Image courtesy of the artist.
Crystallising a new dawn in electronic music, Glasgow-based TAAHLIAH constantly seems to challenge the idea that fun and experimental are antonyms. Her practice as a DJ and producer began with a frustration of the sounds she was hearing at parties. She took to her bedroom, creating her own edits, layering warped vocals atop hard dance tracks and morphing mainstream pop tunes into experimental club-ready anthems. These tracks met the ears of the world in her 2021 release, Angelica [released by untitled (recs)]– an autobiographical project that explores trans identity and class.
Perhaps her most iconic moment was her viral Boiler Room, where mainstream EDM met the sharpest edge of contemporary electronic music – the artist’s manifesto for the future of dance music. Her work extends beyond the club space, most notably in her one-off collaboration with the London Contemporary Orchestra at Southbank Centre.
In less than a month, TAAHLIAH will take to the stage of Sónar Festival to take us on a journey through pop infused hard dance – a moment that is bound to crystallise itself into the history of electronic dance music. It’s a performance we’re too excited for, our bodies itching with excitement. And so, to keep our ears occupied until then, we asked TAAHLIAH this: If you could only listen to 30 tracks for the rest of your life, what would they be?
Find her selection below.
Without You – Lana Del Rey
Heavenly – Cigarettes After Sex
Sun Bleached Flies – Ethel Cain
Hope There’s Someone – Antony and the Johnsons, ANOHNI
Idea June – Chanel Beads
Tears Dry On Their Own – Amy Winehouse
Talkin’ Bout a Revolution – Tracy Chapman
Him – Lily Allen
Good Luck, Babe! – Chappel Roan
ILY2 – Charlie XCX
Superstar – A. G. Cook
We Found Love – Rihanna, Calvin Harris
Butterfly – Grimes
ungirthed – Purity Ring
Babycakes – 3 Of A Kind
Nasty Girl (Full Mix) – Inaya Day
Brazil (2nd Edit) – deadmau5
Lonely Girl (Ercola Remix) – Above & Beyond
Infatuation (Lichtbogen Dreamin’ Remix) – SOPHIE
Sfire 7 – Sfire
Mequetrefe – Arca
EMOTIONS – Cashmere Cat
Greatest Hits Megamix – The Saturdays, The Alias
Do-Wah-Doo – Kate Nash
Last Days: Non Voglio Mai Vedere II Sole Tramontare – Oliver Kieth, Matt Copson, Caroline Polacheck, 12 Ensemble
Time to Say Goodbye – Katherine Jenkins
Countdown – Beyonce
Prom – SZA
In Your Room – Airiel
Champagne Coast – Blood Orange
Heaven or Las Vegas – Cocteau Twins
American Girl – Bonnie McKee
Listen to the playlist here.
Sónar 2024 returns to Barcelona from 13 to 15 June. Get your tickets here.