The dance music icon opens up about her extraordinary journey, the passion that continues to fuel her, and the highly anticipated new album poised to make waves.
By Angelina Cappiello
There are moments when a song arrives at exactly the right time—when its rhythm seems to capture not only where we are, but where we’re going. Ultra Naté’s “Movin’ to the Sun” is that kind of song. As the uplifting single makes its way to the top of charts around the world its message feels remarkably aligned with the moment we’re living in a time of change, transformation, elevation, and new beginnings.
For Ultra Naté, the song represents far more than a dance-floor anthem. Its meaning reflects the time and space we’re all navigating — a collective movement toward something brighter, higher, and more purposeful. We’re moving to the sun, she says, and perhaps, in our own way, we’re all ready for the next level.
The Baltimore native sat down with Preferred Health Magazine to talk about her highly anticipated upcoming album, the iconic hits that have defined her remarkable career, her approach to health and wellness, and the profound gratitude she carries for a life filled with music, purpose, and countless blessings.
With more than 138 million Spotify streams and a six-week run at No. 1 on the UK Official Singles Downloads Chart, ‘Movin’ To The Sun’ has become a global dance phenomenon in a matter of weeks.
"I'm still processing all of that. It's so crazy, you know, it's so different. And you know, with no support, no campaign, no big machine behind it. It was literally 2 weeks from creating it to putting it out there for the masses. And it just took off like wildfire. So, my brain is still trying to catch up with everything that's going on,” said the house/dance music icon.
The new hit single was originally conceived by songwriter and producer Imael Angel. ‘Movin’ To The Sun’ found a new life when international DJ and producer HUGEL transformed the track, with house-music legend Ultra Naté bringing her unmistakable voice and energy to the final recording.
“It boils down to the energy of it.
There was a vibe, there was an energy that felt like we were claiming space.
We're taking up this energy."
"It's like a fight song. Like we're pushing through it. Because, when you look around the landscape of all the things people are dealing with in their daily lives in the greater wide world, we're in a huge moment of disruption and evolution,” she said.
“I think people are always looking for ways to cope and to move through that place. So, when you say, ‘movin’ to the sun,’ it's like we're moving on to a higher place. We're moving to a place where we overcome the things that are happening around us. And I think that messaging is conveyed in a lot of ways. And then just the way that Hugel produced the song with the sonics on it. just really gives it that energy, like it grabs people in a real primal way. And that's something that's like lightning in a bottle.”
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Ultra Naté carved out her place in house music, emerging from Baltimore’s vibrant club scene with early classics including “It’s Over Now,” “Is It Love?”, “Rejoicing,” “Joy,” “Show Me,” and “How Long”—records that established her as one of dance music’s most distinctive voices.
With the sultry dance jam “New Kind of Medicine” and her breakthrough 1997 anthem “Free,” Ultra Naté exploded onto the international music scene. “Free” became a global phenomenon, reaching No. 1 on the U.S. Dance chart and No. 4 in the UK. Decades later, her timeless catalog continues to inspire DJs and producers around the globe, with her classic tracks receiving both contemporary reimagining and celebrated remixes from some of dance music’s most influential names, including Alex Di Ciò, David Morales, Danny Tenaglia, Harry Romero, Tiefschwarz, and the Basement Boys.
Reminiscing, Ultra Naté recalled, “Songs like ‘New Kind of Medicine’ - one of my classics- like I wrote that song on an airplane on my way from LA back to Baltimore. Heading to London a week later, knowing I was going in the studio with D’ Influence to do some writing. And I was like, ‘I need to be writing constantly right now so I have material to work with when we get in the studio together.’ And then that song goes on to become one of my biggest classic records that people know and love still to date. But it was written in that moment on an airplane, quietly chillin' on a flight from LA to Baltimore. I can pinpoint that moment," she paused to reflect on the almost magical relationship between space, time, and inspiration. "And know that moment now has a life of its own.”
With nearly four decades under her belt, I wondered how and from where she draws new inspiration and whether those unexpected “pinch me” moments still find her at this stage of the game.
“You know, when you create something that just was a thought or a moment in your head, and then it suddenly becomes a tangible piece of music that then people fall in love with, and it becomes a part of their story, a part of their life, a part of their joy. It becomes the fabric of who they are, the soundtrack to people's lives. People are growing up on this music. They're hearing it in clubs when they are elated and in transcendence. They're hearing it when they're out shopping. It becomes part of the story of other people's lives.
“There is always a feeling of, ‘How did that happen?” she said in awe of the thought. “Every time I approach songwriting or singing or performing something, it's always like, how is this happening? Like, whose life is this? Who gets to do this? Especially as a career in such a difficult industry. There's a lot of pitfalls, a lot of ups and downs, a lot of things that require a lot of stamina, both mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually and financially in order to sustain a career like this.”
