Nightlife is a necessary band from Baltimore, Maryland, consisting of singer/producer Hansel Romero, drummer Isaiah Walker, and multi-instrumentalist Allan Rafael Romero. They describe their sound as soul punk, but nightlife has traces of dance, R&B, and emo. The trio took a short hiatus after dropping a few singles in 2024, and now they’re back with a new wave of genre-bending hits, showing no signs of stopping.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Hansel Romero, the producer, singer, and overall mastermind behind nightlife. The frontperson puts on many hats to keep the band afloat and was gracious enough to take the time to chat about their inspirations, approaches to authenticity, and even a few hot takes.
Check out the interview with nightlife’s Hansel Romero below:
So what would happen if you took the life out of nightlife?
“As far as what you hear, it would be entirely different if I wasn’t involved,” the Johns Hopkins University alumnus explains. “It wouldn’t be my voice, for one, and if somebody else mixed this, I’m sure it would be a lot different. So, I’m kinda the operations on the music side.”
If that’s not impressive enough, Hansel does the same for other bands, including Pinkshift, VIAL, GILT, In the Mourning, and more.
“What’s funny is that nightlife started as a means for me to get more clients in the area, and that kinda worked out vice versa, and now it’s its own thing. But that’s because what I learned from producing these kinds of songs with nightlife, I would bring to a band I was working with from LA or something on the more indie side of things. Everything informs each other,” Romero shared.
When it comes to inspirations, though, they assure me they’re an open book.
“It wouldn’t surprise you that I’m listening to Brandy all the time right now, but to some people, that is surprising. If there is a surprising inspiration, it’s K-pop. K-pop has been really big for myself personally for the last few years. [The song ‘u know’] is basically a BLACKPINK song in a different context,” Romero said.
With that in mind, I address the elephant in the room: cultural appropriation. In Romero’s own words, K-pop is a “cosplay” of Black music that can be “kinda cringe,” but it’s also more than that.
“If that’s enough to keep you away from it as a style, that makes perfect sense. But if you get past it and start thinking of it as its own style…it becomes its own thing. That’s what makes newer K-pop stuff that’s coming out nowadays a bit more interesting to me too, especially,” Romero explained.
Romero is just as introspective about their own music as well.
Romero said, “I think I realized recently that no matter what I do, it’s always gonna sound a certain way. Even if I’m making a ballad or something, the amount of compression I just gravitate towards in production, for example, is just gonna make it seem a bit more in your face and aggressive than I mean it to. So in that way, the nightlife sound comes naturally as the process of making the song comes along.”
Their single, “u know,” is a perfect illustration of this. Romero says they had Justin Timberlake’s “Future, Sex, Lovesounds” album on the mind for inspiration before former member Julian Lofton added guitar tracks that “completely transformed the vibes of the song.” The boyband-like dance song was released on May 9, and the group dropped another song, “Better Off,” on May 15.
Most newer bands can’t do that, announce songs a week in advance and know thousands will listen to it, but nightlife isn’t your average band. With over 50,000 followers and only five years of records out, nightlife is a household name with a guaranteed audience. Maintaining that audience, especially on social media, comes with its own hassles, though.
Romero said, “It’s hard because on one hand, when we’re on tour for a while, that’s what the consistency on social media becomes about,” they say. “You post about being on tour, you post live stuff—whatever it is, you have a lot to work with at that point. But when we’ve been home from tour and just working on new music and stuff, we’ve been quiet on social media. And that’s a huge no-no in general, and I feel really bad about that, not gonna lie.”
Simply put, nightlife had nothing to say for a few years.
Romero shared, “When I have something to say, I say it, and I say it loud. I’ll grab a megaphone and post about it thirty times.”
Romero has been doing their fair share of posting, keeping nightlife in the online conversation.
“It’s part of the fun for me sometimes,” they admit when talking about songwriting with the algorithm in mind. They once again reference their single, “u know,” and how its infectious hook came about. “When I was producing the song, I was like, I can see this TikTok, I can see how this will sound when you listen to it for the first time. [I can see] this is gonna be a bit surprising. Things like that are exciting when you let them be.”
As a songwriter, though, Romero takes on a lot of responsibility.
Romero shared, “When you have the hooks going, when it’s something that can be shocking, when you’ve gotten their attention—now it’s up to you to hold it. And that’s tough.”
Before you start wondering, let me be clear: nightlife holds your attention. Their shows feature live horns, guest vocals, and undeniable grooves. It feels like an unorthodox church sermon, soulful but a little naughty. Because what do you mean there’s a saxophone solo at this time of the night?
It’s still not enough for the singer: “The goal is a nine-piece, a twelve-piece on stage with a three-piece horn section, two backup singers. You know what I’m saying? Making music that comes alive in a room.”
Despite these high expectations, the trio manages very well. This is due to their hard work and incredible talent, certainly, but it’s also due to what it all means to Hansel. They animatedly talk about religion, nature, FKA twigs, and the ethereal all at once. I try to keep up, but this is what I get: “The waves that [live music] sends across the room, the way that it hits my body in particular and makes me need to move, that’s that connection to the higher power. That’s what makes it all worth it.”
Still confused? Romero sums it all up with a grin: “Day life is just kinda working, getting your brain going, and keeping it consistent. In theory, with nightlife, you’d want it to be the letting loose and the fun of it all.”
They talk about the ethereal connection again, “So, the nightlife should be better, right? It’s the dichotomy of sometimes you’re gonna have a crazy-good night on the dancefloor, and the next night you might feel it emotionally because you went too hard and crashed down. That’s nightlife.”