Welsh soul artist Nia Wyn has a talent for raw and powerful storytelling. Growing up in a small town in North Wales, Nia struggled with mental illness, isolation and confusion around her identity, taking solace in old records she found and playing guitar in her room. Inspired by the soul that came out of Philadelphia, Memphis and Detroit in the 60s and 70s, Nia writes, produces and sings songs about modern issues: being queer, hard times young people face in the UK, mental health and neurodivergence.

A Pleasure To Have In Class showcases Nia’s strong influences of mid-century soul but with a modern twist. Wyn’s vivid storytelling and reflective lyricism is partnere with heavy Motown and Stax inspired arrangements, her unmistakable and distinctly powerful vocals. Across her debut, Nia Wyn has self-produced numerous tracks, with production also coming from regular collaborators Blake Rhein (Durand Jones and the Indications), Duncan Pym, edbl and Evil Genius. The album is a heartfelt and raw confession of Nia Wyn’s increased understanding of her own struggles and growth, and a deeper look into why she (and you) might have been a Pleasure To Have In Class back in the day.

We had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Nia all about A Pleasure To Have In Class, her upcoming shows, experiences in the music industry and much more. Read the interview below.

Hi Nia! How are you? What does a typical day look like for you at the moment?

“Very well thank you. Typical day right now if I’m not in my day job is to get up, feed two persistent cats, have some downtime (video gaming, particularly Fallout 4) before getting to my desk and working on new music. I’ve got a home set up so I’m able to work whenever I need to. I also love doing laundry, it’s very relaxing.”

We have been following your musical career since the very beginning and you’re now releasing your debut album A Pleasure To Have In Class. Why was now the right time to share a full length project and what does it mean to you?

“Thank you for all the support you’ve given me! I had intended to release a debut album for a pretty long time, and once I dispelled ideas of having to have an indie or major label on board to release an LP, I thought, I need to just go for it. Republic of Music have been a joy to work with, and I was lucky to get some funding from Help Musicians UK to record the album. It means a whole lot to release a full length project, especially one I’ve produced half the tracks myself. It’s the project I am most proud of, and I feel is the most accurate showing of me as a music artist, lyrically and sonically.”

We adore your retro soul sound. What/who did you draw inspiration from sonically for this particular record? Who were you listening to around the time of writing it?

“Thank you. I was listening to a lot of mid century soul of course – lots of Philadelphia soul groups, Numero Records playlists. Always listening to a lot of soul revival artists as there is plenty out there now especially in the US and UK. I’m also a big fan of country music, blues, jazz – so I’m hoping that all comes through too (I’d like to think so).”

A Pleasure To Have In Class covers a wide range of themes. What do you hope listeners take away from the record?

“I hope everyone finds something they can take from it. My autism diagnosis and the self-reflection I did really kicked off the album writing process, so I wanted to express my perspective on being late diagnosed as neurodivergent after a lifetime of masking, and how both liberating and painful that can be. Halfway through the album I celebrated my 10 year anniversary being sober from alcohol – a major milestone, but one that felt quite weird. Sometimes recovering from dependence/addiction can be like losing an actual person in your life. You are proud of yourself for getting so far away from that time in your life, but it can always still feel quite precarious – not wanting to lose all the progress you’ve made as it could be gone in a split second, and not wanting to admit you sometimes miss it despite how destructive it was.

“As a proudly queer woman I am very passionate about issues that affect all of our community. The worsening environment of anti-trans hatred and discrimination deeply concerns me as part of that community, and I wanted to raise awareness of the real life consequences of this. There’s also themes of mental illness (notably Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) in there, and a whole lot of love too.”

What was your creative process for A Pleasure To Have In Class like? What was your favourite part making the album? Did you face any challenges or do anything differently this time around?

