In late September, Natalie Jane released her newest EP, Sick To My Stomach. The EP shows growth in her voice, sound, and progression as an artist, giving fans a deeper look into the her state of mind of while song writing. In Natalie’s own words, she describes the EP as, “a collection of songs about all the things, people, and heartbreaks that have made us feel uncomfortable, or anxious, or sick to our stomachs”. The EP closes off with the theme song of Netflix’s movie adaptation of Scott Westerfeld’s book, UGLIES, “The Top”. I was given the incredible chance to participate in her latest press conference, allowing Music Scene Media and other incredible publications time to get down to earth with Natalie and learn more about the person behind the Sick To My Stomach EP.
Going straight into things, Natalie was asked about the song process behind her track “Tattoos” where she describes the creation as going into the session without a sense of what to write about. After two hours in the studio and taking a five-minute break, the melody came to her, and she and her team finished writing the song. Natalie was then asked about pre-show rituals. She mentioned how she drinks a lot of caffeine before going on stage and engages in a strong vocal warm-up to be able to perform her hour-long sets. When asked where she goes for inspiration, Natalie mentioned she gets a lot of her inspiration from TikTok. She then talks about how currently she is in a happy place, but most of the music she writes conflicts with this emotion. She spoke about how while scrolling TikTok, she will use other people’s experiences as inspiration to create tracks that are relatable.
When asked about the process of getting “The Top” in the movie UGLIES, Natalie speaks about how, a while back, her label told her to create a song that isn’t about love or a boy. Within that session, “The Top” was written and produced. The song was ultimately shelved, and Natalie admitted she kind of forgot about the track until later when her label told her that the song would be used in a movie. When Natalie found out what movie it would be a part of, she cried with excitement, as Uglies was one of her favourite books growing up. Later, Natalie was asked how she approached song writing. Responding to the question, Natalie said that she generally goes to a session with an idea of what she wants the song to be about and a reference song of where she wants the sound of the track to be sonically. Natalie even let everyone in the conference know that she is currently working on an album and that she is working hard to make sure that the sound of the album is very cohesive on the project but with diversity included. Following up to that, when asked if there was a song with a particular significance to her on Sick To My Stomach, Natalie responded that her favourite song is “June” because it is very different to music she has created in the past.
Further along, Natalie was asked if she had experimented with different sounds on the EP. Natalie spoke about how she enjoyed trying out different sounds and loved how each track had their own unique feel to them. Following up, Natalie was asked what she is most excited to share with fans on her upcoming tour that is different from her previous performances. Answering, Natalie spoke about how each place will get something that they haven’t gotten in the past, and that earlier this year on tour it was just her on stage, but this time she will be having a drummer join her. Natalie was later asked about if she has any old songs and gems that she has kept hidden, and if they will have a comeback one day. Responding, Natalie spoke about how “The Top” recycles the melody from the first song she put out “Non Stop”, but removed the track later from streaming. Continuing, Natalie spoke about her track “Ava” from her EP Where Am I? and how it helped her heal and cope during difficult times. Natalie when asked, spoke about the creative process behind the video for “Yucky” and the choreography involved, she mentioned how they filmed it the day before they left for tour, and that she was really stressed about it. Natalie also speaks about how she doesn’t like dancing, and revealed that the 10-15 seconds of her dancing in the video took her hours to learn.
Speaking about her sense of artistry and growth from when she first started to now, Natalie said that her growth came from new experiences, and meeting new people, and that is what allowed her to create songs and sounds that she never thought she would have been able to. Natalie also speaks about how social media helped push her career to where it is today. She describes it as free marketing, and it allows you to create an image for yourself. When talking about the music video for “Sick To My Stomach”, Natalie mentioned how the song came after they figured out the EP would share the same name. She revealed that the inspiration for the music video came from her sister saying that she should be in a hospital bed, and with that, mixed with her team’s ideas and influences, she is pleased with how the video came out. Drawing to a close, when asked about what the positives and the negatives of the music industry are, and what recommendations to newer artists are to avoid negative experiences, Natalie answered that the easiest part is being able to sing, create and make your own job, and that the negative is she finds herself constantly comparing herself to other people. She said it is extremely tough to keep comparing yourself to others and encourages people to remember that they are on their own paths and journeys, and that everything happens for a reason. Everyone is on their own rollercoaster, and that you have to keep riding it to see where it goes.
It was great being able to watch and hear all the incredible questions asked by other publications, and being able to get to know Natalie Jane even more than I had known about her after seeing her live in Toronto earlier this year. You can dive in deeper yourself by streaming her lates EP Sick To My Stomach below on Spotify.