Born in the US but raised in Australia, classically trained singer songwriter NINA has spent her life developing her abilities as a musician. Eventually landing at Berklee College of Music in Boston (where she currently resides) NINA continued to hone her sound, eventually transitioning from a classical vocalist to an Electro Pop diva. She is now ready to show the world what she is made of with her debut self-titled 4 track EP, “NINA”.
About the project and her process, NINA admits, “I’m not very good at confrontation, so I started to use music as a way to say what I had a hard time saying out loud and to express how I felt, but use my songs as the shields. Writing songs allows me to become someone else for 3 minutes or mirror others’ experiences to my own and just lay all the cards on the table. This EP became my outlet to not only discover more about myself as an artist and person but realize the characteristics of the people I was surrounding myself with.”
The new project is a great debut for the budding artist and is the perfect introduction to her sound. Starting the project she delivers on, “Fake Love”, which sees NINA deliver an attitude filled tune about young love. On top of a bubbling production laden with both electronic and acoustic elements at the hands of Taylor Reyes, NINA soars. “When Taylor showed me the instrumental for this track I fell in love with the darkness and heaviness of the track. As a contrast, I wanted to be free and flirty with the lyrics. I feel like women are often pressured to act emotionally and I wanted to flip that. To write Fake Love, I created a persona; a women who just wants to not think about any responsibilities and purely feel powerful, confident and sexy.“
On the second track, “Down”, she cools things off with more of a smooth Pop vibe with some help from slick guitar riffs, rich keys and dirty basslines. One thing is for sure, NINA knows how to craft a tune from beginning to end. Catchy hooks and memorable verses all come together to create a smooth and catchy tune. Produced by Pato Notholt, NINA says about the track, “My vision for this song was to emphasize my passion for pop and make people dance. I really wanted to have a funky bass line, a radio pop sound, and real instruments and Pato (the producer) did exactly that! I wanted to write something catchy but also find that balance between being very personal and inspired by events, but also something to dance along to and to escape what the lyrics mean.“
“Red Flag”, is probably the most vibey of the tracks on the project. Another production by Taylor Reyes, incorporates playful percussion and a lot of bounce for NINA to do her thing. The dynamic release relies on low key verses and pumping hooks. For NINA this may also be the most personal release on the project. “Red Flag was the first song that I wrote with Taylor. As soon as I showed my lyrics and heard the skeleton of the production, Taylor and I clicked creatively. But it was the first recording session that took me a while to buckle up the courage to sing honestly because the person I’m singing to will hear it and know it’s them. This song exposes all my true emotions for everyone to finally see, and once I finished writing and recording, I even gave myself clarity I needed. I’m no longer afraid of anyone listening and knowing how I feel.”
Closing out the project is a beautiful acoustic tune called, “You”, which allows NINA to get back to her roots with a touching piano ballad that flexes her classical training, broad range and dynamic vocals. The stunning tune is an emotional roller coaster with no bells or whistles to take away from the raw and unhindered emotion delivered solely by NINA and a single piano piece created by Jim Alexander and Christopher Chun. “I wrote ‘You’ during my first year at college when I should’ve been studying for Ear Training. I was going through a time when I questioned my self-worth and my best friend was going through a similar situation. I didn’t want to portray weakness throughout the whole song, so I twisted it to show that I was done with “being taken for granted.” I wanted to record an acoustic version because I wanted to capture the essence and rawness in the lyrics. I felt that the song could be even more relatable stripped back.“
Keep an eye on this one. A solid debut project with a promise of more to come. If you’re around the Boston area, make sure you catch her performing regularly around the city.
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