An Interview with Hila
Hila 2021 @heelabee
Hila is right in the middle of forging her own path to musical stardom. With the ability to take hypothetical stories meant to be written for the privacy of a diary and transforming them into song, the Seattle-based recording artist has her heart set on making music and using it to inspire young girls who want to do the same. Inspired by the likes of Billie Eilish and Lana Del Rey, and informed by the emotions that surface out of her personal experiences, Hila’s music is the intersection between dance-pop and some of today’s most honest songwriting to come out of up-and-coming young artists.
Hila’s latest single, “Did You Forget Again” is a track that takes a look back at the overwhelming devastation that comes with being let down. Through saddened poetry and heartbroken armor, Hila uses her songwriting to tell the story of a promise that fell through, while simultaneously masking her pain with the enticing energy of a glowing bedroom pop aesthetic. More introspective and artistic than audiences who don’t know her creative processes might think, Hila’s new song proves she’s just at the beginning of a promising path in music.
With over 100,000 music streams, Hila is more ready than ever to be the truthful artist she’s always aimed to be. “Did You Forget Again” is a captivating single born out of the artist’s emotional epiphanies, heartbreak healing, and creative breakthroughs during lockdown.
Hila chatted with Amplify Her Voice about the story behind her latest single, the difficulties she faces as a woman in music, and what she has in store next.
Hi, Hila! Thanks for speaking with us! How has the past year been for your creative or songwriting process?
Thanks for having me! It’s honestly been such a crazy year for my musical growth. Eight months ago I had one song out that I hated. I had all these song ideas that I had written but hadn’t been released yet. And in these last 8 months, I was able to get those finally out! I usually like to freestyle the songs I come up with, and not come back to them to re-edit, but with my newer music, I’ve learned to be able to force myself to come back and reword and rewrite. It’s pushed me creatively to be able to think of different ways of saying certain lyrics, instead of the first most basic thing that comes to mind.
“Did You Forget Again” is such a great song. What’s the inspiration behind it?
Thank you! The funny thing about this song is even though it sounds like a happy song, the original recording I did of this on my iPad is me crying my eyes out. There was a person in my life at the time who I really wanted to spend time with, and they made me feel really neglected all the time. I remember they promised me that we would spend at least one summer day having fun together. Then the end of August came around and they hadn’t followed through on their promise, and I was just super crushed. I realized I had been so hopeful for something so small from someone who it felt like didn’t care. So the song is pretty much following the timeline of me being hopeful at the beginning of the song that I’ll get to see this person. Then it slowly transitions to me kinda begging almost, up to the bridge when I realize this person isn’t coming. The end is me finally realizing they haven’t shown up and summer is almost over, but despite them letting me down there's still a part of me that is questioning, maybe, just maybe, they might care and show up at the last minute.
Who are some female artists that have influenced your sound or songwriting?
Oh shoot, I have so many artists I look up to. I try really hard to not replicate too much of who I look up to because I want to explore my own sound, but I would definitely say I’m inspired by Billie Eilish and Lana Del Rey. If their sounds came together to mold into one person, that sound would be my inspiration.
Hila 2021 @heelabee
When it comes to songwriting, do you have any advice for overcoming creative blocks?
YES!!! So if you get into a creative block, as cheesy as it sounds, firstly take a step back and take a break. Come back when you’re in the mood. Sometimes even listening to a bunch of YouTube beats and imagining different scenarios to write about depending on how the beat makes you feel, helps. Another trick is to write down a line and then come up with different ways to express that line. You can take the line “I went to the park,” and write it in a bunch of different styles. One can be visual “Where I walked, the grass was green and the swings were empty.” Another can be written in a conversational way, and in an emotional perspective, and so forth.
What is your favorite part about being a musician?
