**Updated: Brian Peel speaks with Nussy live on air on JOY 94.9 Melbourne! Listen to the interview here.
theaussieword.com meets up with Melbourne pop starlet Nussy for a very exclusive and special interview! The new single is one catchy tune that will leave you in a ‘dizzy’ spin!
What can you tell our readers about you? How and where did it all begin?
I started piano lessons when I was four years old at the Yamaha Music School. I think it’s safe to say I fell in love with music from a pretty young age! I used to hate practicing so much, I just wanted to make up my own musical ideas but my parents used to tell me if I didn’t practice, I didn’t get to go to my lesson which I think really instilled in me from a young age that if you want something, you have to work for it.
What had you first interested in music?
I started piano lessons from such a young age, to be honest I think it was something that was just ingrained in me. I remember my dad used to drive me to my lessons every Saturday and with every song that came on the radio he would ask me “What instruments can you hear?” For some reason that memory has just stuck with me and I think little things like that really gave me a different perspective on the way music was created from a really young age.
Who motivates or influences your quest to make great music?
First and foremost, my greatest motivator is myself. I like to challenge myself and constantly push myself to try new things and better my skills. Beyond that, my parents and my brother are all massive motivators and influences in my life. I’m so blessed to have such supportive parents – they have never questioned my want to make music and they are there at every turn and every fork in the road. My brother is my absolute best friend. He’s a drummer and I’ve been lucky enough to write, arrange and play live with him – it’s an unreal feeling to be able to do that with someone I’m so close with.
Do you have any planned tours coming up?
I’m playing two live shows to promote the release of my debut self-titled EP – at The Workers Club in Melbourne on July 31 and at Pirie & Co. Social Club in Adelaide on August 1. I’ve got a new band and a brand new live show so it’s very exciting!
Success, what is the secret to it and what has been your biggest career highlight so far?
Success is all relative isn’t it? To me, the biggest success in life is being happy and being able to do something I love for a living – which I’m doing. My biggest career highlight so far would be the release of this single ‘Dizzy’, and the EP. For the past few years I’ve been working so hard trying to hone my skills and figure out who I am as an artist so to see this project finally come to fruition is just overwhelming.
Which stars of the music industry do you find inspiring?
Madonna is an absolute inspiration to me. Her career spans four decades and she is still going! Her ability to stay constantly relevant without compromising her ideals as an artist is something I find really inspiring.
How would you best describe you and your music to your fans?
My music is just a snapshot into my world. If I had the ability to write a soundtrack to my life, this EP is what it would sound like. It’s fun, colourful, deep at times, and a little bit kooky!
What can you tell us about your latest album?As artists, we write about what we know. Obviously, our life experiences and what we are personally going through at a certain period in time is going to come through in our writing. At the time I was writing the songs on this EP with Michael DeLorenzis and Michael Paynter at MSquared Productions, I had been noticing in a lot of people around me, this increased sense of fear that “getting older” means that life ultimately gets boring. As young adults, society puts this intense pressure on us to appear like we have everything together when in reality, we’re in our mid-twenties and half of us are still trying to figure out who we are. I wanted to subtext of the tracks on this record to pose questions like “Let’s be serious about our lives but why can’t we have fun while doing it?”
Are there any new exciting projects in the works?
I can’t say much but I am going back into the studio with the boys at MSquared really soon!
The music industry is huge, where do you see yourself a few years from now?
Hopefully selling out Wembley Stadium!
Name a few of your favourite Aussie artists.
In recent years I’d have to say Kimbra, Owl Eyes, Ball Park Music, Megan Washington, Sarah Blasko, Boy & Bear, Chet Faker. Kylie Minogue sure knows how to put on a show! Growing up I used to listen to artists like Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil, INXS and Renee Geyer – those guys really paved the way for us as artists in Australia and I’ve always really admired that.
The shape of the music industry has changed significantly over the years, including the use of social media, how do you feel about the industry as a whole and what does it mean to you in getting your records out into the public eye?
I love this industry. It has changed a lot, especially in the past ten years or so but I think that’s ultimately what keeps it interesting – no-one wants to be a part of something that’s stagnant. I think social media is both a blessing and a curse. It makes it so much easier for artists to reach out to their fans. It does break my heart though when I see people being bullied on social media. It’s so much ‘easier’ for people to say nasty things when it’s just words on a computer screen. Having said that, everyone is entitled to an opinion, and as artists we do need to take the bad with the good – it can’t always be accolades!
Thank you for the interview! What can you leave fans of theaussieword.com with here today?
Thanks for taking the time to get a little insight into my world and I hope you guys enjoy my music!