HAYLA on Self-Love, Living Fearlessly, and Becoming Dance’s Most Defining Voice
With vocals that strike like lightning and lyrics that could cut through glass, HAYLA doesn't just sing – she ignites.
As the current tour de force behind dance’s biggest contemporary chart-toppers, her collaborations with industry titans including Kaskade, John Summit, and Deadmau5 have changed the landscape of modern EDM, eliciting hundreds of millions of streams worldwide.
But it’s with the release of her first solo album, DUSK, that HAYLA proves she isn’t just riding the wave – she’s commanding it.
KP: You’re one of the only artists that I’ve heard by chance over and over again, immediately falling in love with your tracks every single time.
I remember my first encounter with your music distinctly – “Escape” was playing as the backing track to a video, which I immediately paused and kept rewinding to try to get the perfect Shazam. [Laughs]. It took a while. But I was immediately like, “Who is this?!?” I fell in love with your voice right away. It’s truly incredible – so distinct, so full, and so powerful, yet emotive.
HAYLA: Oh, thank you so much!
KP: You had a hand in writing it, as well. Is there anything that you remember about penning that track specifically? What was it like recording with Deadmau5 and Kaskade?
HAYLA: Yeah! That the top line was written separately from Deadmau5 and Kaskade. It was something that was written really freely with no kind of aim to be given to any other artist, to be completely honest. It was something that was written in June 2020 – obviously that time of our lives was quite different – and we, as the top line writers, were just allowed to write in person together for the first time in ages. So having that track written with such a free feeling was amazing. It was honestly written from a really authentic place.
Like I said, we had no idea that it was going to end up with Kaskade and Deadmau5 in the end. After we had written the top line, we heard that they liked it and we were like, “Oh, that’s quite interesting!” And then, obviously, consequently, they created the absolute magic of the track that you hear today.
So I think if I'm really honest, probably the most special thing about writing that top line was that it was just absolutely zero pressure – there was no real sort of aim in mind for what it was going to be or who it was going to be for, really. It was just writing it for the love of writing.
KP: Yeah. I didn't know that that was the story behind it initially, so when I was doing my research for this, I thought it would be so exciting in a way to just write this, have it be so pure, and then have it land somewhere like that. It's amazing.
HAYLA: Yeah! I mean, I love writing, obviously, but I feel so much more connected to a piece when it comes from a place of pure creation, rather than trying to write something specifically for an artist. It was a very free, very organic session.
KP: Yeah, that’s amazing!
The second time I heard you was when my girlfriend added “Where You Are” to a playlist a couple of years ago, and then I fell in love all over again. [Laughs].
Your collaborations with John Summit have now become massive successes, each of them in their own right. How did that collaboration come to be, and what has that experience been like?
HAYLA: You know, the remix of “Escape” was the reason that we started collaborating with John, because it was me and the other top line writers; nearly pretty much everybody who wrote “Escape” on the top line had this other top line for “Where You Are.” And because John had done the remix of “Escape” and it landed so well, he obviously seemed to really enjoy that sound as well.
We just thought that it might be quite a nice idea to forward over this top line and see if it's anything that resonates with him. Honestly, it was probably the quickest turnaround of any track that I've ever worked on. Then again, he created the magic that you hear now.
Then doing “Shiver” afterwards was amazing. It was great that both of us got to work together more in person and create that track together.
KP: It’s so great.
HAYLA: You know, it's honestly been such an honor to work with him.
KP: I saw a clip of his show at Madison Square Garden. I'm from New York City, so somebody had posted it. That show looked so incredible. I know you were there too, right? You performed.
HAYLA: Yeah! Honestly, I think if you'd have asked me a year before that show if I would ever be on a stage in Madison Square Garden singing a song that I had co-written, I really don't think that I would have believed you. I think that’s going to be a core memory for me throughout the rest of my performing life.
KP: Definitely. It looked amazing. It's funny – I think it was a core memory for so many people there, because when I was reading the comments on that video, there was a guard from MSG that wrote a comment saying that it was one of the best shows he had ever seen at MSG. That's pretty high praise if it's coming from the security there. [Laughs].
