A Chat with Israel Nke (28.09.2020)
Israel Nke is drawing on his coloured past experiences for his latest single ‘New Ideas’. Drawing you in with his chilled vibes, he wraps you in his experience which is highly relatable. Complete with a music video, the single is one that makes you think about how your environment leads to trauma that lasts for years. We sat down with Israel Nke to talk about the single, music video, future plans, music and much more!
OSR: What first drew you to making your own music?
Nke: I was chilling with friends who wanted to make music but they lacked that extra edge to actually do it. So I just woke up one morning and went studio, I haven’t stop ever since.
OSR: Your debut single ‘Moonlight’ was based on personal experiences, is your new single ‘New Ideas’ also drawing on your life?
Nke: ‘New Ideas’ is about a personal experience. It’s about me questioning my mum on why she made me travel to the United Kingdom at a very young age, also why with a total stranger.
OSR: What would you like people to take away from your music?
Nke: The message behind it, the emotions.
OSR: What was your creative process for ‘New Ideas’? Did you start with an idea, melody or lyrics?
Nke: I started with the melody, it came to me as soon as I heard the beat, “mummy’s boy, mummy’s boy….” I knew after these words where I was going with it.
OSR: Do you feel that your current environment affects the music you make?
Nke: I feel like I’m in a reflecting stage of my life and with the help of therapy am able to revisit situations from the past and live in that moment which helps me write about these moments.
OSR: You also have a music video for the new single, how did you determine the creative direction?
Nke: ‘New Ideas’ is about me questioning my mum and the more I know it will be impossible for me to let my child live with someone else, I need to see her point of view too. This helped my creative idea and also due to past experience I was able to bring it to live.
OSR: What was the biggest challenge you faced when making this single?
Nke: I made it quite quickly, it was actually listening to it. I couldn’t get myself to a listening process, I couldn’t bear hearing me, listening to ‘New Ideas’.
OSR: Who are your biggest musical influences?
Nke: Fela Kuti, I love his expressive nature. He wasn’t shy about saying what he felt.
OSR: What is the best advice you have ever received?
Nke: “Go to a professional studio so you can keep everything about the music 100 percent”. A pal told me this.
OSR: What else can we expect from you in the next 12 months?
Nke: You can expect two albums from me in the next 12 months.
Thanks to Israel Nke for chatting with us! You can find more about him on his Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
