Nader Khalil Returns With New
Single Wil3a
Wil3a (cover art, by Nader Khalil)
Nader Khalil live at
Capacity, Friday, July 12th. Photograph by Stacie Carte.
August 9th, 2024
The artist shares first taste of more new music
to come in the near future
“There’s a tenderness behind resistance”: Nader Khalil regarding Wil3a’s narrative
Nader
reapproaches his sound for this new chapter by writing and composing using
Arabic scales
The Egyptian-Iranian artist, rapper and
producer Nader Khalil returns with a new song called Wil3a, which is already on the main streaming
platforms. This song is the artist's first release of what marks a new phase in
his career with new music to be
released in the coming months; in the meantime, Wil3a is the perfect
example that offers a taste of the nature of his upcoming new work.
The single speaks of resilience and resistance
and functions as a reintroduction to Nader's sound with a new surprise: he
began writing and composing using
Arabic scales. Invoking a non-linear and unmechanical human quality, Arabic
scales utilise quarter tones, which are notes that sit between two notes in
modern Western music. This requires Nader to tune his western-based
synthesizers to Arabic scales to achieve the desired sound and feeling. It can
be best explained by this approach: “a straight line is a line of duty, and a
curved line is a line of beauty”.
The song was premiered live on Friday the 12th
of July at umru’s Capacity series—Nader Khalil’s first show of 2024—along with NJ ballroom figurehead
MikeQ & the Scottish distorceress KAVARI, and the DJ sets from Vice, umru,
Fortified Structures, xxhardbit3s, Chicago’s DJ Manny (Teklife) and other live
performances by Mother Cell (NY) & cutspace with live asemics by atonal.u
(NY).
The lyrics talk about returning to music given
his past work and political views, and how they have affected his career in the
past year from being cancelled from show lineups to receiving hate messages and
threats from Arabs and Zionists alike. I
got the heart of a Lion in a cage. I feel the blood of a martyr in my veins.
From the concrete I watch the flower bloom, with my AK I’m coming after you,
sings the artist in Wil3a, a statement that works both as a metaphor of his
position and as a reflection of the situation happening in Palestine.
“The art world avoids recognizing the importance
of armed resistance in favor of more liberal values and approaches that have
proven to not be any sort of threat to the oppressor” explains Khalil, whose
new music has inevitably been influenced by the genocide against Palestine that
is being executed by the state of Israel.
The structure of the song is based on a layer of
hard beats and handclaps, guided by overpowering synthesizers that recreate
more traditional Arabic electronic sounds. The music evokes a ritual experience
born out of a state of urgency, almost like the sound of resistance coming from
the other side. Nader's husky, powerful voice gives the song the force of a
strenuous comeback single to his music and is a continuation of the narratives
he has dealt with in his previous works. “There’s a tenderness behind resistance.
You cannot have the cold and calculated nature of fighting without the loving
self-sacrifice that is required for it” mentions the artist when asked about
the main core of Wil3a.
Wil3a is Nader Khalil’s first new music of 2024
after the releases of Open the Pit and Jinn Walker in
2023. His first two albums Nader Khalil 1 and Nader Khalil 2 (2022)
are available on the main streaming platforms and include some of his most
popular songs: War & Peace, Can’t Decide, Wahda Wahda, Dark Mawwal and Wild Trance.
His debut singles Crud (2019)
and 98 (2021)
have more than 1 million plays on Spotify.
Nader Khalil
The organizers of Nader Khalil’s first shows may
have taken a risk in booking a relatively unknown act, only to be met with
hypnotic rhythms, propulsive beats, and an intense crowd experience. Nader’s
live shows are known for his infectious stage presence, moving even the
stiffest of crowds, and bringing a primal energy that Brooklyn Rail called “the
standout of the night.”
Nader’s music seamlessly blends his Egyptian and
Iranian roots, integrating diverse influences from his upbringing in Kuwait and
the US as well as time spent in Mexico and Germany into a unique brand of Arab
infused hip hop.
Prior to creating music under his own name, from
2013 to 2017, Nader released music under the alias “Nok From the Future,”
gaining tens of millions of streams and collaborating with artists such as
Cousin Stizz, Dylan Brady (100 Gecs), Kevin Abstract (BROCKHAMPTON), and Night
Lovell, among others. It was during a 17-city European tour that he built a
cult following and honed his talent for performing live in front of crowd sizes
ranging from 500 to 3000.
Nader is the full package: a self-producing
artist with a distinct sound and vision that makes his art easily identifiable
among his peers. His visuals and cover art are all shot and edited in-house.
Nader’s work is self-produced with a distinctive sound and vision that makes
his art easily identifiable among his peers. The rapper and producer has been
working and releasing music under his own name since 2019 and has received very
positive critical acclaim from the likes of The Brooklyn Rail, Metal Magazine,
Scene Noise and Pitchfork, among others.
Nader unabashedly explores his Arab background
in his music. Nader Khalil 1 was recorded in Guadalajara, Mexico (you
can feel the heat). "Can't decide who I love, who I hate, who I need"
he says in Can't Decide, in which he tells the story of a man in search of his
identity and cultural location. On Nader Khalil 2 we find tracks
like Dark Mawwal, another great song whose video seems to portray the sea
and a continuous journey, perhaps a reference to the boats in which many must
face life and death situations when fleeing their places of origin.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
DJ set for
Palestine Forever - The Lot Radio - August 11 2024 (Watch/listen)
For
Nader Khalil’s press inquiries, please email us.