“Bad Dreams” is the product of spontaneous creativity, intimate collaboration, and a fearless approach to genre-blending. NMDA’s electronic textures intertwine seamlessly with live instrumentation, creating a soundscape that feels both fluid and cinematic, while Isabelle’s vocals act as a responsive instrument, turning personal nightmares into a universal emotional dialogue. From improvised studio sessions to jazz-infused grooves and dreamlike production, the track exemplifies their shared philosophy: music that breathes, swells, and reflects human experience in all its intensity and nuance.
NMDA, your production intertwines electronic textures with live instrumentation. How did you decide on this sonic palette for “Bad Dreams”?
NMDA – To be completely honest there was very little intent on deciding a sonic palette for Bad Dreams. This song was created and released as part of a chill hop artist collective 3 years ago, originally titled “You Have To.” Isabelle and I were in the studio one night last year and she asked if she could try to write lyrics on some of my instrumental tracks. I was out of the studio but could hear her singing. Fortunately, she had recorded her entire session on an iPhone and I ran downstairs when I heard her singing over this tune and said, “whatever you just did sounded amazing!” And we took her concept and went with it. I remixed & remastered the track to fit her vocals in & “Bad Dreams” was born.
Isabelle, your vocal lines feel like a dialogue with the instrumentation. Was that interaction intentional during recording?
ISABELLE – Absolutely. Stylistically, I’m always listening for ways my voice can mirror or respond to other instruments. NMDA’s guitar lines often guide my melodic decisions, so the vocals naturally become another instrument in conversation rather than something layered on top.
How do you approach the call-and-response dynamic between vocals and production?
NMDA – Very intentionally. It’s easy to complicate your song when you keep having ideas for parts in the writing and production phase. Generally I’ll just keep writing parts in as they fit within their harmonic perspective. Once I’ve exhausted creative ideas, I’ll re-listen and work backwards with a subtractive approach, taking things out and allowing space for each idea to shine. I think it is very much apparent in Bad Dreams when I take a guitar solo and the swell at the end leads straight into Isabelle’s next lyrics “separating fact from fiction…”
ISABELLE – It’s very instinctive. We usually start with a groove, and as I improvise lyrics and melody, NMDA responds in real time with guitar lines. We’ll go back and forth like that for 20 minutes or more. Once certain phrases really click, we record them and then build the song’s structure around those moments.
The track moves, swells, and breathes in unique ways—what techniques did you use to create that fluidity?
NMDA – Filters, swells, & reverb. The intro and outro of Bad Dreams are reciprocated in that it starts and ends with a dreamy feeling as if coming into and out of a dream. The filter and swell lead the song quietly into the main body leaving room sonically for impact and depth when Isabelle’s vocals come in. The gradual application of reverb to Isabelle’s voice creates a dream-like fade signifying a transition from awake state to sleep state. The idea is reversed on the outro creating a soft movement back to reality.
ISABELLE – We leaned heavily into creative repetition—taking simple phrases and subtly reshaping them over time. Amy Winehouse was an early reference point for us, especially in terms of vocal phrasing, and we allowed that influence to inform how the song ebbs and flows.
How much of the song evolved organically during collaboration versus being planned ahead?
NMDA – None of this was planned for this track. I was about to be moving across the country to Denver, Colorado and we were in our last couple weeks of physical proximity and trying to figure out how we were going to continue coming up with new music while we were separated by about 2000 miles. Isabelle had the idea of writing lyrics over songs I had previously made and we still have a bunch of material from that night to explore.
ISABELLE – Almost all of it evolved organically. NMDA had originally composed the track, and during a writing session I began freestyling vocals over several of his instrumentals. I did this with four or five pieces, and Bad Dreams immediately stood out as the strongest moment from that session.
NMDA, what inspired the jazz-infused elements in the electronic framework?
NMDA – From what I remember I had heard a jazz sample and I really loved the chord progression. I transcribed the progression and I think elements of a lot of what I was listening to at the time were influenced into this track. The steady 1/8 note guitar chords mixed well with the piano arrangement, the bass came out naturally, most likely a result of listening to a lot of chillhop music, giving the track some hip hop bounce. The electronic elements, especially the introduction of Bad Dreams came from techniques inspired by FKJ. I listen to a very wide variety of music, I love jazz, soul, funk, EDM, and jam band music, and as Isabelle & I progress with this project, we are trying to incorporate elements of all these styles into our repertoire.
Isabelle, did revisiting your personal nightmares shape the phrasing or melody of your vocal performance?
ISABELLE – Very much so. Repetition is a central theme in the song and in my lived experience. I deal with bad dreams nightly, and I wanted the music to reflect that relentlessness—how something can feel inescapable when it keeps returning.
How do you decide when a song needs space for reflection versus moments of heightened intensity?
NMDA – I think you just feel it. Like I said earlier, I try to get all my ideas out sonically and then work in reverse – subtracting elements and adding them back in as they feel appropriate. Adding Isabelle’s vocals in, I intentionally will leave space in her range so her voice is predominating. Builds help enhance emotions, but silence is also an incredibly powerful tool. There is a lot of sound in silence and utilizing it at the right times. For instance the very beginning of Bad Dreams, when the build ends, I pulled out all the instrumentals for Isabelle’s voice to shine through and create an impactful moment of arriving at her ‘dream state.’
ISABELLE – I listen to the body first. There’s a physical push and pull when you’re fully inside a song. Sometimes the body urges the mind toward greater intensity, other times the mind reins it in by drawing on emotion or memory to deepen a reflective moment. That balance guides the dynamics.
Collaboration requires trust. Were there any breakthroughs in the studio where the song “clicked” for both of you?
ISABELLE – Yes—NMDA heard my improv take and immediately knew Bad Dreams was the song we needed to finish. There were other strong ideas, but this one sparked a visceral reaction for both of us and made the direction clear.
How do you envision pushing the boundaries of genre and emotional storytelling in your future collaborations?
ISABELLE – Our goal is to keep expanding our storytelling tools. Repetition played a key role in Bad Dreams, but moving forward we want to explore different techniques that create richer imagery and provoke deeper emotional responses, while continuing to blur genre lines.
NMDA – I think we already are pushing boundaries and it’s exciting and frustrating at the same time. Exciting because neither of us have yet to find any artists doing a male/female electronic soul & funk duo with live instrumentals and live vocals. It can be frustrating because it’s hard to find an audience in an area few people have navigated. We don’t quite fit in soul or jazz because of the electronic elements, our funk music doesn’t quite fit into funk for the same reason, additionally our lyrics are deeply personal but intentionally universal – they don’t seem to fit the subject nature of many genres. Bad Dreams is a good example of this – Isabelle’s struggle with recurring nightmares accompanied by jazzier instrumentals. Also, our most popular tune ‘What’s Going On’ is about a struggle with mental health and I’m still not even sure which genre it truly is. We are about to venture into some even more uncharted territories with a soul song entitled ‘Stoned’ and the subject nature is a bit uncomfortable but also universal – the song is about abuse both from the victim & the abuser’s point of view and it is accompanied by an almost cinematic musical arrangement. Very eager to see how this one is received, but either way, we love it and it still gives me the chills both musically and lyrically every time I hear it. Bottom line, we are just going to keep doing what we love and come up with unique and personal topics for our lyrics and continue incorporating them into the genres we are vibing with at the time.
NMDA: Instagram, Spotify, Apple Music | Isabelle Rose: Instagram, TikTok, Spotify | PR: Decent Music PR
