Nick Rich Has Something to Say
Who is Nick Rich? You only have to listen to his music to understand him.
Music
Some people know how many kids they want to have. Nick Rich knows how many albums he wants to make.
“I want to be an artist who has maybe five or six albums, ever, by the time I die,” says Rich. “If I don't have a purpose in it, then you won't hear from me.”
It’s a prescient thought for the 20-year-old singer-songwriter.
He also knows what those albums will sound like. If he does his job right, they’ll sound similar to his current discography of singles that he's slowly released over the past two years.
He references Lana Del Rey and her ability to have her latest album make sense with her first.
“I think that comes from a strong artistic integrity of knowing who you are as a person and your lyrics and not being swayed or pressured by the industry to change what you are,” Rich says.
His first nine singles were originally written to be a full album. Listening to them will give insight into what a full Nick Rich project will be like. Although the singles weren’t released in the same order they would have been tracklisted on the album, he notes.
Rich’s sound is heavily influenced by British artists of the mid-2000s and early 2010s. “I really fell in love with artistry when Adele released 21,” he says.
His first music store downloads were “Someone Like You” by Adele, “Clocks” and “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay, and “Bitter Sweet Symphony” by The Verve. That progressed into listening to Sade, George Michael and James Bay. He credits American grunge too, specifically Nirvana and Soundgarden.
Rich describes his sound as “a conglomeration of those influences. I think that comes through in my lyrics a lot. I'm naturally just very bitter and angry all the time.”
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He keeps a running list of potential titles that could one day be worked into a song. Each song usually starts by referencing a real experience.
“That's the only authenticity in music anymore, when you start something based off of a true experience,” Rich says.
Once he’s sitting at the piano or playing the guitar, he plays chords as they come to him. Eventually, one of his song titles begins to match the sound of the chords.
Then he mumbles.
And those mumbles become lyrics and those lyrics fall into place on a well-produced track.
His priority is remaining confident in his voice and artistry despite how others may perceive it.
“I make music because I feel like I have something to say, and sometimes when I have something to say it may not be the nicest thing that people want to hear,” Rich says. “I'm being authentic to who I feel like I am. If some people take that in a way that is offensive to them then I can't help it.”
Everything about Rich is designed to bring your attention to his sound. Even the simplicity of the single art. Rich’s face is partially or fully covered in most of the photos. “Covering my face, that kind of goes into where I really want people to be focused on the music.”
Most of the images are a timeless black-and-white, something Rich credits to Sade’s Love Deluxe and George Michael’s Older.
Rich took most of the photos himself using a timer. He doesn’t want his music to be an excuse for setting up elaborate photo shoots.
His commitment to maintaining an authentic sound comes at a time when music sounds corporate, he says. It all sounds tailored to an audience, with artists working to fit an image or brand.
“My favorite artists don't make music because they want to be seen. They make music because they want to be heard,” Rich says.
He mentions Amy Winehouse, and how she was never afraid to speak her mind. He says the same about Whitney Houston. Aretha Franklin. Kurt Cobain.
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When asked what he thinks about social media and how it's changed artists’ approach to making music he says, “I think it’s an epidemic.”
He blames it for artists rushing the music-making process. Rich says artists want to thoughtlessly release a song next week instead of sitting and asking themselves, What do I have to say as an artist?
Not knowing who you are as an artist is the formula for constantly selling yourself out, he says.
“When I see all these other artists go on talk shows ... nothing sticks out to me. I don't feel like I'm really seeing who they truly are.”
So, who does Nick Rich want to be?
“When people think of my music or they think of me, I want them to know that I am as authentic as I can be,” he says. “I'm here to make art.”