![]() Where does it come from?Ī combination of things. You seem to be very eager to discover new different cultures. But they found me crazy and it’s the main difference I experienced between us. They all played in a Cuban style, in a traditional style and if they compose their own songs, they would compose it in the style of the Cuban music. He was interested in my songs and asked me “Oh, you play your own songs?” I replied, “Yeah, of course.” And then I realised that they never play their own songs. But I had one interesting experience when I played my own songs with a young Cuban musician. I had my own experience of Cuban bureaucracy and everybody notices all the clichés like the taxis are old Cadillacs. First, I tried to make sense of the country and after a while, I stopped and it was much better. How did you deal with the society in Cuba? I felt a bit of shock. But the level of the Cuban students was so high. If you have some standards, and enough money, you can get in. There are 2,000 people and for the Cubans it’s super competitive, for the international students, it’s a good level but because you’re paying, it’s easier. When he came back, he told me "Nick you have to go there." When I said it’s typical, it’s because the school is half-Cuban, half-international. It was interesting and very typical of modern Cuba because a friend travelled there and spent one year in the school. Mostly, songs like ‘Meet me there’ are very open.Īt 18, you decided to study guitar and percussion in La Havane. I want to have a conversation, I don’t want to be hard to understand or difficult to interpreted. You said one time, “I want to warm the room”. And concepts, ideas, this stuff comes later. I’m always trying to communicate with your subconscious, to your right brain. As a writer, I’m always trying to think ‘musically’ and second, thematically. My aim as an artist is to really allow my expression to live, to be without obstacles, without limitations. You're creating music much more different from the jazz of Portico Quartet. There was a bit of shock and then a bit relief and a realisation, an immediate acceptance because we all knew in our heart that it was not really a decision, it was happening already. I just said, “Guys, I don’t know if I’m gonna part of this.” And when you’re four people, sitting around a table talking about the new direction, the new concrete action, for me it was really obvious I felt like now I had to say something. #ISADORA MULVEY HOW TO#They were talking about music and how to make the next album. And we were in a service station on the motorway in Southern Germany. Basically, it became very obvious that I was on a very different base, on a very different journey. I was thinking for a while, maybe a few months, and then talking to very confident friends. ![]() ![]() As I remember, it was a very specific moment when I said to the guys that I was leaving the band. I was getting a bit tired, but I was also getting a bit uncreative. I wanted to sing, and wanted to do the lyrics as well as I didn’t make the key things in the band. On a very special level, I wanted to play the guitar, and I was playing the hang for a very long time. So within Portico Quartet, I needed to make a change, I needed to grow, to try new things. It was really about living my truth and owning my creativity. What exactly was the need you felt at that time? ![]() The way of life and the practice of this monastery have been unchanged since medieval times. We sat in the middle, the two of us in traditional clothes as everybody was making a lot of offerings and symbolic gestures. It was in the 15th century Buddhist monastery on the mountainside, near the capital, conducted by an abbot. The administrative aspect was in Thailand but the ceremony aspect was in Bhutan, very authentic. And we had a very special traditional Bhutanese wedding ceremony. They invited us to perform in the festival. It was the first international music festival in Bhutan ever. We got married in January - we took some time in Thailand and spontaneously decided to get married - then we got an invitation to go to Bhutan. My wife Isadora is playing with me as well. The group of people I’ve been working with has enlarged, and it's become a family. Touring almost all the time, supporting the album around Europe, America. It has been an amazing year, and a very busy one. It’s been nearly one year you released First Mind. He tells us about leaving Portico Quartet, studying music in Cuba and not trusting David Cameron. Since releasing his first solo studio album First Mind in May last year, he's picked up a Mercury Prize nomination, toured the world, and gotten married in Bhutan. British folk singer-songwriter Nick Mulvey has had a whirwind year. ![]()
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