Adrenaline-filled and incendiary, listening to Argentinian pop artist Terra gives you the rush of a high-speed chase. Her latest single, “Nitro”, is a Latin electronic dance track featuring Juana Rozas that paints a destitute, burning city. As the buildings collapse around them, the girls go on full throttle ahead.

Age 22, Terra’s music carries with it the feeling youthful recklessness–a “we’re young so who gives a fuck” kind of attitude. But with lyrics that hint at something darker (“I can’t take it anymore/It’s killing me/This dystopia, the sun is heating up/In this city/The smoke is choking me”), she captures the anger and despondency at being young and inheriting a world in flames.

Inspired by the heat of her hometown and personal experiences of love and chaos, the pulsing beat of Terra’s upcoming EP is urgent, emotional and addictive. On tracks like “Nitro” and “Amor Criminal”, the singer-songwriter-producer gives us a melodic picture of late-night Buenos Aires, filled with sirens and sweat.

Your new single “Nitro” is full of electricity. It’s a dance anthem you would hear in a club, but it also touches on some more serious ideas. What was its starting point?

I started writing this song in a very critical time in Argentina, socially and politically speaking. It was summer in Buenos Aires, and the city was super hot and humid. I wanted to paint a dystopian scene where it felt like everything was collapsing.

How do you feel that growing up in Buenos Aires impacted your music? What is the country’s relationship like with pop music as a genre?

Buenos Aires is full of very talented musicians. It has a very rich and diverse cultural scene and I definitely would not be making this music if it wasn´t for all of the amazing artists and collectives I met here.

When it comes to pop music, it´s interesting. I think it depends on what niche side of culture you are on–if pop is celebrated or judged. I try not to get myself wrapped up in that though.

““I wanted to paint a dystopian scene where it felt like everything was collapsing.””

— Terra

As a young artist, how do you go about navigating your own artistic integrity and autonomy?

It is funny because now we live at a time where the more you listen to your own artistic autonomy and do what feels true to you, the more likely you are to find commercial success. I think labels should catch up to that.

Alongside “Nitro”, you also released “Amor Criminal” in May and have an upcoming EP. What feelings and experiences went into the project? Did you have anything you particularly wanted to capture when writing it?

When I started writing this EP I was not in a very good place personally. I felt like I had been making music for a while and I wasn´t finding my way through. It felt like I was shooting in the dark.

Through the process of making this album I found strength and an inner sense of power, like a “fake it till you make it” kind of thing. I made an album where I sounded fierce and strong and so I evoked that part of myself. And it worked.

Do you have any insights on the relationship between Western audiences and Latinx artists? From an outsider view, it feels like we’re finally embracing talent from other countries, but is it the same on the artist front?

Yes, it´s crazy. Right now, I’m on my first ever trip to Europe and I keep going to raves where all I hear is Latin music. It makes me happy, but I think it´s important that it doesn´t end up being a superficial kind of support. It can’t be just out of a trend, but real recognition. Latin artists deserve to be credited and receive what we deserve for the amazing music we make.

““We live at a time where the more you listen to your own artistic autonomy and do what feels true to you, the more likely you are to find commercial success.””

— Terra

Outside of music, what do you like to do? What’s the everyday life, love and concerns of a 22 year old girl?

To be completely honest, music is all I think about. And all of my friends are musicians so that is all we talk about haha. And outside of music, all I care for is sharing time with the people that I love.