Meet Nyla Smith | Film Composer, Music Producer, Vocalist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nyla Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nyla, what role has risk played in your life or career?
For me, becoming the film composer that I’ve always wanted to be has always included a certain level of risk. Music is a huge part of my life, and unfortunately, being able to make a living off of music requires not only a lot of studying, a lot of sharpening your tool set, but also completely accepting the risk that it may not work out. And every step of the way, however, I’ve felt like I’m being guided in the direction towards leaping off the cliff and giving it everything I’ve got. Whether it be moving to Miami to study at the Frost School of Music, moving to Chicago to get my masters in film scoring, or ultimately moving to Los Angeles to give film scoring and my musicianship the shot that deserves… I feel like none of the wonderful moments that I’ve had on this journey would have happened if I hadn’t taken the risk. I’ve met so many amazing and incredibly inspiring people, I’ve made music that I never thought I could make before, and I feel more fulfilled than I’ve ever felt.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My path as a musician has always been deeply calculated and structured. I come from a family of passionate educators, lawyers, and doctors and really had no choice but to enter the music industry with a 5 to 10 year plan. I think the biggest challenge so far has been letting go and trusting the journey. Every time I’ve leaned into the journey and been open to where it takes me, I’ve had incredible breakthroughs in my career.

My art is a fusion of all of my musical influences. I love to fuse African-American, vernacular musical styles with traditional film scoring techniques. In other words, I love to experiment with the intersection of pop, contemporary music, film scoring, and the rich harmonic language of black music. This career is most definitely not easy, it feels like a string of 1000 decisions that lead you in one way or the other, with the hope that you’re going in the right direction. I’ve learned to surround myself with people who inspire me; I’ve learned that I need to carve out time to write what I want to write and not what I have to write; I’ve learned to practice a lot of gratitude every day.

I want the world to know that there’s no ONE way to be a film composer and musician. I think my unique path starting off as a vocalist exploring songwriting and ultimately falling in love with writing music for film, media and TV is a path that makes my music stand out and has attracted directors and storytellers that I feel incredibly inspired by. I also want people to know that I am a huge proponent of imagination. I believe that we are surrounded by little worlds, waiting to be discovered by whatever tools we have to find them. And my tools just happen to be writing music!

I also think that being black in the film composing world is incredibly valuable because, not only does our presence mean so much when it comes to representation, I believe that we have a right and a place in every sector of music/intersection of music industry. The rich context that black American musicians have given to the current musical landscape is only small sliver of the impact that we make on culture & society. I feel that it’s my duty to continue to show up in the industries where we are less visible, to remind ourselves and others that we are here and that we belong. I’m incredibly proud of that legacy.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’d make sure that my friend and I got to listen to and trade music. Honestly, spending a day in my studio listening to their favorite tunes is a great way to catch up with people I haven’t seen in a while. I want to know what music has moved them since we last saw each other? My hope is also that my friend and I can spend lots of time outside– we’d grab coffee (or I’d make them some tea) and we’d head to a hike and or farmers market every day. Ideally we’d get to go to neighborhoods I’ve never explored before either. I also think a picnic is a must– maybe we’d probably grab tacos from a truck in the valley and find a park to eat outside if it’s not too hot. I’d also just love for them to meet my friends here in LA; whether we go to a show that one of my vocalist friends is playing, or grab dinner with my grad school cohort, I think my favorite thing about having friends in town is getting to connect them with the rest of my community. I feel really lucky to be surrounded by so many incredible musicians and human beings.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Wow, I love this question! I like to think about my support system, and my strength as coming from family, inspirations, and community. I’d like to make a family shout-out to my mom, dad and sister, who have always leaned into the idea of my creativity. I am a pretty passionate singer and songwriter so most of my musicianship that they’ve experienced has been hearing me singing around the house, arranging vocal music, and playing it over and over again, and listening to and feeling music all of the time. I’m very grateful for them believing in me. One of my biggest creative inspirations is Tony Morrison. I’ve always admired her ability to take up and command space in our world when she was in it, while building her own rich worlds within ours, at the same time. The sense of endless simmering and passionate creativity is something that I try to draw upon every time I sit down to write. Lastly, my community shout-out will have to include my mentors: Michael Glover, Jessie Montgomery, Taura Stinson, Typhanie Coller and many others. These are people who have kindly not only inspired me immensely, but held space for me and my curiosity as I’ve been growing as a musician. I’d also love to shout out A Cappella Academy. A Cappella Academy is an intensive in Los Angeles that I started doing when I was 14 years old. It was essentially the beginning of my vocal music career and my introduction to the idea of being a “professional musician“. Having a space where I could just sing my heart out and be supported, and loved has given me not only a sense of community for the past decade, but also a sense of believing myself that I think was planted at a beautifully young age!

Website: https://www.nyla-smith.com

Instagram: @nylaesmith

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nyla-smith/

Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/35gWj4Qx0Ori29YPaav45P?si=SRsTHUUvRt6TW3cDx55YMA

Image Credits
Emma Gladden
Amaiya Sanders
Kristopher Carter
Frost School UM