Nina Nesbitt

Since her breakout in 2013, Scottish singer-songwriter Nina Nesbitt has graduated from twee acoustic jams to a glittering, soulful R&B-tinged brand of pop. Cutting her teeth writing music for artists like Jessie Ware, Nina’s forthcoming album The Moments I’m Missing is proof of her journey as an artist. With ghostly, towering vocals, piano-heavy melodies, and the heartfelt lyrics that fans have come to expect, Nina Nesbitt is poised to be your next alt-pop favorite from across the pond.

You’re currently touring with Jake Bugg and have toured with Ed Sheeran as well. How has touring with these different acts helped you grow as an artist?

The first few tours I did were with DJs, so I went from playing for ten people in a pub to playing to 12,000 people, which was fantastic. And that kind of took me out of my comfort zone, and made me realize what makes a good show, which isn’t just about playing the show, but having a chat with the audience and learning how to control a crowd, which I think everyone I’ve toured with has been really good at. I think I’ve learned the skills to a good show, hopefully.

Was that first show just absolutely terrifying?

Yeah. On the Example tour, in particular—he’s a DJ, so the crowd was waiting for a rave, and I’m there with my acoustic guitar, and I was like seventeen, like “Oh my god.” But people actually listened, because they were all a bit confused, like “who is she?” So, yeah, I think once I did that tour, I figured I could get through anything.

Have you toured in America a lot before?

No, never, I’ve never toured here. I’ve only ever played New York and L.A. at headline shows once. I’m on an indie label that’s got an office in America, and they’ve been really supportive of giving me a chance to come out here so I’m doing a radio tour, and as part of the radio tour I wanted to do a headline tour so we kind of tied it all together. So it’s like a mad promo trip, but it’s been really worthwhile, and I’ve been here for three months. It’s so big! Like, I’m not even covering half of America.

On that travel note— you’re originally from Scotland, and you recently moved to London. Has that affected your music at all?

I think massively, actually. I grew up in a little village, and Edinburgh doesn’t really have much of a pop music scene, but it’s got buskers everywhere, folk music, and traditional Scottish music. I guess a bit of that influenced me picking up an acoustic guitar, but I grew up with pop music from my mom, so I was never fully settled with being an acoustic artist. So moving to London gave me opportunities to get in the studio with other producer. There are so many more cultures there, so many interesting people, other artists, and they opened my ears to a lot more genres and styles.

You mentioned your mom influenced your music—have any other family members influenced you work?

My mom just listened to a lot of pop music, a lot of Whitney, Mariah, Brittany, and Christina. So I wouldn’t say my family has influenced my music, I think I started out writing lyrics and poems before I started music. The storytelling comes first before the music, just because I enjoy storytelling and the music is something I’ve had to work harder at—than the lyrics, which come more naturally? Yeah, I’m a good natural storyteller, but musically...I only picked up a guitar at 15, so I’ve had to learn a lot.

What are some of the ways you combine making pop music that is also heartfelt?

Well, I would say that “Somebody Special,” the single that is out at the moment, is an example. When I went into the session, I was like, I want to write a song for a pop star, and let’s pitch it to Selena Gomez or something. I thought someone like that—I know it’s a bit deluded, but I have to think if it’s for someone else: what melody would suit them, what’s the poppiest melody, how can I make this the best pop song? And then, if you’re doing that, I end up with a song that I actually think is a good pop song, and then I want to keep it. So when I’m writing the poppier ones, I’m usually thinking of another artist, but it’s still a really personal story that I’m writing about, so I can keep it. But personally, I love the more melancholy ballads, that’s definitely something I’d sit and write in my own bedroom. So it’s good to have the two, because it keeps it fun.

So your new album is coming out soon—can we expect any of those ballads or is it mostly pop-centered?

It depends what you would classify as pop. Because “The Best You Had,” which was the single before “Somebody Special,” I would classify that as one of the pop songs on the album. But then, to other people, it’s still a ballad, so I don’t know. Every song is kind of atmospheric and heartfelt—apart from “Somebody Special,” which is more happy and fun—but the rest of the songs are very personal and very heartfelt and lyric-driven. I would say there are six singles on the album and five album tracks, but I think the album tracks are lyrically good and they’re not filler—but they’re not radio singles.

Are you excited to play some of those singles live?

Yeah, I’m playing them tonight—I’m playing about six tonight. So I’m excited about that. This tour has been great as well because it’s acoustic, and [Jake Bugg] is acoustic as well, so people really listen and are super respectful—touch wood that tonight they will be— and it gives me a chance to showcase the songs how they were written, on piano or guitar without all the production. It’s nice.

You just did a collaborative single for Spotify. What was that process like? I know it was the first on they’ve done.

Yeah, they’ve been so supportive of the new music, and they’ve led the campaign so far. I got an email from Spotify asking if I wanted to do this project, and I was like, ‘Yeah, of course!’ So I got put in a room with these two girls, Charlotte Lawrence and Sasha Sloane— Charlotte’s an amazing new artist, and Sasha’s this amazing songwriter, she’s written some of my favorite songs. I was so excited, but I’d never met them before, so I ended up in a room with these two girls that I’d never met and we had to write a song for release within six hours. And I’ll do so many sessions—I’m not a person who will write what I think is a great song every day, like I’ll have to do maybe twenty sessions for one song. So the pressure of getting a song that I loved was quite hard. But we were all really happy with how it came out...yeah, it was quite stressful.

Did that experience give you a desire to collaborate with more artists in the future?

I prefer writing with writers, I think that’s why I enjoyed working with [Charlotte and Sasha], because they’re both writers, but I think that in a perfect writing session it should be the producer and artist. Because if you’ve got two artists, it changes the dynamic because I’m thinking about how to cater to them as

well. When you’ve got writers, I feel like I can get on with the lyrics myself and the melodies, and then they can help with the production and chords. So, I definitely prefer working with writers, but I think nowadays collaboration with other artists is a big thing. I think it would be fun if I did my bit and they did their bit, but I much prefer to send it to someone.

When you’re writing songs, where is your favorite place to be?

I would say now, it’s wherever I am, but 70% of my album was written solely alone, in my studio at home, which is called Nightbox Studio, but I moved from that house before I came here, so it’s no longer mine. It’s just a little room I had, with all the neon lights, and it’s just a really nice zen room. It’s a really creative room, but I don’t have it any more, so I don’t know if I’ll go back there.

Are you going to stick around in London?

Yeah, I just bought my first flat, but it’s tiny, so I probably won’t have a studio in there.

words by emily nelson

interview & photos by sam keeler