Nik, appreciate you joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?
I would have to say sooner. I started taking my creative pursuits more seriously in my high-school years as an outlet for putting thoughts on a piece of paper (or iPhone notepad for my fellow Gen Z’rs). Though I think this was a great start for me writing wise, I think working on other aspects of my creative endeavours like singing and music theory would’ve massively benefited from starting at an earlier age. As any artist and creative, there are insecurities that come with creating your art, and I think had I started partaking in proper vocal training at an earlier age, my vocal growth would have been stronger to an extent. This additionally would’ve helped me so much today because at times, I still struggle with strong pitch recognition. Being born with hindered hearing served as a detriment as a kid when you start to recognise pitch and sounds (as the more professionals tell me), and so it’s been a winding journey to overcome that as I’ve gotten older. When I started partaking in nurturing my singing more seriously, my insecurities really started to shine through.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
I’m first and foremost a songwriter and like to just write and experience with different people. As I’ve said in another answer, I started around high school age just trying to get my thoughts out there. There really was no plan for anyone to hear or read any of the songs that I was writing. Frankly, I don’t clearly remember how I even came about writing my first song. All I can really recall is that I strummed a few common chords and just started singing whatever came out; then building more fluidity over time. I then stumbled upon a music technology class in my high school and that really taught me how to put these ideas that I had into proper audio, thus opening my imagination of furthering my creative process. I vividly remember thinking how cool it would be to have a song on iTunes, but feeling like it was almost impractical. As I was getting older and writing hundreds of songs, I started to actually consider doing my own artistry which constantly opened my eyes to new ideas. And now I’ve slowly become a Pop/R&B songwriter AND artist. Through my own growth, I’ve only thus released 2 EPs and a handful of extra singles, but about to put out a first album in the coming months. I’m most proud of just my own growth and seeing how far I have come from when I first started to now. Since I started, I’ve lived in two different countries and immersed myself in different cultures which has only helped me become a better writer and allow myself to try and pave my own path toward success. I still feel that excitement and proudness when releasing new songs and hearing the growth that I still continue to make, and I hope I never lose sight of that.
What do you find most rewarding about being creative?
As simple as it sounds, for me, anytime someone goes out of their way to message me that they liked a song, it makes my day. I remember when I released my first ever project, live listening to it with someone at midnight and them gassing up the tracks as they listened. It’s a great feeling and a feeling I try to hang on to when things get hard. This album I’m about to put out is probably the most vulnerable I’ve been in writing songs and as scary as it is to put that into the world, I think it’ll be a great feeling when all of those emotions are released.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
Yeah there’s a book simply titled “Music Publishing: The Complete Guide” by Steve Winogradsky. It was actually my University textbook, but I read that thing cover to cover because I knew how important it is to know about this sort of “back end” area of the industry that not a lot of people outside of the industry know about. It actually still blows my mind that some creatives have no idea what music publishing is, but it’s so important. I tried to learn as much as I could about capitalising on your works. From licensing your music or how copyrights work and all of the revenue streams of being an artist and songwriter. As well as reading up on recording contracts, publishing/songwriting contracts and all of the things alike. I’m not totally sure how it happened, but I definitely turned into a music contract nerd haha. I actually now read recording contracts as part of my career and for some reason, it’s one of my favourite things to do haha. But regardless, highly recommend giving that book a read to any creative artist or songwriter.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.nikpatelmusic.com
- Instagram: @nikpatelmusic