Nadia Kazmi doesn’t need much of an introduction. She’s a fiercely independent singer and songwriter with a voice as strong as her beliefs. For years, she’s been creating music that blends honesty, poetic lyrics, and bold sonic experimentation.
Her sound is hard to put in a box. It’s inspired by the emotional power of ’70s rock legends like David Bowie and Kate Bush, but with a modern and socially aware edge. With a track record of success, Kazmi has shown she’s a storyteller with an important message to convey.
Her latest single, The War Inside, is a powerful and emotional return. Written during a deeply personal time after losing a loved one, the song explores the inner battles that many of us face: self-doubt, perfectionism, procrastination, and the fear of both failing and succeeding. As Kazmi shares in this interview, the song isn’t just about conflict—it’s about facing it, accepting it, and encouraging others to look at the truths we often try to hide.
Nadia, thank you for sharing this interview with us. It’s an honor. Let’s start with your new single, “The War Inside,” which feels like a powerful comeback. What’s the song about, and what personal emotions or experiences inspired it?
Thank you for having me, truly. The War Inside is a very personal piece. It came from a moment where I was reckoning with dualities in myself—the struggle all creative people feel when they pursue their passions, between the fear of failure or even success, and the desire to express their creativity. I think we all use distractions to avoid doing the very thing that will fulfill us because we are afraid of trying and failing. It’s easier to watch a show or use the many screens in our lives to keep our minds occupied, even though there’s that nagging feeling beneath the surface that we should be doing more important or fulfilling things with our time on earth. Procrastination is a tool to avoid ourselves and our fears and the need for perfection in our passions. This song is a kind of exorcism, but also an embrace. It’s about owning your contradictions so you can live a more fearless existence and pursue your passion, for me, that’s music. I was inspired by the book The War of Art, which encapsulates the artist’s struggle.
Were there any particular challenges in creating “The War Inside”—whether in writing, recording, or production?
Definitely. Emotionally, it took a toll. My father died while I was working on the song, so I shelved this song for a couple years and came back to it this year. It was a struggle to pick it up and finish it with different people than I had started it with. So this song is definitely a collaboration with different producers and engineers at a few studios. I didn’t want to write a song that just sounded powerful—I wanted it to feel like it took off like a band of horses in the choruses, so I wanted the feeling of galloping. That is why the chorus changes feeling rhythmically.
How would you describe your artistic growth from your early work to now?
In the beginning, I think I was still looking for my voice—there were moments of honesty, but also moments of performance. Now I write without armor, but I still love my metaphors. I’ve stopped trying to fit genres or expectations. I’ve let go of needing to be palatable or polished. And ironically, I think that’s made the work stronger and more resonant. It’s still evolving, but the core now is unflinchingly mine.
You’re clearly someone who stands strongly for meaningful causes. Does that influence your music in any way?
It influences everything. I sometimes write protest songs in the traditional sense, but I believe art is inherently political if it’s honest, so I write a lot of songs that aren’t obviously political but have many interpretations. For example, the song Mother is about our earth dying, but can be interpreted more literally as a song about a man asking for forgiveness for killing his brother. My music isn’t about preaching—it’s about sharing real emotions, especially the ones we’re often told to hide. I think that in itself challenges a lot, and the end goal is expression, but also for people to relate to, and bring us together.
After this single, another is coming in July and an EP in 2026. Can you give us a sneak peek into this next chapter of your music?
Yes, and I’m looking forward to new music and the next chapter. The next single feels more political than The War Inside—more about the outer world and less about our inner worlds. I think the current climate needs that, but also that is what has been on my mind the last couple of years, so that’s what is coming out in the songwriting. The upcoming EP, which we’re planning for early 2026, is shaping into a journey through light and shadow. It blends organic instrumentation with synths in a way that feels new for me. Lyrically, it leans into the idea of survival, not just physically but emotionally and spiritually. It’s raw, but there’s beauty in that unraveling.
You’ve got shows lined up in NYC, Mexico City, and Europe. What do you hope fans take away from your live performances with this new material?
I hope they feel seen because they see themselves in the songs, and the performances bring those songs to life. For me, it’s always about songs first, and everything else is in service to the songs. I have suffered from a lot of stage fright in my life, and I’ve been able to overcome that to a great extent, but I can still have panic moments and completely mess up somehow if I get nervous. I power through it instead of avoiding performance because I truly believe the live performance is the catharsis I need to finish the expression of the song itself. It’s the culmination of the artistic expression to bring the songs to life and breathe. My live shows are like rituals to me—intimate, messy, alive. I don’t perform to impress; I perform to connect. I want people to walk away feeling like they truly understand what each song performed means to them. That’s what the best concerts I attend make me feel about the performance.
Lastly, what message or feeling do you want listeners to walk away with after hearing “The War Inside”?
I want them to feel braver in their own chaos and know that we are all going through this struggle to follow our passions. I hold a lot of guilt for knowing what my passion is but avoiding the work because of the fear that it won’t be good enough or that I’ll fail. Not everyone knows their life’s purpose or what gives their life meaning. That is a beautiful thing, but it is a great responsibility not to squander it. Sometimes that comes with fear, guilt, and a heavy burden. If you simply get up and do it, the fears fall away like grains of sand. This song doesn’t offer a solution—it’s a mirror. If someone hears it and thinks, “I’m not the only one feeling like this,” then that’s beautiful, but the song is my own catharsis; that’s why I write. Vulnerability can be radical. And sometimes, the act of simply naming the war is a form of peace.
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