Release Date: out now
Download/Stream Link: https://bfan.link/holla-at-me
House music icon and multi-faceted music artist Raphaella is back and better than ever with her latest solo release, “Holla At Me,” a club-ready deep house anthem with elements of tech house weaved in.
With a whole host of star-studded collaborations under her belt already, writer, producer and vocal specialist Raphaella presents her first fully solo production “Holla At Me,” to announce her return! With a steady momentum behind her already this year from releases like “Allo Allo” with Martin Solveig and “Hide & Seek” with Nightlapse, Raphaella aims to capitalise on the opportunity by dropping this summery deep house floorfiller, complete with funky interpolation of TLC’s classic “No Scrubs.” Raphaella cleverly plays with the original lyrics to make the song empowering, uplifting and, above all, dance floor-ready!
“‘Holla At Me’ is an interpolation of one of my favourite 90s songs ‘No Scrubs’ by TLC. I started making the beat one afternoon and while I was trying to write the topline I couldn’t help but singing the chorus over the top and quickly became obsessed. I thought it could be really fun to turn it on its head and do a positive, empowered version from my point of view – I have my own brand-new ride, my own place and he can come and holla at me if he wants, anytime because I think he’s kinda nice. I’m half Persian and that always comes through my productions and writing in different ways, like finding a weird but interesting synth or vocal sound, so for this track I decided to layer up a mixture of analogue synths and drum samplers (I love analogue and have loads of synths including a Prophet 06, Juno 106 and lots of mini Korg samplers), and finished off the mix with Mark Ralph one of my favourite collaborators.” – Raphaella on the production of “Holla At Me”
Raphaella is no stranger to the spotlight; in whatever capacity it may be. From soundtracking a Jaguar advert, being made Hottest Record of the Week at Radio 1 or working with the biggest and best DJs from around the world, there is no stopping Raphaella on the run she is on right now! Her prior collaborations include Rudimental, Little Mix, MNEK, Armin van Buuren, MK, Gorgon City, Sonny Fodera, Martin Garrix and has penned hit singles for the likes Galantis and Icona Pop. However, Raphaella is back, better than ever and feeling full of inspiration from her collaborations with MK, D.O.D, Sonny Fodera, Martin Solveig and now she is releasing her first solo track solely produced by her!
Check out Raphaella’s newest hit, “Holla At Me,” OUT NOW!
For more information about Raphaella, go to:
Instagram | Facebook | Spotify
Artist • Producer • Songwriter • Vocal Producer
When I first heard “Holla At Me” I was hooked. I did some digging, learned Raphaella is from London, and has amassed tens of millions of Spotify streams. I wasn’t familiar with Tileyard Music, either. I was eager to learn more, so I reached out scheduled a short interview to pair with the release of her new single. Turn on the song, turn up the volume, and enjoy a heartfelt discussion with this up and coming sensation. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Raphaella.
Tell me about your new single “Holla At Me” out now on Tileyard Music.
So, I was born in the 90s so I grew up listening and loving TLC’s music. I had this track I started – I produced “Holla At Me” myself which being a female artist in dance is super important to me, and I just kept singing the hook of “No Scrubs” over the top of it. I wanted to do a fun twist on the original lyric wise and I’m so excited to share it with the world.
This is a cover song. Did you need permission from TLC to produce this single? I have a fun TLC story for you sometime! Yes, I did need to clear it! Luckily my awesome publisher and management sorted that out!
I love those colors. Who designed the album artwork for this release? Thank you so much. I’m half Persian so for me that identity is super important and I always knew I wanted the artwork to be inspired by my heritage. I actually came across the amazing artist Dariush Ghaderi on Instagram and DM’d him as I loved his line drawing in a traditional Persian miniature style and thought it would be so cool to do that for a modern dance release.
You are based in London. There are a lot of great places to see a show in The Big Smoke. What are some of your favorites?
Oooh, well one of my favourites is Alexandra Palace – dubbed Ally Pally. It’s on the top of Muswell Hill in North London and I grew up around there so it’s really close to my heart. It has this amazing unbroken panoramic view across London that always takes my breath away after a show. When they’re not using it for music shows, they also have a seasonal ice skating rink and fireworks display – it’s such a cool venue.
“Holla At Me” is out now on Tileyard Music. How did you first connect with them and what was your experience like working with them on this release?