HAYLA: Wow, that's amazing. Yeah, because the people that work at the venues, obviously, they get to see everything.
KP: They see everything. I think that's one of the coolest jobs, probably. You just get to take in so much.
You’ve become the defining voice in dance at the moment, no doubt an impressive feat. After all of these powerhouse collaborations, you went on to release your first solo album, Dusk.
What was it like transitioning from mostly collaborating to working solo? Do you feel that those collabs informed your solo creative process in any way?
HAYLA: I think this album took me about three years to write because I had sort of already been writing my own solo material behind the scenes. I had a few solo releases prior to “Escape,” but obviously the platform that “Escape” gave me totally changed my situation. But I had been writing behind the scenes at the same time that I was doing the collaborations.
One thing that I definitely think changed in a sense was that there were a few tracks I had that were maybe a little more electronica in style that I transitioned with some amazing producers to become a little more EDM sounding. I think that ultimately the audiences that got to know me through the collaborations were used to that sound of mine – I didn't want to alienate new listeners. But also, at the same time, I was finding a love for EDM myself. So it really taught me a lot in that sense.
But writing my own music for my own album, I think I can be a little bit more diary-based, you know? Definitely a lot more indulgent on the subject matter. And I can be, I suppose, a lot more personal and probably a bit more wordy, if that makes sense.
KP: Yeah!
HAYLA: And I think collaborations are absolutely amazing. But sometimes there's the backstory of a track that maybe you wouldn't necessarily put into all EDM tracks, you know? I think that sometimes the less-is-more approach is best.
KP: Yeah, it just gives you a little more free rein.
HAYLA: Totally.
KP: The first song that you ever wrote, produced, and recorded yourself is “DUSK.” It must have been incredibly daunting to release that into the world, but it probably felt so liberating as well.
It’s mostly instrumental, and it is so, so beautiful. Can you tell us a little about it?
HAYLA: Yeah, thank you so much. It definitely was daunting. I think it was a total “feel the fear and do it anyway” exercise. Behind the scenes, I can produce to a level that I've never really felt comfortable enough showing people, you know? And so I sort of created this as a bit of an experimental piece. But yeah, it houses a 12-part vocal swell, just a comforting beat with strings. I've always loved vocal harmony, so I just really wanted to play with that sort of style and texture.
But just my favorite time of the day is dusk, so I think I kind of wanted to create a little piece that maybe I didn't feel as comfortable about releasing, but calling it the thing that I find the most comforting.
KP: I love that. That makes a lot of sense to me.
HAYLA: I think sometimes, I don't know, that maybe I'm not the producer for it. Maybe it should be somebody else's role, that I'm not good enough to show that. But I'm actually really happy that I did, you know?
And I'm hoping on this next body of work that I'm currently looking at creating that I'll maybe produce another one, you know? Because I've given myself license to now.
KP: I mean, it's beautiful. I really think that you should.
HAYLA: Thank you. Thank you so much. Honestly, that really means a lot to me because it was quite scary. It was terrifying.
KP: I could imagine! I'm a musician, but I don't write stuff. I've played piano since I was three and guitar since I was seven, but I don't even like performing in front of people. So I can't imagine actually crafting something yourself, writing it yourself, and then putting it out there. I can't even perform someone else's work! [Laughs].
HAYLA: You know, honestly, I think when you start to throw yourself into it, though – and I think this one has been a great test for me – I think that throwing yourself in the deep end can really help you swim.
“Sometimes being alone can be the most healing thing. Maybe I'm the one that just needs to love myself, you know?”
KP: For sure. It’s great exercise!
I am so incredibly, notoriously picky with music, but I genuinely love the entire album. That’s a rarity. [Laughs]. Do you have a favorite track off of it? Or maybe one that holds the most meaning to you personally?
