Artists to Watch: Hala

Summer always makes me break out my indie pop playlists, riddled with chill, lofi vibes. Not only does it make for good studying music, but it's also perfect background music for doing basically anything. 

Recently, as I was expanding my playlists, I stumbled upon Hala on Spotify. Hala, also known as 20-year-old Ian Ruhala from Detroit, has been writing and recording music for years; he recorded his first song when he was only 8 years old. After years of being in bands that all eventually split, he decided to go solo, and the project Hala was born.

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If you're in the mood for relaxed instrumentals and emotional lyrics reminiscent of Rex Orange County and Boy Pablo, then you certainly want to give Hala a listen. My current favorites at the moment are "Love Grows" and "Phone Calls."

Check out Hala's SoundCloud and Spotify and follow him on Instagram at @thebandhala.

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