In times saturated by independent artists trying to make that break, on a plethora of different streaming and viewing platforms - gaining recognition, and even a modest amount of streams becomes an almost impossible task alone. Nick Wilson is a rising artist who's been able to break this initial feat with over 100 million streams, and is now releasing music under Gabrielle Aplin's record label. With his debut album due in August, encouraging times lie ahead for this English singer-songwriter.

I recently caught up with Nick to ask him some further questions.

I believe your debut album 'Now I'm Falling’ is set for release in August, and you have already released a couple of songs off the LP. How are these doing so far? They look to be attracting quite a bit of interest online…

Yes! August 6th is the album release date, and the singles I’ve released so far seem to be connecting really well with people. There’s always that fear that people won’t like the music you put out, so it’s definitely reassuring to know it’s liked!

Your previous song Enough To Know You was used on Made in Chelsea. How did this come about, and did this open up any new opportunities for you?

It was quite last minute I think! We had a message from my sync people saying that Made in Chelsea wanted to use the track, and then it was played on the show. It’s definitely put some new ears onto my music which is always lovely.

It seems you have done extremely well as an independent solo artist to achieve over 100 million streams. Was this generated mainly from posting videos on Youtube and uploading to Spotify to build a fan base? The Spotify playlists seem a good way to gain recognition lately.

Funnily enough, I don’t think my YouTube days really contributed much to streaming on Spotify or Apple Music. When I first started releasing my own music I made a conscious decision to not upload as many covers onto my YouTube channel, and so on Spotify it was kind of a restart on there. Luckily I’ve been put on a few incredible playlists since then and my following has organically grown over there.

Was there a breaking point for you as an artist? A time when things really started to pick up?

I remember in 2016 when I finished university, I wanted to go into full time music mode, and that summer I was put on a Spotify playlist in Norway, and I saw my streams bump up almost immediately. That was when I first thought hang on, I could maybe do this as a job!

I heard you're friendly with Gabrielle Aplin. Has this helped you along the way at all, or did this happen after your initial recognition?

Yeah Gabrielle is absolutely lovely, and I’m releasing music through her record label. Things kind of came full circle with her, as I supported her back in 2013 at one of her London shows, and then since then have worked with a lot of people she works with, and eventually came back around to working with her and her label. It’s a crazy tiny world haha.

How would you describe your general songwriting process?

I try not to stick too strongly to one set way of doing it, but usually I’ll come up with chords, and then melodies, and then I’ll fit lyrics into those. I find it a lot easier to hear the melodies first!

Have you got a standout gig or performance that sticks in your mind?

Supporting Dotan in the Netherlands at the beginning of 2020 will always be a highlight for me. I played a few massive venues, Den Haag was something special.

Any new dates planned as we come out of lockdown?

I’m heading out on tour supporting Emily Burns this September in the UK, and next March I’m joining Gabrielle Aplin in her UK tour!

What would be your dream artist collaboration?

It’s always John Mayer for me haha. I’ve been such a huge fan for so long, just the way he crafts songs and melodies kind of blows my mind.

Who are your main influences?

John Mayer, Noah Gundersen, The Fray, Coldplay, there are so many. I take influence from everything I listen to and I listen to loads of different genres so!

Have you got a message that you would like to share with your followers and fans? 

I don’t have a message really, I really love the idea of people who follow me finding their own message in my music, their own meanings.

Thanks Nick - all the best for the future!

Author: Andrew Braithwaite

Andrew is the founder and Managing Director of Music Talkers. He's also a keen music enthusiast and plays the guitar.