All Music & Lyrics by N. Tate
Songs taken from the debut album "Turn Into Twilight" (2009)
Since first taking the stage, Nick's live performances have been recognised by promoters, peers and audiences on a number of different levels. A soft honest voice which talks right to you turns to an emotional scream which has been likened to Ray LaMontagne and Damian Rice. Song writing that tells stories with honesty, guiding the listener through a place in time. Guitar playing that has been widely recognised by peers with influences coming from jazz, blues, acoustic folk and rock. This combination makes for an intense set which goes against the norm of your average (and now ever popular) singer songwriter.
Nick Tate - Turn Into Twilight
"Big cities were to me what the titanic was to a tadpole. Daunting, pretty on the surface, cold underneath."
Following his heart down to London in 2003, Nick left the very very small town of Southwell, Nottinghamshire - a little familiar green pocket of English countryside behind him and stepped into the new abrasive and seemingly alien environment of London.
No green spaces, aggressive commuters, neon and chrome filled bars selling overpriced bottles and a severe lack of soul. First impressions can last a long time....
"Nothing really prepares you for it - it's like an assault on the senses. It's just a totally different way of looking at the world - you may as well have two fishbowls for glasses because everything seems bigger than it really is and everything is thrown out of perspective".
After trying to work out what the hell he was doing and after dealing with a painful back operation Nick stepped out into the London acoustic scene, quickly becoming a regular on the circuit supporting the likes of Jack Penate and Paolo Nutini in his first year of gigging.
It's a universal truth that music soothes the savage beast and with a realisation that London wasn't going to come to him... he'd have to come to London; Nick's desire to get out there and speak to as many people as possible on their terms burned every night of the week. A greater understanding of his own and his audiences hopes, fears, pressures and day to day began focussing his music and lyrical content on personal experiences that mattered to him which in turn he felt would resonate with some other eggs in the same basket.
Since first taking the stage, Nick's live performances have been recognised by promoters, peers and audiences on a number of different levels. A soft honest voice which talks right to you turns to an emotional scream which has been likened to Ray LaMontagne and Damian Rice. Song writing that tells stories with honesty, guiding the listener through a place in time. Guitar playing that has been widely recognised by peers with influences coming from jazz, blues, acoustic folk and rock. This combination makes for an intense set which goes against the norm of your average (and now ever popular) singer songwriter.
"Song writing shouldn't be formulaic. It can be if you want it to be. . but it needs to have heart and soul. . I wasn't getting any of that from anything. It was monotonous and monotonal. No colour or life. Just meeting rooms, paper clips, coffee breaks and sleepless nights."
To make a connection it just needs to mean something to someone at one point in time - and you need to try to understand people so they can relate. That's the problem I had with big cities - no one wants to relate to anyone else.
"The weirdest thing was that no one would speak on the tube. People are always talking back home. I'm from a family of talkers. We like to talk. It's not a North South thing. .it's just a city thing." I wouldn't say a word to people during the day, but as soon as you play everyone is taken to a different level of understanding. That's what is so great about music. It speaks to people on the same level and it means different things to each of them. Basically music is the ultimate ice breaker".
Recognition for his durable song writing came quickly with Semi Finalist places in the UK Songwriting Competition for tracks "Angel On The Underground" (a Jazz ballad written with Nick's father, Peter", "Something Deep", "Heart At Home" and "A.B.U.S.E", a track written as part of soundtrack for indie film "Highly Strung" (Anonymous Room Productions).
Writing the soundtrack built Nick's confidence in being able to express himself in different genre's and styles. Always having an eclectic taste in music, Nick took to writing more acoustic based songs, but always at the back of his mind was a full band album to really bring them to life.
The result of this is "Turn Into Twilight"; the new 10 track record by Nick Tate