Nisa has unleashed “Dance Alone”, the final preview track off her debut album Shapeshifting due out this Friday, April 26 via Tender Loving Empire Records. On the sultry grunge-pop track, she shares, “Nothing feels more freeing to me than dancing, and watching someone you love find themselves in movement.” The solo project of Brooklyn-based Nisa Lumaj has earned acclaim spanning Gorilla vs Bear, Rolling Stone, Bob Boilen Favorites Now, FLOOD, Under The Radar, BrooklynVegan, Guitar Girl Magazine, Exclaim!, Northern Transmissions, The New York Times, Pitchfork and more.
Fittingly opening with a track titled “Ready… Set!,” the new collection is a journey towards self-acceptance, self-actualization and a coherent sense of identity. As a daughter of Albanian immigrants, Nisa grew up listening to traditional folk music. As a young person living in New York City and studying in London, she was introduced to the world of English-speaking pop music and enamored by artists like Björk, Peter Gabriel and PJ Harvey. Shapeshifting is a reflection of this interest in forward-thinking sounds—encircled by disorienting processed electronics, chunky guitars, gauzy vocals and unusual melodic choices.
While her previous output was buoyed by sparse indie rock, Nisa worked closely with frequent collaborator Ronnie DiSimone (aka Torna), who produced, mixed and co-engineered the new collection. Nisa’s transformative debut album Shapeshifting delivers a more lush and dynamic version of Nisa’s unique brand of off-kilter electro-pop and experimental punk, while always keeping her towering vocal prowess front and center.
