On August 13th GRAMMY-nominated, Gold-certified, London-based songwriter and vocalist HAYLA – perhaps best known for her collaborations with some of the biggest names in electronic music, including Kx5 (Deadmau5 and Kaskade), Kygo, and ILLENIUM – will be making her live debut in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection when she headlines Underground Arts as part of The DARK Tour. The tour, kicking off August 6th in Chicago, comes in support of DARK, HAYLA’s second full-length, which drops on July 31st and sees the artist shifting from her roots doing dance music to a brand of cinematic pop that she characterizes as “sad bitch music.” I recently got a chance to chat with HAYLA via Zoom about all of this and more, including some major shows (along with one very intimate one) that she’s already played in 2026.
*Interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Izzy Cihak: You’re gearing up to release your sophomore LP, DARK, the follow-up to DUSK, which obviously shows an evolution in your sound. So I’m curious how you think the new album compares to your debut?
HAYLA: DUSK took about three years to put together, which was a bit of a culmination of two different periods of my life. DARK is kind of an absolute point of my life. DUSK is like a collection of those three years, and then DARK has been a real pinpoint in time. Thematically, it’s got to do with a lot of grief and loss, which I didn’t anticipate and hoped it wouldn’t have happened. Stylistically, it wasn’t a forced thing. It felt like the only thing at the time I was really able to do. I suppose it was all written for the love of writing and catharsis, so it just felt very natural, even though it’s very different. But it just felt like the only thing I could put together in an authentic way.
I’m incredibly grateful for the collaborations that I’ve had, but I think my label – I’m still independent, but my label does the distribution and services and stuff – were a bit like, “Are you ever going to put an album out?” The first album was delayed because of the amazing collaborations that I’ve been involved with, but this time around I didn’t really anticipate writing an album. I had two songs that were written, maybe a year before, but then it took eight weeks to do this album.
Izzy: You’ve played a number of major festivals in the past few months. How did those dates go? What were some of the highlights or standout moments?
HAYLA: Good question! All of them I’ve absolutely loved being on stage for, but I think the one that really stands out is EDC Las Vegas, purely because it was a nice circular moment in the sense that the first time I ever really played live in the States was actually EDC with Kx5. So, to be on the Kinetic Field stage, doing my solo show, being a vocalist on my own, for me that was a really nice little circle moment and something that I think, genuinely, if you would’ve asked me if I’d be doing any of this in 2022, I’d be like, “Whaaattt?” All of the festivals have been absolutely incredible, but purely for that full circle moment, I think that I have to say that it’s EDC Las Vegas, on the main stage, on my own… which I’m still kind of processing [laughs].
Izzy: On a totally different type of show… You’ve released videos of DARK‘s three singles from your show at St Pancras Church in London, where you performed exclusively music from your new album. How was that show?
HAYLA: That was amazing! We were initially just going to have it as a content piece; the decision to have people come along was very last-minute. I really wanted to bring [this whole album] to life in a different way, a long format way. I would love to be able to say that I could take a whole string quartet and grand piano around to every single show that I’m doing, but a way to capture that and give an audience a feel for the music in that kind of way, we thought maybe we’ll do the album in the whole gig format, and do it so it’s a long form piece of content [which drops in full on August 13th, the day of the Underground Arts show] that can exist online for people to see and tap into.
When we decided to bring people to the show, it was totally free, so we just said, “If you want to come to a show, it’s brand-new music, nothing pre-released.” And there were about 250 people that turned up, friends and family as well. It was really nice, quite emotional, but kind of unexpected, even though we’d sort of planned it. But you never really know how it’s gonna go with the actual show. It was amazing to, for the first time, perform it for everybody and have people hear it for the first time. I would love to try and do that again somewhere out here… maybe one day. But, until then, we’ve managed to capture it, and I hope the people have been enjoying it so far.
Izzy: On a related note, have you had any favorite reactions to the new music?
HAYLA: I have had so many heartfelt messages from the songs that I’ve released, and it’s so interesting to me, because, like I said before, I didn’t know I was gonna write this material. I had no idea that, after everything I’ve been through, I’d have anything to give. But, in releasing this music, I’ve had people reach out and send me messages that are so personal and so close to home, how the music’s resonated with them and really helped them process things that they’ve been through themselves, whether it be loss or heartbreak.
When I first wrote those songs, I didn’t know I was gonna write them. And now people have heard them, and they’ve connected and landed emotionally with people. It makes me really pleased that it was resonating with people, really sorry that it’s resonating with people because the stories can be so difficult emotionally, but I think that music is such an amazing connector. And if I can help people feel like they’re not alone and they’ve got some sort of catharsis and connection, then I feel really good about that.
Izzy: Kind of on that note, I know that you’ve characterized your latest sounds as “sad bitch music,” so I have to ask who you consider to be the godmothers of “sad bitch music.” Where does that come from?
HAYLA: Oh my gosh! I don’t know, because I listen to so many different styles and genres of music… and melancholy’s my favorite mood [laughs], so I’ve always been entwined with listening to loads of grunge, prog rock, metal… I also love jazz. Obviously there’s a lot of heartbreak in jazz [laughs]… classical and popular music as well. I feel like it’s just something that when I was writing my music, I was like, “I’m classically not really writing extremely happy stuff” [laughs]. Even though there’s elation in that kind of emotion, a euphoric feeling from a sad song… I probably feel quite bad characterizing anyone as being a sad bitch, too [laughs].
Izzy: Next month you kick off a month-long North American Tour, which includes a stop here at Underground Arts. What can be expected of the live show?
HAYLA: For one, I’m really excited to get to Underground Arts. It’s my first-ever gig in Philly. I’ve passed through, but this will be my first time playing, so I’m so excited. I am gonna be doing some of the collaborations that I’ve done with different DJs, I’m gonna do some of my favorite songs from my last album, DUSK, and then also some of my absolute favorite songs from my new album, DARK. I’m really hoping to take the audience on a journey… to hopefully get to know me, and then to get to know the music… Or, if they know the songs already, to sing the songs at the tops of their lungs!
Izzy: As we were talking about, you’ve played a lot of major festivals. How do you like playing the kinds of nightclubs that you’ll be playing in America, compared to these huge outdoor shows?
HAYLA: I love it. To be honest, put me on stage anywhere and I just love the interaction with the audiences. And I think that sometimes being in a smaller, more intimate venue than an outdoor arena, you get more of a sense of the audience. I can’t pick my favorite way to perform, because I feel like it would be like choosing my favorite child [laughs], but being indoors in a club, I think the energy is just so infectious because it’s within the walls. I love it all, but I think that sometimes when you’re in more of an intimate setting, you can really get a feel for everybody in the room.
Izzy: Finally, what’s next for you? How are you hoping and planning to spend the rest of 2026, after these North American dates wrap?
HAYLA: I’m gonna get back in the studio and get writing. I’ve had quite a long stop gap in-between writing since writing this album. I’ve only done maybe two or three sessions in the studio, because I can’t take a breath when I know I’ve got something that I really wanna be connected to completely. So, I’ve not been going back in and distracting myself with any other music. I’m gonna go see family, I’m gonna be at home for a little bit, but I’ve got so many ideas. There may be more collaborations in the future, which I’m very excited about, just the pure creation of it. I love doing performances, it’s where I feel most myself. And I think that music is such an important thing in life. I’m so grateful to be able to say that I do this as a career. I dared to dream, but I never thought that I would, so I’m just honored to be able to do this.
*Get your tickets here.