Grateful to have navigated both the highs and challenges of her career, the artist credits the trusted team of experts who have stood beside her every step of the way. “It’s not easy. You can’t do it by yourself. You have to have a team. You have to have people in your corner that really, really believe in you. No man is an island,” she said. “Even though I may be the one out in front, there are people behind me working behind the scenes that are helping to put forward, keeping me moving and keeping things shifting and changing and progressing. My management team has always been super, super active in my career on the creative side as well as the business side. We have gone lockstep through all of these changes. It’s like money in the bank to have people in your corner that get you, that understand who you are as a person, but also as a business, and really in lockstep with you to push your situation forward.”
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Self-discipline, she says, has also played a key role in her success—a quality that reflects the no-nonsense businesswoman behind the artist. “Not everyone is built for that. I feel very fortunate that I'm just that kind of personality that can shift on a dime and meet the moment if need be. And I don't think that it's a bad thing. I think it's a personality thing. Some people have a very fixed personality, and they need a lot of specific dynamics in place in order for them to feel comfortable, in order for them to be able to shine the way they need to shine.
I've just been very blessed with the idea that I try not to get too in my head and take myself too, too seriously. I'm willing to fail. I'm willing to make mistakes and in front of people. And I've been doing that from the beginning, which I think is also a beginning benefit of coming from an underground dance music space, in that we only had raw materials. We only had the very bare necessities of what we were as creatives and to make that work.
PHM is a firm believer that “music is medicine”—whether it’s singing, humming, dancing, playing an instrument, writing, or simply getting lost in a song. So, what has music been for Ultra Naté personally, and how has it helped shape, heal, or carry her through different chapters of her life? “Yes, we create because we must,” she jests. But beneath the humor is a deeper truth: “It’s the backbone of who I am, really, she said.
“I live, eat, and breathe music—all different kinds. Melody captures me and it centers me. I find that I’m able to bring my stress levels down, go inside, and move through whatever issues or situations I’m dealing with when the music comes on.
“House music has always been really special because it’s associated with my love of dancing and movement. That’s who I’ve been, starting as a club kid back in the late ’80s, fully immersed in sound system culture. That sound gets into your soul; when that sub hits, your soul just transcends. And I still seek that out. Even though I am firmly a part of the story of dance music culture, I still need to go to spaces where my soul gets lifted.”
With the demands of touring, late nights and constantly changing schedules, healthy practices take priority on the road for the songstress who is affectionately known to family and friends as their “street apothecary.”
“For years I’ve done yoga, strength training, supplementation, vitamin therapy, infusion therapy, this, that, the other, peptides. You name it. I'm exploring it,” said the once aspiring physician. “I wanted to be a doctor when I was a kid,” she said. “That was actually what I was intending to do as a career. And so, I went to a high school here in Baltimore, where you already start your pre-college classes geared towards the medical professions. And then when I graduated and started college, my intention was to continue to go into pre-med and to eventually go to medical school. That was the plan. And then somewhere in there, I started going to the club and here we are.”
With her new album in the works, Ultra Naté describes the sound, emotion and message of this project as a transcendent experience. “I can't give too much away because it's still a moving target right now,” she said about the project. “I’ve been working on it kind of low key for the last year, putting songs together around my touring schedule. Having 10 albums under my belt, approaching an album is really like a jigsaw puzzle,” she explained. “I have certain pieces—stories and sounds—that I want to be part of the project, and as they come together, the album starts to take shape.
“The working title is ‘Voyer’, and it’s really about where we are right now. We’re taking leaps and bounds technologically as well as spiritually. And so that's really what the album is about — this
fluctuation of energies. We're kind of at a bit of warring with ourselves between past and present and especially the future, where we're going and trying to find our footing in that, as humanity. There are a lot of conversations going on right now in a lot of different spaces that are either trying to reel us back to something or push us way forward. And all of that is a lot of struggle and push and pull. And I think somehow that needs to be put into a context of music right now. The album is about how we draw on our past selves to transcend to our future selves and move toward our next level of evolution. And, as always, it’s grounded in dance music.”
Ultra Naté was recently named composer resident at the Baltimore Music of Arts (BMA). Naming her residency the ‘Deep Sugar Transmutation’, a play on her national and international dance parties. “It's basically like producing my Deep Sugar Party in the BMA with the full weight of the institution behind the event and finding works within the museum as inspiration pieces to build the concept and story of this event.
“It's interesting how you can be so celebrated in places everywhere else around the world,” she said, “but still there’s something about your hometown recognizing you that is very, very special.”
After all these years, there is still a sense of wonder in Ultra Naté’s voice when she talks about music, creativity, and the journey that brought her here. Perhaps that is part of her magic—the ability to keep evolving while remaining deeply connected to the joy that started it all on the dance floor.
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Follow her journey, stream her music, and stay connected for news on her upcoming album release, appearances, and performances at www.ultranate.com and on Instagram@Ultranatemusic