We get to know Nathan Smart this morning, a fresh new artist who’s got us locked up tight with his latest single ‘Jailhouse’.
Not only has he got a new single to spruik, but an obsession with pizza and a certain grande pop single.
What could it be? Best you read to find out more.
01. Name : Nathan Smart.
02. Where are you based? Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula.
03. How did you get your start in music? I’d always been a creative kid, so when I was 10 I set up a YouTube channel and started uploading covers of my favourite songs. It made me somewhat outcast at school, and the early videos are pretty cringe worthy, but I’m glad I stuck at it because they formed the foundation of what I’m doing today.
04. Give us five words to best describe you as an artist. Blonde guy who makes bops!
05. Tell us a little bit about your sound and how it developed. I’ve been releasing original music since 2014 which started out mostly as synth pop. I could use the same words to describe what I’m doing today, but I think my new releases are much more refined.
My vocal style has definitely come a long way, I’ve always been a huge fan of hip hop music, and recently I’ve been sprinkling elements of the genre throughout both my lyrics and melodies.
06. What’s your earliest musical memory? I can remember sitting in front of our super old family computer when I was really young, probably about seven, and singing along to random videos on YouTube.
07. Who have been your musical influences? The music industry is so tough to break into. Last year I was feeling really burned out and unsure about what to do next, when I was lucky enough to be invited to Amplify Live in Melbourne.
I had the opportunity to hang out with some amazing Australian musicians like Troye Sivan and William Singe, and seeing the success these guys had created for themselves really inspired me to keep going.
08. What are your favourite songs of all time? I am obsessed with ‘Into You’ by Ariana Grande, I listen to it at least five times every day. I can’t get over how tight the production, writing and vocals are. It’s a top-notch pop song – one of my all-time faves.
09. Where’s your favourite place to listen to music? I find myself driving a lot, so I tend to listen mostly in the car. I like having the time to listen to entire albums, and this is also where I discover most of my new music by shuffling through playlists.
10. Who are your go-to artists when you’re feeling :
Happy : Dua Lipa.
Sad : Post Malone.
Introspective : Khalid.
Exhausted : Shawn Mendes.
11. What was the first album you ever bought? I had to check my iTunes history for this one, turns out it was MIKA’s ‘Life In Cartoon Motion’ back in 2007. I got an iPod that year and it was the first bit of music I put on there.
12. Give us a little fun fact about yourself that people might not know. I’m obsessed with pizza. If you want the key to my heart, just take me to a nice Italian restaurant and get me something with truffle oil, mushroom and buffalo mozzarella.
13. What would your chosen career be if music wasn’t an option? I love creating music videos! Whenever I’m working on a song I’m always planning how I can turn it into a visual, so that’s a skill and a passion I would definitely love to pursue separate from my own music career.
14. What’s the best advice you’ve been given in your career? I can’t pinpoint one piece of advice, but so many people have encouraged and supported me over the past couple of years, which gave me the strength and drive to keep pursuing music and I’m really grateful for that!
15. If you could trade places with any artist in the world right now, who would it be? I don’t think I would want to trade places with anyone honestly. I certainly have a long way to go before I reach my goals and that would be an easy shortcut, but while the journey can be slow and frustrating at times, I’d rather ‘make it’ knowing that I’ve worked hard and grown as an artist along the way.
16. Tell us about your latest release. ‘Jailhouse’ is my song about struggling to let go of someone you care about, when they’ve already let go of you. I worked on the track with Michael Paynter and Michael DeLorenzis in August last year.
Traditionally I write and produce on my own (lonely I know), so this was the first time I’d involved other people in this process. I really enjoyed their creative input and am still in awe of the energy they brought to the record.
17. What do your future plans involve? I definitely want to work towards an EP in the near future, but for now I’m working on another single to release soon. Might be some music video’s on the way too – you’ll have to wait and see :P
18. Where can our audience catch you live? I’m starting to work on a live set and hope to do some performing soon, keep your eyes on my social media to find out first :D
FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/NathanSmartAU
INSTAGRAM : https://www.instagram.com/nathansmartmusic/
TWITTER : https://twitter.com/thenathansmart
SOUNDCLOUD : https://soundcloud.com/nathan-smart-790842121
YOUTUBE : https://www.youtube.com/nathansmartmusic