At the end of last month, Swedish-Iranian artist Natali Noor dropped her fantastic new single 'Policeman'.
With such a bold and exciting sound that dabbled with dancehall, pop, and alternative influences throughout, we just had to know where she got her inspiration from.
So we sat down with her to find out what five songs have most influenced her on her journey so far.
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M.I.A - Paper Planes
This song is so catchy and it has so many layers. The lyrics satirise the negative stereotypes about immigrants. The production is colourful but also provocative, with gunshot sound effects and ka-chinging cash registers. MTV even censored the gunshots, but they are in the production to support her thoughts and her experiences as a refugee, not to glamorise war. I don’t even know if it counts as a pop, hiphop, indie or dance song - it’s genre-bending and I’m all about that.
Robyn - Don’t Fucking Tell Me What To Do
This song is so liberating to me. This is exactly how I feel during PMS, or after putting too much work on myself. The beat and the lyrics is timeless. It’s dance music with an attitude. I love the direct lyrics, no bullshit, just naming all the things that are killing you. When those lines goes into ‘’Don’t fucking tell me what to do!’’ I just wanna scream. When I was little and heard it for the first time, I got both scared and very excited. It has left an imprint on me for sure.
Christina Aguilera - Dirrty
I only have one word for this song and music video - ICONIC. This was the WAP of the 2000’s and way ahead of it’s time. It’s not just a sexy song, it’s about liberation from expectations, and embracing your dark side.
When everyone expected her to just be a cute girl singing beautiful songs, she released this one and shocked the world. The power in her voice is incredible. Growing up, X-tina has been my biggest inspiration which you might hear in my song Policeman.
Troyboi - Do You?
When I heard the song for the first time I got the stank face. It’s simple yet so genius. The oriental sample with the bassline really makes my heart beat a little faster. I get really inspired by his productions. And don’t get me started on the music video. Just do some self care and watch it.
Lolo Zouaï - Desert Rose
I can really relate to this artist, because she’s also bilingual like I am - she has a french mother and an Algerian father. I’m born to a Swedish father and an Iranian mother. This song sounds very sexy but it is about her family trauma and religious differences. Growing up with different cultures, sometimes you feel like you don’t fit in anywhere. In this song, she is mixing English and Arabic, which unifies and celebrates both cultures in a beautiful way.
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Natali Noor's new single 'Policeman' is out now. Check out the brilliant new video for it below.
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