So, I’m managed by Tileyard and they’re such a lovely team. For me, being able to have creative freedom is so important and I really felt like I had free reign to express myself whilst being supported.
Why “Holla At Me” and not another popular TLC song like “No Scrubs” or “Creep”?
So, it is actually an interpolation of “No Scrubs!” It’s probably one of my favourite melodies of all time which is why I decided to use that to interpolate and then did a new, fun twist on the lyrics.
How long does it take you to produce a track like this? Does it just come to you in your sleep, or do you sit down with a yellow pad and write until it’s perfect?
So, this one actually took about 2 days to get the first draft, 1 day for the track and 1 day to write the lyrics and record my vocals – usually when I’m inspired tracks come super quickly like that. I then spent another few days finishing off the final mix with Mark Ralph at his place.
You’ve collaborated with some big names including Martin Garrix, Armin van Buuren, and Martin Solveig. Are you out there looking for these collaborations or are they coming to you based on your other releases?
The awesome thing about music is that it can be so collaborative and I’ve always found that one connection leads to another and then leads to another. Of course like most artists I have an internal list of dream collaborators. I sort of write them down, manifest it and then just set off to work as hard as I can and thankfully so many amazing opportunities have come from that.
You’ve also written songs for Galantis and Icona Pop. What songs and what is your songwriting process like? Do Aino and Caroline hear something you’ve written and decide to release it or do they call you and say, “Hey, can you write us a song?”
So, I wrote “I Want You” by Icona Pop and Galantis and vocal produced Galantis’s “Heartbreak Anthem” with David Guetta and Little Mix. I’m signed to a publisher so one of the things I do is also song write for other artists. It’s often a struggle to decide what to keep for myself and what not to, but often there are artists I just love and have in my head – I’d love to write something for them. This was one of those times, I was in the studio and was like I would really like to write a Galantis and Icona pop record so we kind of channelled that and sent it off to them and they loved it and took the demo and made it the awesome record it is now.
You are active on Instagram. Living your best life! Not really a question… I just love all you’re sharing. Keep it up!
Ohh that is so sweet. (Laughs.) I actually often get in my head about social media. I suffer from anxiety (which I think a lot of us do) and so some days it’s hard not to over think what I’m doing. But I kind of feel, the more honest I am on it the better and the more fun I find it.
It seems like every DJ has a podcast these days. What podcasts are you listening to? Any plans to produce our own weekly show?
I actually am more of a YouTube person! Heresy I know, but because I write songs every day and my mind is constantly filled with music I try to unwind with something completely unrelated – usually fashion, or reading novels and poetry. I wouldn’t ever say no to a producing my own show though! I think that could be super fun.
Tell me more about your single “One Night” with MK and Sonny Fodera.
It was actually a really special one for me. I wrote and vocal produced the topline on my own in my Shoreditch Studios – it was actually one of the first songs I wrote since I got my studio and sent it back to Sonny. I remember sitting on the tube on the way back home listening back to it and thinking, yeah actually I think I did alright. (Laughs.) Sonny loved it, then Marc came in to work on it too and the track turned into what’’ on Spotify now! My dad was actually managing me at the time (no one really knew!) and it went Certified Silver in the UK, so to be able to present my dad with a plaque for all the work we’d done over the last years was so special to me.
By the way, that song has over 64 million Spotify streams. That is amazing! You have a few others with over 20 million. You’re crushing it, girl! Ohh thank you so much. I know numbers aren’t everything, but as an independent artist it really means a lot to me.
I know you just released “Holla At Me” but what’s next for Raphaella? Any plans for a tour this fall/winter? Maybe an EP or a full length album?
So, excitingly “Holla At Me” is just the beginning! I’m going to be releasing lots more singles, so watch this space.
We’ve talked about a lot today… What have we missed? What else can you tell me about Raphaella?
I guess I really just want to use “Holla At Me” to inspire young female producers. It’s something that’s so important to me and I feel like the more representation we have, the more girls can feel like it’s something they can do too.
Where is the best place to learn more about Raphaella? And besides Instagram, are you active on any other social media platforms?
I am! I’m on TikTok where I post lots of fun random things and also Spotify.
Thanks for doing this. That was fun! In all of the interviews I do I always give the artist the last word. Go.
I hope you all have a wonderful day or evening wherever you are in the world. If you got this far reading my interview… Thank you.
