Five Minutes with… is our newest blog feature, where we find out more about the brilliant artists currently releasing through Serenade. Dive in below to discover more about Nadia Sheikh, and her latest release, Broken Bridges, available now as a Digital Pressing.
S: Hey Nadia, how are you doing?
NS: Hey! I’m good, thanks. Hope you’re all well! :)
Tell us a bit about yourself - when did you start writing music, how would you describe your style, what is your song-writing process - I want all the details!
I picked up a guitar at 12 and started to sing shortly after. I wrote my first song when I was 13 and haven’t been able to stop since! My music is quite versatile, so it’s hard to pin it all down in one genre or style, but I like to say that I’m a singer-songwriter at heart that loves pop music and guitars, so it’s all based around a song written on a guitar or piano with a story and heartfelt lyrics - poppy melodies, dressed in indie/pop/alt rock.
It all depends on the song really, but it usually starts with a little chord progression and melody idea. I have a bank of lyric ideas on my notes that I often pull from, then I start threading from there, constructing it all as I go. Some songs come in one go, with lyrics being kind of chronological whilst other times you kind of fill in the blanks or replace things as the idea develops. I work on the arrangements with my band after the song is finished.
And what about your most recent release - what inspired it, who's involved, and how has your style evolved since your last release?
Broken Bridges is about realising a relationship is fading, when two people are too different and the internal dialogue that brings with it. I wrote it in a time of deep confusion, I was finding it hard to know why I felt the way I did. Writing the song really helped me understand what was going on in my head. I’d been playing it acoustically for a while and had a very basic demo done compared to the other songs on the EP but we all knew it was one of the strongest songs so we decided to record it for this EP. It’s produced by Joe Cross who’s worked on the last Louis Tomlinson album and also plays bass and produces the Courteeners and has worked with Hurts too. Band-wise I always play with the same people, they’re my core collaborators and we’ve been playing and arranging the tunes together for quite a few years now.
My last release was an EP called “Undefined”. It’s a much more introspective and intimate body of work. A bit rawer. I’d just gone through a breakup and it was all coming out; it’s all slower tempos and a bit of a sadder overall undertone. It was a lockdown project, so you can kind of hear that too. With the new EP I wanted to make songs more tailored for live, with a bit more energy and power!
So, what excited you about releasing it as a Digital Pressing?
I think it’s a great way to be able to give a different angle to a release where you can share more about it and let the listener in with the voice notes and other extras, while making it affordable for independent and self-funded artists and also being so much better for the environment, avoiding extra stock, etc…it also opens up a lot of possibilities in terms of what you add as an extra.
What is one piece of advice you'd give to other artists releasing a Digital Pressing?
If you’re doing a voice note just go for it and be honest (but also comfortable!!), we all love knowing where a song came from and how it was made, especially if you’re a fan of someone. Don’t be precious, and for the first one explain to your fans what a Digital Pressing is as some people might not be familiar with the concept!
What are you excited for this year - any big announcements, shows or new music on the horizon?
It’s been an awesome year so far, I’ve dropped 3 singles and I have two more coming before a full EP. We’re doing some headline shows in September in Manchester and London, which I’m buzzing about and there should be some more Digital Pressings coming too!
28th September - Manchester @ 33 Oldham St - Tickets
29th September - London @ The Grace - Tickets