Singer songwriter Nick Bryant talks about the influences behind his work
Nick Bryant
Nick Bryant is a musical performer with a range of talents, having been classically trained in piano and viola and with a passion for contemporary song writing. Nick was voted by music lovers into the top 50 out of 2,500 unsigned acts in the recent Virgin Road to V competition, and his début single Strangers will be released on the 20th July on I-Tunes, Napster and Amazon. Nick’s new MySpace page has just been launched and you can hear his new single on pre-release plus three bonus tracks at www.myspace.com/nickbryantsongwriter
What inspired you to become a singer songwriter?
It might sound strange but I think I’ve always felt a gravitational pull towards writing my own material. In the beginning I told myself I would try to only write for others and target the lucrative song writing business, but I’m not as mercenary as that!
Writing a song feels like exploring; I think it’s incredible how an idea that I might have thought up in five minutes has never been thought of before.
How do you feel your training in classical piano and violin playing has benefited your song writing?
I’ve always said how lucky I am to be classically trained. All music as we know it stems from the Gregorian monks back in the 14th century, and though they didn’t notate it like we do now, they understood the art of creating melodies. I have been lucky to enough to play fantastic work from composers such as Saint-Saëns to Tchaikovsky in orchestras. I hope I’ve absorbed from these experiences why some of our favourite classical tunes work so well.
How important do you feel it is for a song writer to be able to play a musical instrument?
It doesn’t matter one jot. You can be tone deaf and still write fantastic melodies. So long as you can record the basic idea onto tape, put words with it, you can hire session musicians (or a good studio producer) to turn it into the creation you’ve been thinking of. However, I do feel that playing instruments, and singing keeps the cost of turning your ideas into reality lower.
How did it feel to be voted into the top 50 unsigned acts out of 2,500 in the Virgin Road to V competition?
I was honoured. I take nothing for granted with my music and I’m very grateful for the support. Every new opportunity is a surprise to me. It gave me the confidence I needed to say ‘Yes, my music is worth listening to’ and to launch www.myspace.com/nickbryantsongwriter.
What was your first song? What inspired you to write it?
When I first met my wife who is an actress, as you can imagine, money was tight. So we lived in shared accommodation in a council flat in Spitalfields. Our housemate bought a wonderfully old, hopelessly out of tune piano, and whenever I played it I found it gave me so many melodic ideas.
I wrote my first song there, called Walk With Me, about a guy saying to a girl, come with me for the journey, I promise I’ll make it worthwhile. I had been writing ideas way before, since I was 14, but suddenly I felt ready to see them through, finish them, play them and get them recorded.
What would you say are the key ingredients to writing a successful song?
Passion for what you are doing, Practise (never presuming you have got it down perfectly) and a strong melody.
What is the biggest challenge when it comes to song writing?
I am hopeless with technology. I wish I knew my amps from my midi but I leave this to other people.
Sometimes it can take years to find a verse to go with a chorus you’ve written. Also, it’s hard to know when an idea isn’t good enough and to have the discipline to take a different direction.
What do you enjoy most about it?
When I’m writing I don’t know what the final product will sound like. I get really excited when all the pieces start to come together. It’s really rewarding.
How does it compare to performing?
Performing is so nerve wracking. I’ve performed many times when I was taking my classical training, however, it would always be someone else’s music! The best advice I was given is to remember that the audience wants to be entertained and is therefore willing you to do well.
In the beginning, nerves were hard to control, but now they add to the excitement I feel when I’m on stage.
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
I’ve just had my first ever radio interview broadcast on Leith FM, to Edinburgh listeners. It was fantastic. They played my new single Strangers and Walk With Me.
I had no idea it would be live so had no time to get nervous. I hope there’ll be many more opportunities.
Who influences your song writing?
I have been around many positive influences when it comes to my song writing. My piano teacher until my late teens, Jeff Blyth, taught me control and how to put emotion into my playing.
I was playing the viola professionally at university and played for Will Young, who was leading an amateur dramatics version of ‘Oklahoma’. In his programme notes he stated his goal was to win a public voting singing contest and he went and did it. I really admire him for that.
However, I don’t believe other songwriters influence what I write. I try not to listen to radio all day, because all I can hear in my head is Pink or Lady GaGa, which doesn’t help!
What advice would you offer an aspiring songwriter?
If you want to write, then write - don’t put it off. If you feel at a disadvantage because you can’t play an instrument, then get a second-hand guitar or keyboard and teach yourself. There can be no excuses. Also, if you believe in what you are doing, and others will too.
Is there a particular song that you feel defines your writing style?
Strangers is my favourite song I’ve written, and that’s why I chose it be my debut single. I had the melody to the chorus at least three years ago, before I finally put it into a song. The song is a little unconventional as it launches into a chorus straight away, and I like to think that is how I write - not trying to follow the rules, just trying to write what feels right. Strangers is a pop ballad about unconditional love.
What comes next for you?
Strangers is to be released for download on July 20th and I’ve entered it into the UK Songwriter of the Year competition.
I am always out and about gigging in London. You can find all the details at www.myspace.com/nickbryantsongwriter
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