A Big City Died

## Interview

### Text

**Cedar:** Let’s start with how you became Natalia Kills. You were a successful actress and rapper before Will.i.am. signed you, right? How did he find out about you, and how have you gotten to where you are now – touring with someone as amazing as Robyn?

**Natalia Kills:** When I was a child I did some acting, because I knew I wanted to be a performer of some sort, so I thought that’s what I wanted to be. Growing up in England, the music industry is not exactly the same as it is over in the States. So I thought, you know, acting would be the best thing to do. After I had my first few experiences of being on a big screen with a big film crew – I was on a series for a few years – I realized that it actually wasn’t the kind of performing I wanted to do long term. It wasn’t creative enough; I was always wishing I could have been more involved than just playing a character. I realized that I wanted to be more expressive and creative. I didn’t want to just be reading lines and be the creation. I wanted to be the creator as well. I had been writing some songs, and they had been put in some films and TV shows in America, like Entourage. I decided to make my own demo, and yeah, originally when I made the demo it was almost like rap. It was very commercial, the same sound is now, but almost spoken more like the Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha sound where it’s still pop music, but it’s more like spoken-rappy sounding. So I made the demo, and I put it on MySpace, and Perez Hilton actually discovered it, and blogged about it. And suddenly I had like two million plays, which was crazy! So I got on a plane from London to Hollywood, and I met so many record labels, producers, and even artists that wanted to sign their own artist. It wasn’t until I met Will.i.am that I realized *this* is the person I want to work with and learn from.

**Cedar:** So since then, has the concept of your work changed at all, or at least the way YOU see it?

**Natalia Kills:** When I got signed, the name of my demo and the concept was literally almost the same as my album now. I took it as an opportunity to expand on what I was already doing, but also to find a way to make it more stylistically how I wanted it to be. When I first started making music, I came with a much lighter sound, because obviously I didn’t want to be immediately deemed depressing or emo, you know. I really just had the opportunity to be as brave and as confrontational with my music as I wanted to be – to show different shades and different sides of myself. My sound has become even *more* confrontational and *more* aggressive than it was before, but the concept is still the same.

**Cedar:** Definitely. My next question is something you’ve been asked a lot before, but what has it been like to work with top-notch producers like Jeff Bhasker, Akon, Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, and Will.i.am? Is it kind of surreal, and have you gotten any great advice from them?

**Natalia Kills:** Yeah, it’s been really amazing. It’s just nice to work with people who are open to *really* collaborate with you. A really good producer doesn’t just give you a beat, and says, “You’re lucky to be on my song.” He doesn’t impose his sound on you. Really good producers basically enhance and develop the sounds that you already come with. It’s been a really nice surprise and a great experience.

**Cedar:** For sure. And as far as the *Love Kills* episodes, at what point did you decide to make film scored with your songs? Do you have more episodes or other series planned for the future?

**Natalia Kills:** Actually yeah, you know, I’ve used everything I learned from being on a set for a few years and watching the director direct. I did miss that side of things, and I wanted to find a way to do that myself and to *really* find a creative way for my early fans to get to know me. It’s where I put down all my dreams, nightmares, inspirations, and thoughts that cross my mind. I thought to do three-minute visuals put out once a week. Whoever inspires me from Hitchcock and Tarentino, let me include all of those inspirations to create a distinctive style. Then I decided to put myself in it reacting to all of these situations with my music so you get submerged with my musical style as well.

> **Me being me and in my mind is exactly what you’re watching.** It’s like a backstage pass to my imagination.
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**Cedar:** Definitely, that’s awesome, thank you for sharing that! So I saw you perform at Club Nokia with Robyn, and I was actually taking photos of you the whole time, and it was AMAZING. I felt like I didn’t even have to try, because you have that perfectionist look in your eye. Like every move you’re doing, you really *do*. Just from that show, you have your two dancers, at one point you have an axe when you’re next to the DJ, and all the lighting was red. I just feel like that was so intentional, and I wanted to know if you could explain that for people who are going to see you live.

