An Interview With The Artist INANNA On Her Newest Single ‘NEFERTITI’ And More!

Meet Inanna! This artist delivers a message of unity, femininity, and nurturing for our wounded planet via her newest single, “NEFERTITI XXI.”

With her innovative, genre-bending new project, “Where We Belong” Inanna asks the question, “If Mother Earth had a voice, what would she sing?”. The answer comes in the form of the atmospheric fusion of modern electro rock-pop and Middle Eastern influence that makes up “NEFERTITI XXI.”

The single, with its pulsating rhythm, hypnotic vocals, and luminous quality is the embodiment of feminine energy designed to bring balance and harmony into a world desperately lacking it. Written by Inanna and produced by Joshua F. Williams, it’s vibrating with electro bellydancer sounds and earth-shaking beats. On a track about living a more balanced and planet-nurturing life, she creates an energetic shift towards change with each soul-lifting chorus.

Before birthing her latest project, Inanna was the lead-singer for several Italian and Spanish bands and a solo musician since 2011. After moving to Los Angeles, she began working on a project inspired by the mythological stories of the past and the healing energies of peace and balance. Her music is inspired by a multitude of influences including artists like Bjork, Madonna and Middle Eastern stars like Natacha Atlas (Inanna is a bellydancer and Arabic culture lover).  But it was her love for nature and animals, as well as Mother Earth herself, that served as the foundation for the creation of her new sound and consequential EP, “Where We Belong”.

Connect With Inanna Online Here:

www.inannaworld.com

https://www.instagram.com/worldofinanna/

https://www.facebook.com/inannasworld/?modal=admin_todo_tour

https://twitter.com/inannasworld

Learn more about Inanna in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time today! Where does this interview find you? 

Thanks for having me! I’m in my Pasadena home, in the creative music/dance studio I set up in my garage some months ago. I love this space and this town!

Now that we are half-way through the year, how has 2019 been treating you? What are some goals that you have for yourself this year? How close are you to reaching them?

It’s been great! Inanna was born at the beginning of 2019, I made more than 12 demos, recorded 5 songs, made 1 video and started to promote and reach out. It’s been amazing to find my true calling in music: singing about the Earth, nature and animals. It’s been a whole discovery! My goals for the next months are: releasing 2 more singles and then an EP by the Fall, starting Inanna’s live sessions, make at least one more music video and connect with the community of environmentalists and animal lovers out there! I have just started, but it’s going well and I hope it will keep going like this.

Growing up, how important was music in your life? Can you recall the moment when you decided that you wanted to be a musician? Was it an easy or difficult choice to make? 

I have always been a very eclectic spirit, I always loved singing, dancing and acting, I could never live without one of these activities. Music is definitely the oldest and most solid passion: I started making songs when I was very little and never stopped till now. But only in the last few months I found the real reason why I wanted to make music and how I wanted to connect with people through music: I wanted to sing about the Earth or be a sort of “spokesperson” for the planet 😉

I don’t remember “deciding” to become a musician, as I have always been doing music, dancing, theater and film. But lately I did feel that Inanna was such a great project and so close to everything I love and I stand for, that I had to give her full attention and dedication.

Was there ever a time when you thought about doing something else? If you weren’t a musician today, what else could you see yourself doing? Would you be as fulfilled in life?

I have always oscillated between music, dance (bellydance) and acting/film career, so if I hadn’t been so involved and passionate about this new environmental project, I would probably be bellydancing, or teaching bellydance, acting or producing. I have also worked in event organization and tv-show development, I enjoy it and I am quite good at it, so I would have probably ended up working in those fields if Inanna hadn’t happened. I would probably have more stability and security in life, but I wouldn’t feel as happy and fulfilled: Inanna forces me to be who I really am, it’s like an enhanced version of me and that makes me feel very satisfied, and on the right track.

What has been the biggest surprise so far about making music your career? What has been an unexpected or welcome challenge to it all? 

The biggest surprise was that you can spend years and years trying to understand what’s your purpose with music and then…suddenly…one day…when you don’t expect it… it comes to you! Things come at the right time and when you’re ready for them, Inanna could have never happened some years ago. This was the time.

The unexpected challange: the full immersion into social media! (I always thought I didn’t like it, but I am starting to enjoy reaching out and engaging and I see its importance for musicians in these times).

Let’s talk about your newest single called “NEFERTITI XXI.” What was the inspiration for this track? How creatively involved with making the music video for the song were you? 

This track was one of the first ones I wrote, and it came pretty fast, almost like an experiment. It’s powerful and catchy, so we thought it would make a great first single, also because it shows both the environmental and the women empowerment concern, two topics very dear to Inanna. The song talks about the importance of having a female perspective in politics to take better care of our planet. Women’s nurturing and empathetic qualities are so much needed in these times to save the Earth from environmental catastrophy. The song was inspired by the famous Egyptian queen of the past, Nefertiti, representing all the women who managed to rule their world in ancient times, and summoned back to the XXI century to battle against the neglect and destruction of the planet.

