Fans Of This Local Singer Love Her Music 'Cause It Makes Them Dance & Cry At The Same Time
Catch her on the first day of Good Vibes Festival, 21st July!
By Jia Vern Tham — 04 Jun 2018, 07:15 PM
Nadira Diah, also known as Lunadira, is a barista by day and a songstress by night
Lunadira told SAYS that her job helped her to convince her "uninterested" parents about her passion for music.
"(They told me to) just do it as a side job, like, write jingles or perform at bars," she recalled, which made her determined to prove her parents wrong.
"The fact that I have a job now, my dad's stopped pushing me to get out of the house," the songstress laughed.
Song covers are common these days. However, very few do it like Lunadira, who puts her own spin to it, like her cover of Blink-182's 'All The Small Things':
"I add vocal layers to my covers," she said of her melancholic and mellow singing.
Lunadira also thinks other Malaysians who make covers as well don't invest enough time to make it sound like theirs.
"It's more like a minus one," she said.
After getting a ukulele, the 24-year-old started writing her own songs too
"I used to love rhyming words, so I would have a notebook filled with short poems," Lunadira recalled about her childhood before getting a ukulele at 16 years old.
She then decided to turn her writings into songs, which led to a joyful track titled 'XL Socks'.
"I was imagining myself as a guy, and how it would be like if I were to date someone," she told SAYS.
The short song that’s only 1:15 long made us hit the Replay button after we realised there was a cheeky cliffhanger at the end:
However, being joyful isn't really what Lunadira is all about in her songs
Lunadira described her music as a blend of 2000s R&B with lyrical influences from Daughter, an English indie folk band, and Frank Ocean, an American alternative R&B artist.
When asked how she would describe her sound to people who haven't heard her music, she coined the term "sad groovy".
"People told me that my type of music is the type they can dance (and) cry to at the same time," she said, before stressing on the connection she forged with people through her songs.
"They tell me, 'oh my God your song has gotten me through a lot', and I genuinely feel their pain," the songstress added.
"It made me realise that I have to keep doing this. Human connection is something that I live for," she emphasised.
Lunadira's unique blend of "sad and groovy" was channeled through her new single, 'Stuck With You'
After eight years of songwriting, Lunadira told SAYS that 'Stuck With You' is the only song that wasn't written based on her personal experience.
"Harith (Lunadira's producer) had a track, and I caught a vibe about unrequited love," she said.
"Source (of the song) was my best friend. There was a time she'd call me everyday complaining about a guy she was seeing who was unsure about their relationship," she added.
Lunadira will be taking the stage on the first day of Good Vibes Festival 2018, happening on 21 and 22 July
She will be performing alongside Lorde, The Neighbourhood, Majid Jordan and more at The Ranch @ Gohtong Jaya, Genting Highlands.
This feature is part of the #saysplaylist series, providing your playlist with a breath of fresh Malaysian air.
If you have any Malaysian bands, singers or songs that you think we should feature, let us know in the comments below!