By Sean Alexander
The Last Year
Over the last year, saying the Nostalgix (Negar Hamidzadeh) has been staying busy is an understatement. Releasing her Star City EP in February, she began a North American tour to commemorate its release. Almost immediately, after the conclusion of Star City, she started on her first global tour. Somewhere during this time, she also found time to perform at Ultra Music Festival (one of the first festivals she ever attended), Lollapalooza, and Tomorrowland. Not to mention, she continued to release new music, including collaborations with WHIPPED CREAM and Mia Falls.
“I was doing shows in Tokyo and Fukuoka in Japan, and people were just yelling the melodies to ‘Need You’ and my other songs,” Nostalgix said. “ And I'm like, how do people, like, even know my music? How do they know this here right now? It was a very fulfilling experience because it made me realize how much my music is out there.”
Not only has her music made it out into the world, but so has Nostalgix’s influence and style. This Halloween saw fans dressing up as her for Halloween and others getting her signature tattooed. Neither thing is something that someone might set out to achieve, but it highlights how much support and excitement her music and artistry impacts its listeners.
With all of these wins, different successes, and happenings, one might think without a doubt that they made it, but Nostalgix feels both that she has and hasn’t.
“I feel like, in a sense, yes, because I have the freedom now to be able to do what I want artistically, and I'm not restricted like I was before,” said Nostalgix. “But I do still think that the goals that I have for the show that I want to put on and the experience that I wanna give people, the music, all that, that's still being worked on. It's still always evolving, but it's just gonna keep evolving. So for me, I don't know if there's gonna be a, OH MY GOD… I've made it, I'm here, and this is it. I have been and always will be in this for the art of it.”
Her goal is simply to be the best artist she can be, and with the passing of every day, every performance, and every studio session, that bar gets higher.
“Unlocking who that could be and figuring out the most unique version of myself. It's still a journey to get there,” she said.
Show Me Love
Nostalgix released her most recent single, Show Me Love, on November 15th. This track showcases a different side of her artistry, a more vulnerable side that highlights not only her strong producing capabilities but also her ability to share what she is going through with her listeners in a real and honest way.
“I want to be able to touch people with the music that I make and create,” Nostalgix said. “My latest single, I wrote when I was absolutely going through it last year, and it's probably the most vulnerable record that I've ever made.”
The development of this track started in December of last year and was originally meant to just be something personal, with no intention of releasing it to the public. But then, after developing the track, realization hit her: “Why don’t I share this? This is the thing I’m most passionate about. Why don't I just put it out and allow it to reach other people as well?”
Show Me Love had already been written during the world tour, and Nostalgix worked on it whenever she had a free moment to do so. Working on the track excited her and brought joy. One day, when she was in Toronto sitting down with her manager, she decided to play the song.
She sat there, her heart sinking, anticipating what the response would be. “I was thinking, this… this is crazy. They're not gonna like this. No one's gonna like this. This is crazy.”
However, the response was entirely positive. They loved the song, even saying that it was one of the best things they had heard from her. With never having the intention of releasing it, there was fear of sharing the track, in sharing it at that moment and then releasing it later on proved that every song didn’t have to fit a certain mold. That Nostlagix didn’t have to just release high-intensity Bass-House tracks. She could release the music she felt strongly about.
“With my sets these days, I don't wanna be bound to a genre. I primarily play bass house, and most of my records are bass house,” said Nostalgix. “I also want the freedom as an artist to be able to experiment and put out different things. If I'm in a period of life where I'm just in my feelings and all this stuff is going on, I want to be able to write about what’s real instead of, oh, let me make more songs about partying.”
Change
In the later part of 2023, Nostalgix found herself going through a lot of big life changes. She experienced intense heartbreak and a big loss that led to even more loss. These events brought her to a place of questioning all aspects of her life. Am I really happy? What is around me that is good? What is bad? What change do I want to see? Clarity didn’t come immediately and it took time for her to find the answers.
“I was probably the most lost I ever was. I went on my ‘Star City’ tour at the same time I was going through all that processing,” Nostalgix said. “During the entire ‘Star City’ tour, I was Broken. Just going through so much change and spending so much time alone to figure out what was going on and what I truly wanted for my life. There were times when I'd be in three different states, and I would be crying in every different state, just on tour, and I’m asking myself, what's going on right now? …No one would ever know if they saw me.”
By the time Star City was coming to an end and the world tour was starting, Nostalgix started to find the answers and changes she needed. She had found herself letting go of the things that needed to be left in the past and was aware of what she needed to be fulfilled.
“I had to find a lot of power and strength to be able to let go of a lot of things because I know now that there is more out there for me. I know that I want better for myself,” she said. “It's almost like taking a leap of faith. I'm gonna leave behind a lot, and it's fucking painful because I know that there's something else that I need.”
Next Year
2025 doesn’t show any signs of letting up for Nostalgix, with her already working on music for the new year including more collaborations solo work, and some remixes.
“It’s probably some of my favorite music,” she said.
Overall she is going into the new year with gratitude. Having gone through the last year learning about herself both as an artist and a person she finds strength in her current position and excitement in the opportunities for new music. “I'm excited about the music, the shows, and everything coming up. It's gonna continue to just be better and better.”
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