Nostalgia is a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past, and in my case, this is a place I’ve never actually been to but it’s the place that my artistic brain lives. This is my fantasy world.
Picture Brad Pitt in Once upon a time in Hollywood (except I’m a woman in some shades and a headscarf) driving a vintage mustang through the Hollywood hills, Bobby Womack blaring through the radio. My brain lives in 1960s Hollywood, and plays to the soundtrack of old school soul. It’s one big movie.
This movie of mine is the perfect mix of the era with Motown greats like Marvin Gaye and Dionne Warwick hanging out with Old Hollywood movie starlets like Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. Mix that in with some psychedelic hippie adventures and we are good to go! It’s a place where romance and mystery still exist and this is where I draw all of my inspiration.
Back to the real world: January 2020 with the first track of the EP titled “Diggin’ You”.
Myself and Michael, my manager were in the London office at BGM and I had come across this track on Beatstars which very accurately described itself as the lovechild of Childish Gambino and Tame Impala. This peaked my interest straight away.
As soon as I played the track, the image of a funky as hell retro couple walking down an LA street without a care in the world came into my head. The lyrics were quickly followed by the feel good melody. The connection I felt with the vibe on this track was instant and the soul just poured out in my melodies and felt so natural. The place it takes me to feels amazing!
We recorded the track at BGM and had particular fun on the mid section creating this psychedelic feeling with the harmonies. It was the quickest writing and recording process on a song I had experienced to date and the most enjoyable which only proved to me I was on the right track with the style of this EP.
“Diggin’ You” is the mother of this Nostalgia EP. It birthed the other four tracks because in creating this song, something just clicked inside me and all my influences (which have been a little jumbled over the years) somehow now all came together perfectly.
Then came covid.
I found myself at home (up north) day in day out at home, but on the plus side, the UK had been graciously gifted the most glorious California-esque weather by miss mother nature. It was on one of these beautifully sunny days that I found the next track, “Celebrate”
After a few too many nespressos (a new addiction during lockdown), I had this very odd feeling of pure positivity and happiness wash over me. Again going into my brains fantasy world this time being sat in a field (picture Woodstock 1960s) with good people good vibes and whatever else you might expect to find there… Celebrating life and just being happy.
I sent a few voice note ideas to Michael and he immediately came back with the perfect tagline to my hook melody. Instant Luther vibes. This back and forth with Michael over the phone became our new writing process and I found myself on fire with ideas and melodies pouring out like never before.
Whether this was because of more time at home and some self discovery, I don’t know, but I have really found a home for myself and my music and couldn’t be happier!
The next three tracks (“Coffee”, “Springfield Rd”, “Hollywood Romance”) followed suit. I took inspiration on “Coffee” and “Hollywood Romance” from some of my more modern heroes such as Miguel, Frank Ocean, and Daniel Caesar and wanted to experiment with my falsetto range.
I’d never written to include this register in my music before and I’ve really enjoyed exploring that part of my voice and my more fragile side.
The last track on the EP was “Hollywood Romance”. I love the innocence and romance you had in old Hollywood and in a relationship, I crave those fairytale moments of kissing in the moonlight – just like they do in the movies! We all want our real life prince charming and that was the essence of this track.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the process of producing this project and it feels unbelievable to have it out there to share with the world. It’s a collection of songs that celebrates all the things I love. I hope you can get lost in the romance of it all too… here’s to #Nostalgia and that warm fuzzy feeling.
Listen to my Nostalgia EP below!
An amazing artist singer song writer, creating
a eunque sound a talent that should be recognised globally.