HAYLA: I change my mind all the time. But honestly, the one that's kind of stuck with me since touring has been “Alone,” I think. Yeah, because that includes sort of the subject matter surrounding how much of myself I give to others. And I think it was sort of realizing that maybe the love of my life is myself. And maybe that's okay!
I think it was kind of like that sort of, you know, am I all I have? Am I all I ever wanted? I feel like every time I sing it, I feel the meaning of it even deeper, if that makes sense.
KP: Yeah, it does!
HAYLA: Sometimes being alone can be the most healing thing. Maybe I'm the one that just needs to love myself, you know? I think it’s a song about self-acceptance and how much I give of myself to others.
KP: Yeah, which really feeds into my next question, because I was going to say that a lot of the album deals with that – this notion of either heartbreak or self-actualization, being totally okay with oneself.
So what advice would you give to women who are trying to move on from a situation that isn't bettering them or benefiting them in terms of a relationship? How can they find the kind of self-love that you did?
HAYLA: This is so cliché, but time, honestly. And I think trying not to be so hard on yourself. Try to find those people that you can talk to about anything. I mean, from my personal experience, most of this album, yeah, you're right, it's about a breakup really, that kind of rocked the core basis of who I thought I was, you know? And I think that every time I felt like I was over it, I realized that I needed more time, but I also needed to give myself a bit more space to heal instead of feeling like I should be over this now. Sometimes things take longer than you would imagine.
But I do really believe that if you’ve got your friends or your family, sharing my feelings surrounding how I felt about myself, how I felt like I wasn't sure how I was going to move on or be okay, was very helpful. And, you know, sort of trying not to be too self-destructive as well. But I think trying to speak out rather than trying to internalize too much is positive – don't give yourself too much of a hard time.
But I know that everybody's coping mechanisms are different – everybody's foundation of what they call family is different. But yeah, I've got some amazing family and friends that I was able to really share my emotions with.
I know that it's really cliché and probably not the best answer, but I think that time was the greatest healer for me.
KP: It's so funny you say that because just last night, I came across this study that was recently published. After people had gone through an immense breakup, they studied their brains over a period of two years. It was found that the average amount of time that it took for somebody to genuinely get over a breakup after being in love was a minimum of fifteen months.
HAYLA: Wow.
KP: I thought about that, though. I thought about my breakups from the past, and I was like, “Fuck! I thought I was such a loser for crying every single night for a year, but maybe not!” [Laughs]. You know? I think it’s pretty accurate.
HAYLA: Wow, wow, wow. That's such a depressing stat, but you know what? There's some comfort in that in a sense, because I was not okay for a very long time. It's kind of nice to know that what you were feeling is valid and it's not just you overthinking things or whatever. Your brain genuinely needs time to kind of process what's happened, you know?
KP: Right! Or that you're being dramatic and just dragging something on.
HAYLA: Yeah. So fifteen months… Hey, I had three years of writing an album still about the same person.
KP: [Laughs]. Well, at least you turn it into something amazing, right?
HAYLA: Exactly.
KP: You’ve said that you had an “incredible” shyness about singing in front of people, which you would never guess when watching you perform. You are so powerful – you fill up entire arenas with ease.
What eventually helped you get over that fearfulness? Is there any advice that you could lend to women who wish to perform but find that their shyness holds them back?
HAYLA: You know, it's totally true. I found it incredibly, incredibly difficult to sing in front of people. I actually went to university to pursue music, and the requirement for being in uni and being part of the popular music course was to get into bands and perform live with bands. So I suppose I was sort of thrown into the deep end. I wasn't comfortable in my performance style. I was very sort of unsure of who I was as a person. I suppose I kind of still am – I'm still learning, you know?
But I think the more that I did it, I found that I went into this altered state kind of place – I found real solace in therapy from performing on my own in my bedroom. I found it incredibly cathartic. But the thought of getting out in front of people on stage was terrifying to me, really. So it took me a really long time to flip that around.