The fact that people listen to my music from around the world and emotionally connect to it. I just think that’s so cool. Sometimes people will message me and relate my song to something they felt or experienced, or what the song meant to them. It’s so interesting because people interpret music and the message so differently from how I wrote it. I love getting to actually see that feedback. Knowing that people even relate to it at all, in general, makes me all mushy and happy inside because I feel less lonely with my emotions like there's a whole community of people who feel what I feel and we’re in this together.
Hila 2021 @heelabee
“Did You Forget Again” has a completely different vibe than your last single, “Find Me Somewhere Else,” though they do have similar sounds. Is there a connection between the two songs, or are they both two separate stories?
I want to say they are connected because they were both written when I was going through something sad, but honestly, they are two separate stories. FMSE I wrote super last minute. My manager was trying to push me to write more and I had promised him I was going to write at least one full song by a certain day. I procrastinated badly because I felt so uninspired, and then the night before I sat down and made FMSE. My friends ended up really liking the song so I ended up turning it into a real one. FMSE is about a girl who appears perfect on the outside and has a lot of outside perceptions made about her, but A. she's very broken on the inside (though no one sees it) B. she's not even aware of these outside perceptions because she lives in her own imagination or world. She escapes to her fantasies because the real world feels too painful for her. This theme is also what brought me to the idea of writing this song in an Alice in Wonderland kinda style, and DYFG is more of a nostalgic bedroom pop vibe with a completely different message. FMSE wasn’t written in my perspective necessarily, but DYFG was.
What has your experience as a young woman in the music industry been like? Have there been times you felt as though opportunities were being blocked for you because of gender? If so, how do you decide to push through it and keep making art?
Sadly yes. I have felt a sort of disadvantage in my personal experience. A lot of people don’t take me seriously when it comes to being a professional female artist. I’ve noticed people tend to take it more seriously when my male manager talks to them and sets up the meetings. Another frustrating thing is I’ll have people reach out to me pretending they want to talk about or do something music-related, but then their true intentions eventually show. I find out they are just trying to pursue something romantic with me. My male artist friends always tell me they don’t have to worry about people’s intentions when they get reached out to about anything music-related because it always is seriously music-related. I get bummed out because I’ll get mentally excited about talking or doing music with someone just for them to try something else. So it’s frustrating never knowing what to expect. What keeps me pushing though are the listeners, remembering I’m making music so people don’t feel alone. Knowing that with time if I keep creating hopefully people will respect what I do over what they want from me beyond that.
Do you find that social media helps you inform your artistry (helps your audience know who you are) or do you prefer being offline and experiencing moments in person?
As much as social media makes me insanely anxious, I think it helps me connect with the audience. I know I personally enjoy music way more when I feel connected to the person making it. So getting to talk to the listeners and engaging with people online makes the music much more personable to them. Social media has changed the world so much. It’s like a mini visual to the music you make. Plus I don’t want to be a blank face behind the music. I like sharing more personal stuff and getting to be myself on social media in ways the music can’t speak for or convey.
Hila 2021 @heelabee
You’ve said that you want to inspire people to follow their own dreams. What advice do you have for young women who are aspiring to be musicians?
A lot of people will doubt you, and they won’t take you seriously but keep going. You might feel super lost on where to start or even begin, you might have people who don’t want to help you. But I promise on your own things will slowly fall into place. You don’t need a fancy set up or a bunch of money to make music. Don’t expect your first few songs you make to be perfect, even if you release music you aren't super proud of just remember you will grow and get better. I want to help other young aspiring women musicians so I’m always open to answering questions in my inbox when I can!
What can you tell us about your future plans for upcoming Hila music?
Oh, there’s so much! I’m aiming to start making music videos for my song. I don’t know the timeline for this yet but I’m working on it! I’ll definitely be releasing more singles before this year ends. Maybe 2 or 3! You will get to see me finally gear towards the darker and sadder tone music I’ve been really wanting to make. Who knows, I might even experiment with different sounds and styles. My next single that I’ll be releasing sometime in October - most likely - might actually be my favorite song so far. Can’t wait to share it with you guys!