Enfnts Terribles

Last year the Copenhagen-based artist dropped her debut album, Dozakh: All Lovers Hell, which tells a dystopian take on love, devastation, and death. This September, Tehran released an extended version of her LP, which has garnered remixes from Scandinavian artists such as HABIB1, Bella Boo, Kablam, and Merely. We met in her workspace to talk about her musical influences, rootlessness, and why being a Nazi killer ultimately hurts.

Where did the initial idea of extending your album come from, and how was your creative process of making it?

After I released the record, it felt as if it left me and became something that wasn’t mine anymore, and I felt that these questions inspired me to further explore my own work. I’ve done that through different ways now.

The first part was when I created an exhibition: Inherited Void. It was a way for me to physically manifest what the record was about. To create a physical space where you could understand, read, and experience the concept of Dozakh through other artist’s interpretation. And so, now it’s this organ that’s living its own life, and I can just be friends with it.

How did you go on deciding what artist would rework what song?

I didn’t! I only reached out to people that are my friends and asked them if they wanted to be a part of it, and they chose the songs. Naturally, they all chose different songs, and that tells me something about the record as well — everybody relates to it in different ways because it doesn’t only consist of one genre.

An album a decade in the making must have incredible sentimental value: what’s the story of Dozakh: All Lovers Hell and what can a potential listener expect?

Dozakh is metaphorical to “a place of torment one believe they’re in when separated from their loves,” and when I think about that, the lover can be a love-interest but can also be a separation from your roots and your history. This concept of separation is something I’ve been interested in understanding and processing.

I’ve been writing songs and making music since I was ten, and some of those songs have been following me throughout my life on different tapes, laptops, and hard drives. I didn’t know that they were going to be on a record. When I finally got the opportunity to create the album, I collected these songs as memories and chronicles of my life. So, it’s this story of an Iranian girl growing up in Sweden, trying to understand where this feeling of separation comes from and why it’s constantly recreated by myself in the different relationships I’ve established. That’s what a listener can expect.

What does the future hold for Nadia Tehran?

The future does not exist — I’m here now, and all I can think about is making art, breaking down power structures, and mobilizing communities. If I could make a wish, I’d wish for sweaty dance floors to come back. I can’t put into words how much I miss the club </3.

Photography by Christoffer Sundqvist
Creative Direction by Robert Jonsson
Designs by Matilda Ivarsson
Makeup by Nadia Kardar Tehran