Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nathalia. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Nathalia, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Our latest album Mil Colores feels like the most meaningful project at this time. Brian, my husband, co-writer/producer and I have been documenting our multicultural family and parenting experience in songs since 2012 when we released our first album. Mil Colores was created in the middle of the pandemic, when all our gigs and music contracts stopped, when we uprooted our family and moved across the country because the going got tough. The album feels like our hearts pouring out in each song as we try to encourage children to seize the day, remind them to find inspiration in the tiniest of things, to use their voices and through all that I feel we were modeling for our own children the fact that even through hard times we will never stop creating. We move forward, every time.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am originally from Barranquilla, a beautiful coastal city in Colombia, known for it’s Caranaval and joyous people. I moved to the United States to study Music Therapy at the Berklee College of Music where I met Brian who was a Jazz Performance major at that time. As working musicians we’ve worn many hats but we’ve been lucky to continue making music throughout. We moved to Los Angeles where I began working as a music therapist and early childhood educator. I would later received a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University and create an early childhood music program. When our children were born I began writing songs as a way to share my Colombian roots and language with my children. I never imagined these songs would turn into full length albums nor that I would be performing my songs for children and families internationally! I consider my bilingual approach to songwriting a reflection of our multicultural family, spanglish is our language. I’ve been lucky enough to have incredibly talented musicians and Grammy Award winners be a part of our albums. We enjoy the process of writing songs, producing, recording and being able to play our original songs to families all around that find themselves reflected in the stories we sing about.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

The arts and music are necessary in our lives, we can’t live without them, yet somehow they are often undervalued in society. What society as a whole can do to support artists and sustain a thriving creative ecosystem is very simple, show up to concerts and art exhibits. Most importantly, buy/purchase the music and artwork. Hire live musicians for events, share their music online, subscribe to their online platforms, promote them on social media. Do not request artists to work for free or for exposure, art/music is not our hobby, it’s our livelihood, our career.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

The journey as a creative is not easy, it’s an ongoing hustle. We believe in the work we are doing, we believe in our product and most of the time enjoy the process of creating it. But the truth is many times we feel uninspired, disappointed and at times loose faith or hope in our work, sometimes we do wonder why we keep at it. The music industry has gotten harder as years go by. It’s not just about creating the music, producing and recording. We are our own booking agents and marketing team, we send email after email, many go unanswered. We spend months and years creating an album that we’ve funded ourselves paying each musician and artist involved because we value their talent, all to receive pennies/cents from streaming services. What drives us? what drives me? The mom that puts her child to sleep with my song; the child that tells me her parents/grandparents also speak Spanish; the child that tells me they learned Spanish singing my songs; the teachers that share how they use my songs in class; the parents that tell me my songs have been the soundtrack to their children’s life; each and every family that shows up to our concerts and sings along.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.nathaliamusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nathaliamusica
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nathaliamusica/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathaliapalis/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/nathaliamusica
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NathaliaMusica
• Other: https://nathalia.bandcamp.com

Image Credits
Joanne Leung Photography Album Art: MandalaMandalaMx