The most intriguing pop artist working now has never been signed to a major label.
Her spectral trip-hop incantations are a departure from the maximalist, four-on-the-floorBratbops ripping through the internet.
And yet, her songs have beguiled listeners and scaled the charts in 50 countries and counting.
Photo: Gabriel René
I did a lot of soul-searching within my music, the 37-year-old tellsVogue.
I built a fanbase worldwide.
And I feel like Im ready for the US.
Photo: Gabriel René
There were a lot of different artists staying where I was, Sevdaliza recalls.
There was always someone screaming!
Im Persian, she says.
But we have the same intensity and passions [as Latinas]…and we have the same problems.
There is a lot of misogyny, a lot of oppression.
There is a lot of corruption in the government.
I understand all these layers.
I think I was severely traumatized because I dont really remember [Iran], she says.
My mom tells me that I was crying all the time when I was in the Netherlands.
I was crying every time they left.
I was crying when the news came on.
To me, that just sounds like trauma.
We were [one of the] only immigrant families where I grew up, she says.
I experienced heavy racism.
I didnt really have anyone around [who] looked like me, or thought like me.
I felt like an alien.
But I dont blame my parents, she adds.
My parents actually gave me the opportunity to have this life.
If not, I would probably be in prison, or dead.
Im very, very outspoken.
I didnt really know I was queer until I started to make my art, she explains.
Being pregnant made me think outside of the box, she says.
(Sevdaliza would receive 50% of royalties from any published tracks.)
Other experiments, particularly with genre, emerged after giving birth to her child in 2021.
The conversation between me and my body is part of my journey in art, Sevdaliza says.
Before, I was more destructive with myself.
I always had problems with body image.
I was creating the most heart-wrenching, darkest art out of that place.
So I have to take care of myself.
And Im not used to taking care of myself.
Im used to hustling, struggling, suffering.
I really embraced Latin culture, and Latin culture embraced me, says Sevdaliza.
It was through her Spanish language studies that she happened upon the song Rosa (Que Linda Eres).
a Cuban son standard interpreted by Colombian artists Magin Diaz, Carlos Vives, and Toto la Momposina.
She trimmed the chorus of the song into a sample, which then served as the skeleton for Alibi.
It wasnt this premeditated thing, Sevdaliza says of continuing to record with Latinx artists.
Like the Persian language, I think Spanish and Portuguese have massive potential poeticism.
Its rooted in the culture.
And Brazilian pop powerhouse Anitta loved Alibi so much, she ended upon the remix.
(I just love her strong feminine energy, Sevdaliza says of Anitta.
I love when women own their entire being.
Shes amazing in that way.)
The success of Alibi prompted an artistic and personal paradigm shift for Sevdaliza.
Especially amongst women and queer people, oppressed people.
Alibi is a celebration of that.
I played her the demo of No Me Cansare and we [started] crying really quick.
Ive never made the music thats gonna be on my next record, Sevdaliza promises.
Its gonna be a life-changing year.
