More than a feature—How Hayla’s ‘DUSK’ redefines her artistic identity [Interview]
Every so often, a vocalist emerges at the forefront of the dance music scene, where he or she evolves into a cultural icon. If it’s not John Martin, Dylan Matthew, or Becky Hill, it’s Liverpool-bred vocal powerhouse Hayla, whose debut solo album, DUSK, has freshly landed. Primarily known for her topline contributions on world-renowned dance records, namely John Summit‘s “Where You Are,” Sub Focus‘ “I Found You,” and, more recently, MEDUZA‘s “Another World,” among others, Hayla, born Hayley Williams, has rapidly risen the ranks as a front-running singer/songwriter in modern electronic music. Riding the wave of her explosive success, Hayla’s debut album marks an independent path forward for the UK singer, performer, musician, and now, music producer.
Before its November 1 delivery, six of DUSK‘s album inclusions arrived as early-release singles. “Treading Water,” written and produced alongside Andy Sheldrake and Oliver Reed, materialized as the album’s first one-off preview in August 2022. Two months later, Andy Sheldrake-assisted “Unfold” hit digital stores as a sonic metaphor about “people’s perception of others as if they were a piece of art.” In 2023, Hayla piggybacked on the seismic upheaval achieved by “Where You Are” with the release of “Fall Again,” co-produced by Owen Jones, Ross Walsh & Alex Tepper, before issuing the final two album previews, “Freefall” and “Only I,” in 2024.
Like most artists, Hayla enlisted songwriting and production support from respected industry tastemakers during the creation of DUSK. With that said, she took on the grand feat of producing the project’s title track, the last on the album, all on her own. “I was incredibly nervous about putting [‘DUSK’] on the album,” the producer revealed, adding,
“I used to be incredibly nervous as a performer, feeling shy singing in front of people… Putting out ‘DUSK’ was sort of a ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’ kind of thing. I’ve always been in awe of producers, and I would love to be able to say that I’ll produce more in the future now that I’ve done this. It’s a completely ambient and experimental piece, and it doesn’t have any lyrics.”
Distinguished by swelling pads, layered background vocals, and a bouncy synth topline, “DUSK” caps the album as an authentic resemblance of Hayla’s musicianship and taste-making abilities, “I wanted to throw myself into the deep end, and I’m really happy that I did.”
DUSK consists of ten tracks—ten tracks starring, not featuring, Hayla. The UK singer hopes her solo project will appeal to fans of her celebrated collaborations while also showcasing a more vulnerable side of her artistry, “I think I’ve managed to balance the sound and energy from my collaborations with this other side of me,” she explains. “I’m hoping audiences don’t feel alienated from who I am, and what I’d been doing with other artists, because that’s a big part of me as well.” She elaborates,
“I’ve always enjoyed electronica, UKG, some more ambient styles, and then there’s a side of me that’s lower tempo, kind of more diary-inspired songwriting… I tried to make this album a nice mixture.”
Hayla’s innate knack for songwriting pins her as much more than an EDM topliner, bolstering her credibility in a predominantly male-dominated scene. “It feels amazing to be earning these kinds of accolades in a male dominated genre,” says Hayla, who clinched two Electronic Dance Music Awards for “Vocalist Of The Year” and “Dance Song Of The Year” in 2024. Coming from a “band background,” Hayla’s fleshed out dance records can all be completely stripped back, an example being her 2018-released acoustic rendition of “I Need,” originally produced by UK drum-and-bass artist Wilkinson.
“Storytelling within dance music is definitely becoming a lot more prevalent. Most of the songs I write start on a piano and would work as a stripped back piece. If you removed the production from most of the tracks that I’m on, you could hear it in a wine bar, you know?”
On December 4th, Hayla will perform her first headline show at Los Angeles’ famed The Roxy Theatre. “It’s going to be a fun evening,” Hayla remarks. Attendees might expect some special arrangements of songs from Hayla’s esteemed repertoire. They also might expect the availability of exclusive vinyl copies of a certain debut album, “Yes, there might be some vinyl, potentially, for some people who turn up. I will reveal more about that soon.”
“I just can’t wait to get out there. It’s going to be a mixture of songs from the album, songs that people may have heard before, songs that I’ve released as well as some that I haven’t… I’m really excited for people to hear the new ones live, and of course I’m excited to sing along with the ones that everybody knows.”
With the release of her debut album, Hayla is postured to elevate even beyond her famous features come 2025. Buy tickets to Hayla’s upcoming headline show in LA here, listen—for the first time—to the recorded Dancing Astronaut Hayla interview here, and be sure to stream DUSK, in its entirety, below.
Categories: Music
