredible. I’m still shocked that I’m like, Oh, people want to come to the show? So, yeah, I’m honestly, truly grateful to be able to do this, you know?
CRAVE: That’s awesome. Going into the album, DARK feels like a major evolution from the music many listeners know you for. When did you realize that you wanted to make something this intimate?
HAYLA: I didn’t. It was unplanned, completely and it was more about what I’ve been through. I suffered a huge loss and I genuinely didn’t know if I was able to write anything, really. It was about six months after I’d suffered this loss and I kind of said to my manager maybe this could be a good thing for me; it might be a therapy, potentially, to just start writing some music. And it was, genuinely, to get into sessions to find the love of writing again. I didn’t think about style. I didn’t think about genre. I thought a lot about nature, and I just was in sessions with people that I was fortunate enough to be able to share what was going on with me, and truly just play around, and not think about whether it needs to be this or that.
It was over the span of eight weeks and that’s it. Me and my manager sort of sat down and I was like, I think ‘I’ve got something’ and he’s like, ‘What do you mean?’ Those sessions that you put me in just to see how I do mentally, or emotionally, I said, I think I’ve got a product here, and it was not to do an album — it was honestly just to play around and see if I was okay, and I think that the songs actually managed to give a voice to my grief. It kind of, in a very small way, it’s helping me heal not just when I wrote them, but the more I sing them, the more I’m in audience spaces, the more times pass with these songs, I really, truly realize the gravity of what these songs have done for me.
CRAVE: Yeah, I really like what you said about when you were writing it, you didn’t want to think about genres and boxes. I feel like the music that I’m always most drawn to is when I can tell that they’re not thinking about putting it in a box. It really shows through the album.
HAYLA: Thank you very much. It really means a lot to hear.
CRAVE: Then moving on to more about the album and the themes of grief and heartbreak, how has writing and performing these tracks changed your own relationship with grief?
HAYLA: I think, after releasing these songs, like I said before, I kind of didn’t really realize how much weight they would have for me in the way of being able to help me heal slightly and I think the more that I perform them, I’m getting better at not choking. I’m better at kind of compartmentalizing the song and delivering the performance, but then also keeping the story as well. It’s still such a part of me, but I think that the one thing I’ve realized is that when I look out onto the audience, the people singing along to them, I hope that music that I make can be cathartic for other people if they need it and I think that the more that I’ve played these songs out live, and the messages that I received, from people, it’s been amazing, really. I just think we need more connection in the world, and sometimes to talk about the hard stuff is the most important.
CRAVE: I wanted to talk about how you called your music “sad bitch music,” which I think is pretty much spot on. I think that’s a great way to describe it. When you write from a place of sadness and vulnerability, how are you able to turn that into empowerment rather than depression?
HAYLA: Good question. I think there’s always got to be some sort of glimmer of hope in there. Whether that be through the production with soaring strings, like at the end of easier, there’s some real soaring strings and a vocal part in there. I think that always alludes to even though life feels like it’s at its most difficult point, then I hope that there is some goodness in the world after. I think that musically I always try and write to get my feelings across and it is like from the heart and authentic, but though I’m feeling really, really low, I think sometimes having that glimmer of hope is so important to hold onto because hopefully things will always get better and easier.
CRAVE: It’s very true. Specifically, the lyric, “I’m not alone in the dark,” it felt like an anthem of the album to me when I was listening. I feel like that really encapsulates the whole album. What does that line mean to you now?
HAYLA: I mean, I still feel it, the person that I lost is the one that I see in my dreams and the one that I look for and reach for emotionally still now, even though they’re not present, in my darker moments, but I feel like ever since my loss, I have been surrounded by a warmth. It’s hard to describe. It feels like a kind of glowing, which I think that kind of signifies the kind of a hopefulness, really, in the sense that even though you’re gone, you’re not forgotten, and I still feel that love.
CRAVE: Has it changed at all from when you wrote it into now, such as seeing how people respond to the album?
HAYLA: Yeah. I think so. I think that just being around every audience that I’ve been around and seeing people actually sing it back. When you release a song, it is always gonna be mine to a degree, but it becomes everybody else’s, and I think that people can attach their own feelings and nuance to it. I think it’s amazing if somebody finds a connection with something that makes them feel not alone, and they can actually connect with others around them, feel some catharsis. When I see people singing it out, I’m like, if this song means something to you, I hope it fills you with some hope for even the darkest times.
CRAVE: Also tying into that, the tracks off DARK were written from a very deeply personal and vulnerable place and you are bringing them to huge stages and rooms full of fans. How has seeing the fans connect with the music affected you?
HAYLA: I suppose it’s kind of entwined with that. I find it incredibly emotional, and like I said before, I’m so grateful that people are following me on this solo journey as well as if they’ve known me from collaborations before, then actually come to my show for me on my own. It’s totally not lost on me, and I just feel really grateful, and I just hope that any music that I make can make people feel like they have somewhere to help give their grief a voice as well. Or loss.
CRAVE: You just performed at Amsterdam World Pride as well as San Diego Pride. What does it mean to you to have your music become a part of spaces where people are celebrating identity, freedom, and being unapologetically themselves?
HAYLA: Oh, it’s such an honor to be invited into places and spaces, and I think that just being a part of San Diego Pride, World Pride — and there’s many other prides that I’ve been at on stages. I’m just totally honored to be there and to be in this space as well where everybody’s the celebration of love, joy, community and connection, and for everyone to feel like they can be completely themselves. It’s truly, truly an honor. I love the community so much.
CRAVE: Yes, everybody, I was talking to people outside and everybody’s so sweet. So it really shines.
HAYLA: Oh, thank you. It’s an honor.
