Nina Nesbitt is a singer songwriter who is gaining major recognition within the music industry. Hailing from Edinburgh, not only does she have the support from big radio stations such as Radio 1, but Nina has had the opportunity to support a host of UK artists and is now headlining her own shows. We caught up with the 18 year-old singing sensation to talk about her new EP ‘Stay Out’ and the highlights of her journey so far.
You’ve gone from singing to Ed Sheeran in Edinburgh to playing your own live gigs in London. How have you adapted to such a big change?
It’s been a gradual process I guess, although my 5th live performance ever was at the SECC Arena in Glasgow in front of 10.000 people at the Clyde 1 Live event in 2011. After that experience nothing much really scares you, haha. I begun singing to about 15 people in tiny venues in Edinburgh in spring 2011, to later getting the opportunity to support artists such as Ed Sheeran, Example and Rizzle Kicks in 2011/12 which has equipped me with a lot of live experience. Playing my own live gigs in London and other cities in the UK and Europe was very much a natural progression and a lot of fun.
You live in London now, what do you miss about living in Edinburgh.
I basically have two homes at the moment. One in London as I need to be there mainly for my work when not touring but I also go home to Edinburgh as often as I can to touch base with family & friends. I think it’s important to keep in touch with everyone back home whenever I get a chance. My Stay Out video for example was made in Glasgow during a night out with my best friends, I got to see my friends whilst also working, that was definitely a win win situation.
Stay Out was featured by Record of The Day. How does it feel to gain recognition for your music?
I was so happy when Scott Mills made Stay Out ‘The Big Thing’ on Radio 1 for a week recently as it gave a lot of people a chance to hear my music that didn’t necessarily know of it before. BBC radio 1 have been incredibly supportive and they play listed Stay Out following this which was just amazing. Quite a few other radio stations have also play listed Stay Out or had it as The Record of The Week which I really appreciate.
Stay Out is not your typical teen pop song, what inspired you to write it?
Stay Out is based totally on my observations of a typical night out with the girls and the things we all come across during such times. It’s meant as a bit of a fun track and hopefully other people can also identify with some of the characters described in the song too, haha.
You originally wanted to be an Author, what made you decide you wanted to sing instead?
When I was in Primary I use to spend time writing short story books in my spare time at home and I thought then that maybe one day I would write books for a living. However, things really changed when I took up learning the keyboard at age 10 and found it fun to put music to my stories. That’s really how my composing initially begun with a simple keyboard and singing out my little stories loud.
What has been your highlight of your journey so far?
Ohh, I have many, It is very difficult to just pick one as the last two years in particular have been incredibly busy and full of new experiences. One of my very recent highlights though was playing to a sold out Liquid Rooms in my hometown of Edinburgh with my new band for the first time. Hearing the crowd sing along to my lyrics and really enjoying the show was absolutely amazing! Certainly a moment I will always remember.
What can we expect from your EP ‘Stay Out’
You can expect to hear a good mixture on this EP. The sound of Stay Out follows on in terms of the upbeat sound of The Apple tree, whilst Just Before Goodbye is a little more mature I guess. The No Interest track is a very different sound to what I have produced before to give people a taste of something new, along with the simple and more stripped down ballad of Statues.
What does the future hold for Nina Nesbitt?
The future in terms of 2013 holds more touring later this year with festivals shows over the summer. Right now though I will be going back into the studio to finish off recording all the material for my debut album with a planned release after the summer.
If you could have any super power what would it be and why?
Invisibility, as I could secretly take a nap any time 🙂 Haha!