How would you say that this new track compares to anything else that you have released before? 

This whole project is very new and not really comparable to what I’ve done before, as I didn’t have any Middle Eastern influences in my previous work and I didn’t work independently, but you can still definitely catch some 80s glimpses that were present in my older music too.

How does “NEFERTITI XXI” prepare listeners for your new EP, “Where We Belong”? What was it like making this collection? Did anything surprise you about the overall process? 

Nefertiti XXI is the first of a long series of environmentalist songs, it’s a good introduction to Inanna as it presents the environmentalist side, the feminine-power side and the bellydance element. All these elements will come back in the EP and the album too, where each song will be dedicated to an environmental, animalist or future-related topic.

It was surprising to see how much you can mix together ancient ethnic instruments with the most contemporary soundscapes and it all combines in something very curious and new: I loved to see that happening while I was just experimenting!

I’m curious to know how being a solo artist compares to your time in several Italian and Spanish bands? Do you find that you prefer one over the over? 

I love being in a band, but becoming a solo singer and becoming independent with production has made a big difference for me: now I am completely free to explore where my heart wants to go to, I feel free to be courageous, edgier and to shake together all my passions, something that I couldn’t have done in bands. So, even if I’ll love to play in bands again, I am really happy to work on my music alone right now.

Where can people see you perform next? Do you plan to tour at all this summer or later this year? What has been a favorite performance of yours so far? 

I will perform a couple of acoustic versions of my songs in Downtown Los Angeles with TrebleQueens in a semi-private event on July 20th, but after that we haven’t planned a tour yet. I will probably be doing some acoustic gigs in town before we plan for the full set (which will be pretty elaborate, with dance and all).

How do you think you have grown as a musician since you first started making music? 

The thing I noticed the most with the years is that I am gaining more and more courage to become who I want to be, to be closer to myself and my desires, to show who I really am. This was definitely the part I struggled with at the beginning, as I was always too influenced by other people’s ideas and opinions, I as always trying to please and to follow the easy path. It took me some time to understand which direction I wanted to take and if I was ready to bet everything on it.

What has it been like keeping up with your social media accounts and all of the different platforms? Is it hard to stay up to date on it all? What would you say is your favorite way to connect with your fans now? What has social media done for your career so far?

It’s very hard with social media, I’ve never been a super-social media fan, but I am now realizing how important it is right now to start connecting and projecting your message and image out there, so I am using them more and more. I still have a lot to learn, but I am using Instagram, more than Twitter or FB, these days to start engaging and showing my work. I haven’t started long ago, so it’s still all at the beginning and I hope to reach out to like-minded people soon.

Who are some of your favorite artists or rather, what musicians have continued to inspire you and your music? Who would you absolutely love to work with in the future? 

My favorite singer has always been Brian Molko, of Placebo. I’d love to duet with him in the future, it would mean the world to me and a dream come true, as he was such an inspiration for everything, since I was 17.

I admire Björk, Sigur Ros, Sevdaliza, Madonna, Daughter, Muse, PJ Harvey, Skunk Anansie… Lately I discovered Grandson and I like him a lot. As for the Middle Eastern side, I love Natacha Atlas, Beats Antique and Solace, it would be great to do something with them one day.

If you had an unlimited budget and your schedule was free, what would your dream music video look like?

In a breathtaking green landscape, surrounded by all kinds of wild animals (like a NatGeo documentary but with me singing around the animals!…hehe). Or…wait… no! This one: on a wonderful Malibu beach, Inanna riding a wonderful black horse (with no saddle or reins) together with a group of other 20-30 free horses gallopping on the beach. Ooooh, it gives me the chills!

What has been the coolest place/TV show/commercial that you have heard a song of yours so far? Where would you love to hear a song of yours played? 

We have just started the promotion of Nefertiti XXI but I was very happy to see it played all the way down to Australia at EatThisMusic radio and to have the video premiered by Pure Grain Audio in Canada. I can’t wait to have it played somewhere in Europe too!

At the end of the day, what do you hope people take away from your music? 

I would love them to take this: feel free to talk about what matters to you. Pick your cause and go all the way. Arts, and artists together, can create change. Poetry, music, film and art in general have the power to show, to create awareness, to bring together for a cause. Don’t be afraid to let your voice be heard, every day, every choice and every piece of art makes a big difference!

Would you like to share anything else with our readers about your music?

Yes! The next single will be called On Fire and it’s a song about deforestation, animal habitat loss and climate change. It’s another powerful song where the Middle Eastern element is more pronounced, Inanna’s style all the way. I hope you’ll like it! We don’t have a release date yet, but it will probably be in August. Keep updated through my website or social media.