Ones to Watch: emie nathan

It may be early days in singer-songwriter emie nathan's career as a musician, but it's safe to say the 24-year-old has already made people sit up and take notice. Quite a lot of notice, in fact. And rightly so.

nathan released her first track 'noman' in April, a song which showcased her vocals combining with a thoughtful and reflective beat. This wasn't the kind of track we would perhaps expect from someone releasing their first single and still finding their feet in the industry. It was the kind of song you would expect from a seasoned musician who already had a few albums that have been successful globally under their belt.

The theme behind the single is truly special, with nathan using the song as a chance to self-reflect on occasionally having a 'default negative response' within herself. nathan wanted to use the song to break down this approach, doing so in a powerful and relatable way. Describing herself as occasionally being a 'noman' throughout the song isn't just relatable though, its powerful, thought-provoking and unique. Oh, and it's so clever.

Discussing the song, nathan told Wonderland Magazine: “The song stemmed from a conversation I had with my boyfriend who is inherently a much more positive person than I am.

"I started to notice a default negative response within myself sometimes evading accountability and worst of all not giving myself credit where credit was due. It’s true that if someone were to give me a list of one hundred compliments and a single criticism, I would fixate on the negative point and disregard all the other lovely things. I wanted to break down this approach because sometimes I find myself to be too unforgiving, so I am a work in progress!”

The ability to keep the message and theme of self-reflection running in front of mind throughout, while also keeping fans hooked all the way through the song is, well, again...not something you often see from someone still finding their feet within the industry and looking ahead to releasing their first EP. But this is simply just another indication that the future is extremely bright for the singer song-writer - nathan isn't simply just another musician bursting onto the scene, after all.

But after releasing 'noman', there were always going to be questions asked of 'well, what next for this hugely talented artist?!' But nathan released 'upstream' not long later alongside a powerful music video, a track which only made even more people sit up and take notice of her. From the first second, fans are instantly sucked into the song and can feel a real connection.

Lyrically, 'upstream' is a masterpiece, with emie taking us on a journey throughout the song as she explores life's highs and lows. But this song wasn't just lyrically outstanding, emie also once again showcases her truly special vocals, showing the world her range, purity and power. Written off the back of unthinkable highs and a devastating and heartbreaking low point, emie explains that the song was a 'reflection of an incredibly polarised mindset.'

"upstream is a reflection of an incredibly polarised mindset I found myself in at the end of 2020," emie told Variance Magazine. "Within the space of 48 hours, I experienced skyrocketing personal highs and plummeting lows. I had a birthday where I turned 24 years old, received news of my Platoon deal and then found out I had lost a family member who I was unable to see in person for the entire year."

We've absolutely loved the journey emie nathan has taken us all on thus far, and we absolutely cannot wait to see what the future holds for this extraordinarily talented artist.