“This time around I worked a lot on my own rather than working with producers for each song – it was really enjoyable to finally be confident in my own skin as a producer, and really showcase my own style of production. That was probably my favourite aspect. I loved working with various session musicians to bring the record to life – expect lots of rich instrumentation, brass, strings! Having The Harlem Gospel Travelers on ‘It’s My Business’ felt special, as I was already a fan of their music. My collaboration with Duncan Pym who mixed and mastered the record (and produced and co-wrote ‘Your Team’ and ‘Loves Me Not’) was pretty crucial too. We worked out of his home studio for some songs, as well as at Hackney Road Studios. Duncan is great to work with, he got my vision for the project perfectly.

“I also was thrilled to work with Autumn Barney on the artwork and visual design of the album – I’ve been a fan of her work on Colemine Records album artwork for ages, and she’s a lovely individual.”

You will be kicking off a UK and EU tour in support of the album later this year. Will there be any changes to your live show? What can fans expect?

“Yes! Very excited. I’m looking to move towards a much more organic sound, trying to play as close to how artists and groups would perform in the 60s and 70s. It’ll be full band shows for the UK dates, and solo performances for the EU.”

Which of the new songs are you most excited to debut live and why?

“Oh gosh, I couldn’t pick one. Just the experience of being able to bring this LP to life on stage will be thrilling for me, as performing live is very important to me as an artist. I’ve teased some of these songs when I was supporting Say She She last year – it’ll be cool to perform ‘It’s My Business’ and ‘Happy Anniversary’ as those haven’t been played live yet really.”

You’ve worked with many different artists across your musical career. Is there anyone else you would love to collaborate with in the future and why?

“There are so many honestly, but one is Leon Bridges. I think our voices are so different and we are influenced by quite similar music, so I think we could make something real nice.

“I’d imagine Kacey Musgraves is a dream to work with too – excellent songwriter and artist.”

Based on your musical journey so far, what have been the biggest challenges that you’ve faced and how have you overcome them?

“Rejection. There’s been a lot of rejection and disappointment and you really have to grow resilient from that otherwise it destroys you. I think when you are so passionate and so laser focused on your music as an artist, it can sometimes be hard to separate this from your sense of self, so every rejection knocks away at your self-worth and that can be very damaging. I think going it on my own in the last 2 years, no manager, has been a challenge that I’m really glad I took on, as it’s been fruitful – I’ve been able to take more control (which admittedly, I like doing) and it’s been way more on my own terms.”

Finally, do you have a favourite highlight from your career so far? And what are your goals for the future?

“After releasing this album it’s probably opening for Paul Weller on his tour a couple years back, and performing at Glastonbury. I’m excited to see what this album will bring – my first UK/EU tour will be a big moment in my career, further projects (and producing myself) as I’m always writing. I ultimately just want to be able to do what I love, be able to sustain myself and my family, and keep growing as an artist.”

The post INTERVIEW: Nia Wyn appeared first on She Makes Music.

Nia Wyn says she wrote the lyrics in a session with edbl not long after the murder of Brianna Ghey. “As a gay woman, I have always felt a connection and strong solidarity with trans and non-binary people and I worry about the increasing discrimination and hate crime towards our communities. After the murder of Brianna and reading about the vitriol on social media pushed by J.K Rowling and conservative movements, I felt I really needed to write about this. I’ve been a fan of HGT for some time and was thrilled when they were up for collaborating on this, not just because I think they are incredible musicians but also I value their lived experiences and bravery. We’ve ended up performing together and become friends now, which is beautiful.”

On the track, Ifedayo of The Harlem Gospel Travelers said: “To be able to not only sing but lend my own perspective on ‘It’s My Business’ was an honour. This is the first time we have had the opportunity to work with another openly queer artist, coming together from two different countries. To tell the powerful and important story. We as artists have a responsibility to use our gifts and platform to speak to speak to the world. We cannot, and should not ignore the trans lives that have been lost. Who we love is OUR business. When lives are lost, it’s ALL of our business!”

The post Nia Wyn teams up with The Harlem Gospel Travelers in honour of the trans and queer community for ‘It’s My Business’ appeared first on She Makes Music.