Caroline Chang
Nostalgix doesn’t fit neatly into any box, and she never has. Born in Iran, raised in Canada, and now carving out serious real estate in the American dance music landscape, the DJ and producer has spent the last few years doing exactly what nobody told her she could: taking up space, making noise, and turning personal fire into a dancefloor experience.
Her debut album Inferno, out March 27 on Monstercat, is the cathartic record of that journey. We sat down with her at Alana’s Coffee Roasters in West Hollywood to talk about where she came from, what she’s burning down, and what she’s building next.
Nostalgix (Photo: Tessa Paisan @tessapaisan)
LA Weekly: For readers who might be discovering you for the first time, tell us a bit about your story — growing up in Iran, moving to Canada, and eventually landing here in Los Angeles, making dance music.
Nostalgix: I was born in Iran and moved to Canada with my family when I was seven. I grew up loving art and always saw myself as a creative person. I was constantly trying and making different things. But growing up as an Iranian girl, that was never really a path that felt available to me. It’s just not something that’s accepted in that part of the world. So living in Canada, I really got to step into those parts of myself and learn to accept them.
I fell in love with dance music in 2016, my final year of high school. I started saving up all my money to go to festivals. I went to Tomorrowland, EDC, Ultra Music Festival, all by myself. I was on this path of just wanting to learn more and more about it, and the community just completely pulled me in. Eventually, I moved to Los Angeles in 2021, right after COVID, to pursue music and touring. It’s been go, go, go ever since.
I also got into dance music originally going to festivals alone, and now when I tell people that, they think it’s absolutely insane, but I was always so intrigued.
That’s the thing, I’ve always been just such a big fan, and I think my love for dance music is what drove me to become an artist.
Right, when something draws you in that hard, you have to —
Lean in.
You have to.
I honestly think that’s the reason I have a career. I’ve always just followed my heart and what feels right. With life, everything is so unpredictable, and you don’t know what direction you’re supposed to go or how things will unfold but I think the best thing that you can do is follow your heart. I’ve done that, always leaned into what I’m passionate about, and it’s led me here.
I love that. I really believe in doing the things that feel right, putting good energy and good work behind them, and then just trusting.
Yeah, trust the process. I’m the same way.
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“Inferno” album cover (Courtesy of Nostalgix)
LA Weekly: So your debut album Inferno came out March 27th — congratulations, by the way — tell us how the record came to be and what inspired it.
Nostalgix: I started developing the concept about a year and a half ago. I’m an Iranian girl who moved to Canada and then moved to America by herself to follow her dreams. I’ve been touring since 2021. For years, I’ve been moving through the world alone, figuring everything out as I go. I’ve lived so many different versions of myself in that time. I’ve grown, I’ve changed, and I’ve had to let go of a lot of things I loved and cared about to stay on the path I’m on. The album is really about that — release and rebirth. It’s about falling down, burning everything around you, and starting over. That’s been the most persistent theme in my life. I keep reaching these points where I have to rebuild, and I keep getting back up.
I wrote down the lyric “To become the person I want. I must let go of who I was and all I’ve known.” What do you feel like you’re burning or releasing with this record?
It’s more about acknowledging what no longer serves you, letting that go, and then leaning into what’s next. The first song “Holy” is about being in love and not wanting to let go, but as you move through the album, you can feel that shift. You can’t always hold onto everything you want. The record captures different versions of me and follows the common thread of having to release all of them.
I’m trying to remember a quote specifically about getting rid of the things in your past life to make room for the new things that are coming…
“Your new life is going to cost you your old one.”
Yes, exactly, that’s the one.
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Nostalgix (Photo: Tessa Paisan @tessapaisan)
LA Weekly: You’ve described your Iranian heritage as one of the most important parts of who you are. You’re releasing this album about empowerment and rebirth during a really turbulent moment in Iran’s modern history. What is that like?
Nostalgix: It’s very hard. A lot of my family is in Iran and I’m watching what’s happening in real time. It’s heartbreaking. But I’m very hopeful. Iranian people are some of the warmest, most incredible people you’ll ever meet, and they deserve the best. I’m hopeful that positive change will come.
I know Iranian women have been at the forefront of the resistance movement in a very powerful, courageous way. Do you feel that spirit living within you?
Absolutely. Growing up in Iran, I was suppressed. It took me a long time to find my voice, to believe that I was allowed to go after what I wanted — that I could have a big impact, help people, take up space. That wasn’t the norm I was raised in. So being where I am now, actually having a platform, it means a lot to me to lift other people up and speak up. I feel like I’m representing a group of people that’s not commonly heard, and I want to be impactful in that.
I love to see talented women take up space in this industry, and I’ve really noticed you over the years as such a strong female presence in dance music, so it’s a real treat to get to talk to you today. Thank you.
Thanks, that means a lot. Being an Iranian woman in dance music, a space that’s still overwhelmingly male, gives me even more drive to put out the best art and shows I possibly can. I want to use my voice in a strong and impactful way.
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Next up: Nostalgix plays Academy in Los Angeles this Friday, May 1, then closes out the Inferno tour at EDC Las Vegas — the festival where her love for all of this began, and a fitting place to land after everything she’s burned down to get here.
Follow Nostalgix on Instagram @nostalgixmusic.