And honestly, I don't know whether there's any real quick fix. It was just the more that I was pushed out of my comfort zone and kind of fell into the waves of that, I was able to shift my focus from being scared about performing to thinking of it more positively. I thought about how I’d be able to share the way that I feel when I’m singing with my eyes shut with an audience member – to make them feel the way that I feel when I sing… maybe then I've done my job.
I don't know if this makes any sense, but I sort of shifted my focus a bit into – if I feel this good when I'm singing on my own, maybe I could share this feeling with other people somehow. And I think that's what I focused on. I definitely go somewhere else when I'm singing for sure.
I don't know if that answers the question at all.
KP: It does. No, no, it definitely does. That's a perfect answer.
HAYLA: I'm sorry to repeat the same thing I said with “DUSK,” but it was a hundred percent an exercise in feeling the fear and doing it anyway. I think I've found that each time you throw caution to the wind, it just adds to the confidence level.
I mean, if I overthink things now, I’m still nervous, you know? But my key is trying not to overthink it, which is hard, because I'm an overthinker generally in life.
KP: I mean, on a stage?! I couldn't shift my focus that much. [Laughs].
HAYLA: Hey, well, I need to get on stage with you! We could work that out.
KP: Oh God.
HAYLA: Yeah! Let’s do it.
KP: That would be a little hard, because I can't fucking sing! [Laughs].
HAYLA: No, no. We'll try!
KP: [Laughs]. Alright. Alright!
Will Clarke, a frequent collaborator of yours, had a quote about your singing that was so good. He said, “Her voice is just fucking amazing. It’s dangerous because her voice is so good that you can rely on the voice too much. It can make everybody lazy in the room on making the actual best song because her voice is so good.”
I found that so interesting because it’s so true – when a voice is that good – which yours is – you can depend on it almost a little too much to carry the rest of the track. I imagine you never face this problem when you’re by yourself, though. [Laughs].
When you’re working on solo tracks, how do you start? Do you lead with a melody or with lyrics? What is your process like?
HAYLA: I always write notes. I don't know why I'm picking my phone up now, like I could show you. [Laughs]. But I classically write notes all the time on my phone – little things that will pop into my head. I record a lot of voice recordings as well. It really depends on what I come into the session with.
I think, you know, I'm an avid lover of music as well. I listen to music all the time. So sometimes there could be tracks that I've heard in a week that mood-wise will really catch me. I'll meet up with a producer and say, “You know what? Something in this sort of vein sounds really cool.”
Usually we start on a piano, and we'll just work around a few chords, then I'll play around with melody and write lyrics. Sometimes when it's really clicking, it'll kind of come together at the same time. So the lyrics and melody just come from somewhere and just end up being that.
But I do sometimes come into a session and say, like, “Oh, I've got this little thing that I've recorded on my phone! It's roughly this!” And again, maybe we could add some chords around this kind of melody. Or it can be another way where the producer that I'm going in with sort of pre-prepared something that is similar to the sort of style and genres that I really like, and we'll have a bit of a play around that. So it really depends, to be honest, on the flavor of the day.
KP: That makes a lot of sense.
Your career has shifted so rapidly, going from you singing at weddings and as a backup singer and vocal teacher to performing for tens of thousands of people a night. That’s a huge shift.
What’s one thing that you would tell your younger self?
HAYLA: I think – and this is something that I'm still learning – but I always worry about how I'm perceived. And I think that I would tell my younger self that people think about me a lot less than I think they do, if that makes any sense.
KP: It absolutely does.
HAYLA: I'm a bit of an anxiety-riddled person, you know? I'm a classic overthinker, but just trust your gut. Say yes to the things that feel good and no to the things that don't. Don’t worry about what other people may think – we’re complete individuals.
KP: I think that's great advice.
And for our last question, what do you feel makes a provocative woman?
HAYLA: Oh, that's a really good question. I think it's amazing when a woman is completely, unapologetically herself. I think that moving in a way that feels good to you really shows authenticity. I'm really drawn to people when you can see that – when there’s this kind of effortless cool that emanates off of them.
Always be your most authentic self.
