FRIENDS OF
NATHAN BALL
We spent the day with this talented musician and songwriter to find out what makes him tick.
Like his music, Nathan Ball the musician comes without pretence. He has the calming easy-going presence of someone you’d like to hang around with more. His soulful voice, gifted song-witing and natural musical talent on both guitar and piano make him quite unique. The energy he brings to each stage performance is inspiring and drawing a big following. Nathan’s songs traverse emotional highs and lows in a soothing and up-lifting way, you find thoughtfulness in just the right amounts. So, we were delighted when he popped by to the Aubin store to check out our new collection, take a few photos and have a catch up!
“I was clearing out a drawer the other day at my parents place and found all the songs I wrote when I was 14, there are some real shockers in there”.
Nathan has lived and breathed music all his life. He was bought a guitar for his 14 birthday and has been writing songs and playing ever since. His two main loves are fused within his work, that of classical song writing and an eagerness to push the boundaries. He is inspired by the people and spaces he has found in his home of Cornwall as well as the big weather you get down there, during the winter months especially. It’s at this introspective time of year when Nathan finds the most inspiration to write; “When it starts to get dark at 3pm I feel as though I could write all day”. That’s not to say that Nathan’s music is in anyway dark and depressing, but it provokes a gentle look inwards.
“I feel like in Cornwall everyone seems to be doing something pretty creative so in winter they hunker down and everyone hides away, writes or paints and then they appear out of the woodwork in the Spring”.
Nathan has found a new sense of freedom since moving to Cornwall, a place he visited regularly throughout his childhood and a favourite spot to draw inspiration from. Being fully immersed in nature, the wilder the better, is where he feels most free, and his writing can flow. When listening to his music, there is a common thread throughout moving the listener and connecting back to the great outdoors. The opening track to his set right now, the perfect scene setter for his shows, is called Whispers and includes a sample of the shipping forecast. Nathan’s grandfather was in the Royal Navy, so he used to find it comforting to listen to the shipping forecast while he was at Exeter Uni to keep an eye on what was going on out at sea. Moving down to Cornwall feels like a nice circle back to that comfort found within in nature, and he’s now never far from the sea.
“I love being in the ocean- just being in it and feeling totally insignificant. It’s a reminder of the order of things”.
Glastonbury Festival is Nathan’s second favourite place in the world, and this year he got to watch a Philadelphia based rock band he’s “obsessed with” called ‘War on Drugs’. “The sun was setting and they were playing on The Other Stage at Glastonbury, that was pretty much as good as life gets for me!” To work with these guys would be something of a dream for Nathan, who already has many impressive collaborations under his belt. His natural song-writing skill hasn’t gone unnoticed in the industry. Over the last few years, he’s started to work a lot more for other Dance Music artists and DJs, writing and sampling vocals. He has worked on four songs with the iconic 90’s house/electronica band Faithless, including a hit called Crazy; a moving rework of the original by Gnarls Barkley. He’s currently working on a Collab album with ten other Dance Music producers, which we’re excitedly keeping an ear to the ground for.
Nathan’s star is rising, this past year has been something of a big one. As well as his move to Cornwall, and getting married in May, he has released an EP; “Among The Silence”, of five singles, including Just a Man which has been getting an impressive number of downloads. Just last week Nathan played his dream gig at a packed-out Hammersmith Apollo, one of the city’s most iconic venues. “I was kind of expecting no-one to show up and walked out and it was packed, it was unbelievable, it felt like I could sort of retire after that!”
Nathan is heading out on tour again towards the end of the year starting in the UK- Bristol and London. He then heads out to Europe, around Germany and the Netherlands who he says “have been on-board since the beginning, so going there feels like a bit of a home-coming”. He then goes on to New Zealand and Australia where he will be joined by his Aussie artist friend Ziggy Alberts who he will be supporting there. That he is a guy who loves to perform his heartfelt music amongst and alongside friends is clearly apparent.
When we ask what he likes to wear on stage Nathan tells us about a retro Marlboro Harrington jacket he found a year ago on De-Pop. He’s been wearing it to every gig recently, putting the jacket on feels like stepping into his act and he’s ready to go. “It’s like my safety jacket”. He also told us of an old favourite T-shirt he’s been wearing for over 20 years, proving our point at Aubin that clothing should be built to last and hold precious memories.
We are very excited for Nathan and where this next year will take him. With his positive attitude towards hard work, his connection with nature and himself it feels like life will take him far. If you’d like to follow Nathan and find out more about his music and his up-coming tour, head to his Instagram @nathanballmusic