**Natalia Kills:** Thank you so much, that’s really crazy, and I’m glad you noticed all those things! About the axe, more of it will actually be revealed in the “Mirrors” video, which comes out next week. People will see what that’s about, but you know, when I was a little girl, all I wanted to do when I grew up was to be in a bad bitch girl gang – like in [the movies] *Sin City* and *The Warriors* (there’s a girl gang in that called the Lizzie’s who wear trench coats). I really, really wanted to have this mysterious element mixed with empowerment, and I had a lot of fun. I worked with Laurieann Gibson on the live show deciding what all the moves should be, and then I went out on my own to pick out all the outfits and find the trench coats. Buying axes, handcuffs, and stuff was so much fun. I’m really, really glad that you noticed all of those things.

**Cedar:** Definitely, and this is more of a specific question about the show, too. You perform the song “Free,” which is definitely a lot more upbeat compared to like “Zombie” or “Mirrors.” I was just curious if you wrote that song at any particular time of your life, like when you were “stretching that dollar bill” or just to relate to people wanting to be stylish on a low budget?

**Natalia Kills:** [Natalia laughs] Actually when I wrote that song, I was still a waitress, and I basically just wanted to celebrate my brokeness, you know.

> The minute I got paid, I would go out and buy something that would make me feel better about my broke-ass life, but make me look the absolute opposite. I think that everyone should celebrate those times as well. **Times of trouble make you more creative, and they make you try harder to succeed.**
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I definitely wanted to make a song that sounded a bit more joyful than “Zombie,” but still has that honesty and confrontation that the other songs have.

**Cedar:** Yeah, definitely. So you already talked about the “Mirrors” video, and we saw the preview as of Sunday night. It looks like it’s going to be really scary and really sexy all at once! Can you tell us anything else we can expect?

**Natalia Kills:** I mean it will be out in a few days so I don’t want to ruin any surprises, but, you know, people have described my music as “dark pop,” and now they’re saying it’s “revenge pop,” and now it’s turning into “axe-wielding pop.” I’m definitely enjoying seeing people make up their own minds about it. When the full video comes out, I’m *really* excited to see what people say.

**Cedar:** Cool, so you’re just wrapping up the tour tonight with Robyn. What was it like to tour with someone as incredible as her, and is there anyone that you would secretly love to tour with or collaborate with in the future?

**Natalia Kills:** Oh my god, it was really an amazing experience. I’ve been a fan of Robyn since I was 16 actually, and in the U.K. she’s always had a really strong following. It’s amazing a) to be label mates with her and b) getting to *really* know her on the tour. After all the shows, I go into the audience and watch the show and sing along. She’s so nice, so it’s been a really amazing experience, and I’m excited to see what comes next. I’m really enjoying opening for someone, because you get to play to someone else’s fan base – not just to convert their fans, but get a really good opinion of yourself. Obviously Robyn’s music is incredible, so all of her fans have very good taste and high expectations for entertainment. To see such a good response for my show is a big boost for me, so I’d love to definitely continue opening for people, a powerful female would be great, maybe next could be La Roux or Nicki Minaj.

**Cedar:** Awesome, so my last question to wrap it up – what comes next? Do you have a release date, will there be more touring, what else besides the “Mirrors” video in a few days?

**Natalia Kills:** The “Mirrors” video is coming out in a few days, and obviously that’s the next thing. I’ll have more shows coming up, and my album comes out in February or March, which is only twelve weeks from now. I’m making another video, and then hopefully the second season of my show *Loves Kills* will be ready soon, and I’ll be releasing an episode every week. **So basically, no sleep until 2013!**

### Missing Images

* 4936934865\_ec806e86f4\_o.jpg (Alternative title = natalia kills)
* nataliakillssmall.jpg
* nataliakillskesh1.jpg

## Photos from Performance at Club Nokia

A Big City Died published 35 photos from Kills' performance at Club Nokia on November 17, 2010. One photo is lost. Around 300 pictures were taken.

### Credits

* Photography: Cedar Pasori
* Interview: Cedar Pasori

## References

1. ↑ "RT @NataliaKills: NataliaKills.com: Natalia Kills Interview with ABigCityDied.com http://bit.ly/hZX0eE #NataliaKills" November 29, 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2021 via @CherrytreeRec on Twitter.
2. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20110407091820/http://www.abigcitydied.com/nataliakills/