UK-based artist Jodie Nicholson uses brooding chamber-pop and synth-laden alt-pop to navigate many of the different relationships we have in our lives: friends, family, relationships with ourselves and more personally, her changing relationship with music.
From infectious, anthemic tracks through to more spacious, melancholic tracks, Nicholson takes the listener on intimate journeys of minimalism and melancholy through to blooming, euphoric ends. Her signature rich harmonies and ethereal, reed-like vocals remain a compelling constant.
Exploring themes of escapism, nostalgia, self-reflection and changes of heart, Nicholson leans on musical influences including Daughter, Matt Corby, The National, Warpaint, Lucy Rose and Laura Marling. Her new album, ‘Safe Hands’, is no exception.
The album’s rich tapestry includes sweeping strings, clean guitars, weighty keys, and emphatic beats, with subtle nods to her prog-rock roots and 80s-inspired outros that evoke the cinematic soundtracks of Drive and Stranger Things.
Self-produced by Nicholson at Blank Studios in Newcastle, the recording process was complemented by mix engineer Oli Deakin (CMAT, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Elanor Moss) and mastering engineer Katie Tavini (Arlo Parks, Nadine Shah, Sega Bodega). The resultant album takes the listener on intimate journeys of minimalism and melancholy through to blooming, euphoric ends, with Nicholson’s signature rich harmonies and ethereal, reed-like vocals remaining a compelling constant.
Reflecting on the album’s genesis, she shares: “The concept of being in ‘safe hands’ really spurred me on throughout the making of this record as a reminder that I can actually do these things: I can be the sole-producer, I can record in a recording studio and I can collaborate with session musicians. It felt so right as the backbone for this body of work and chapter in my career as an artist and a producer, so naturally became the name of the album. It weirdly became a holistic outlook on the whole project.”The album’s rich tapestry includes sweeping strings, clean guitars, weighty keys, and emphatic beats, with subtle nods to her prog-rock roots and 80s-inspired outros that evoke the cinematic soundtracks of Drive and Stranger Things.
Find Jodie Nicholson online:
jodienicholsonmusic.com
facebook.com/jodienicholsonmusic
instagram.com/jodienicholsonmusic
twitter.com/jodienic_music
jodienicholson.substack.com/
Photos Credit: Ellen Dixon
