An Interview With Mark Nelson

An Interview With Mark Nelson

MY NAME

What inspired the name of the band and what are your influences?

The name of the band and my solo act is my own name.
My influences are wide and varied.
The Beatles influenced me enormously and from an early age, as did The Who, The Kinks and late 60’s pop and rock and psychedelia. I am also hugely influenced by ballad artists like Nick Drake and Ralph McTell as well as more contemporary solo artists such as Graham Coxon and Jon Allen amongst many others.

How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?

I  tend to get ideas noodling on the guitar or when I’m out walking or doing the washing up. Often I get the complete song at once musically, with a selection of  lyrics. Once I think an idea is good enough I’ll sit down and concentrate on getting the lyrics right to match the mood of the song. I write songs both for my acoustic blues band and pop ballads for myself. Love is obviously a powerful recurring theme. Falling in and out of love, losing love, reminiscing about love, feeling bitter about love and feeling triumphant about love. I also write about other themes on human existence such as bad luck, the bottom falling out of your world, greed, stupidity and, occasionally, current topics such as Syria or the state of the planet.

NOODLING

NOODLING

How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?

I  tend to get ideas noodling on the guitar or when I’m out walking or doing the washing up. Often I get the complete song at once musically, with a selection of  lyrics. Once I think an idea is good enough I’ll sit down and concentrate on getting the lyrics right to match the mood of the song. I write songs both for my acoustic blues band and pop ballads for myself. Love is obviously a powerful recurring theme. Falling in and out of love, losing love, reminiscing about love, feeling bitter about love and feeling triumphant about love. I also write about other themes on human existence such as bad luck, the bottom falling out of your world, greed, stupidity and, occasionally, current topics such as Syria or the state of the planet.

WHAT I WANT TO HEAR

Why do you write the sort of music that you do?

I  write what I like to hear myself from others and I allow my inspiration to come from wherever my minds wants to go. My creativity comes from many sources- from pop, rock, blues, ballads, punk, soul and electro pop. I like to mix it up and allow myself the indulgence of dipping into any pool of music I wish so long as it has a hook and meaning. I need to feel what I’m playing and singing as well, it should always be from the heart.

How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?

I usually base a set on the mood I suppose the venue will invoke. If small and intimate with a short set then maybe a moody collection of songs, if a long set at a festival then a good mix of poignant songs as well as more  rocking out numbers.
It’s also about what I feel like playing, I may want to introduce a new song if I sense my mood and the audience mood is right.

MOOD

MOOD

How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?

I usually base a set on the mood I suppose the venue will invoke. If small and intimate with a short set then maybe a moody collection of songs, if a long set at a festival then a good mix of poignant songs as well as more  rocking out numbers.
It’s also about what I feel like playing, I may want to introduce a new song if I sense my mood and the audience mood is right.

ALIVE

What plans do you have for the future?

Staying alive and healthy for one! No, seriously though, music-wise I have this brand new single out now and another one coming out at a later date. I’m working on producing my blues band’s new album of original blues songs and I’m also about to start my own 70s funk/punk album project. I’m also quite keen to learn more piano licks as I hear a lot of piano in my songs. So quite a lot really when you think that it’s nearly August already!