Name: Nadya Albertsson
Nationality: Swedish
Occupation: Singer, Songwriter
Current Release: Nadya Albertsson's new album Half Silk Half Blade is out via Rebecca's Records.
Recommendations for Berlin, Germany: I live in Berlin, and something I always tell people to do is to visit Berlin for longer than a weekend. You can't simply do one thing in Berlin. If you come here you have to do as much as possible. I have a google maps list of recommendations, I'll gladly send it your way ;)

If you enjoyed this Nadya Albertsson interview and would like to stay up to date with her music and live dates, visit her official homepage. She is also on Instagram, and facebook.
 


When did you first consciously start getting interested in singing? What was your first performance as a singer on stage or in the studio and what was the experience like?

My mother always says I have been singing since day one. She eventually figured it was not something that was going to change so she put me in a choir when I was 3 years old and the rest is history.

I cannot really remember my first performance ever, but I can remember when I was asked to sing a solo for the first time with a choir, and I loved it - a bit too much, maybe.

The feeling of making people feel happy and excited through singing was/is priceless.
 
Singing is an integral part of all cultures, and traditions. Which of these do you draw from – and why?

Growing up Jewish I feel like music can hold a very central part in the culture and how we express ourselves. We grow up with religion in a very musical way. It is how most things are expressed.

I was also introduced to music very early in my home in general, and through my grandmother in particular. She was the person who really opened up my eyes for this world other than something nice to listen to in the background at parties. Music was something that was passed on through generations and out of love.

And this is how I feel about music: it is something to be shared with people. And especially people that you love.

What were some of the main challenges in your development as a singer/vocalist? Which practices, exercises, or teachers were most helpful in reaching your goals – were there also “harmful” ones?

Since I come from a classically trained background I always felt like I had the basic tool box to use my voice very freely.

When I started focusing on jazz and really exploring the world of jazz vocals, I felt this served me. I was able to really use my voice like a n instrument, and I was always very fascinated in learning how to follow and sing with the instrumental lines and the trumpet solos for instance.

It was when I was in University of Aberdeen, and started my teaching under Sophie Bancroft that I learned how to explore that even more and start to feel secure in my tool box. How to use my tools but forget about them and just improvise on top of them.

It is something to always work on, and I still do.  
 
What are the things you hear in a voice when listening to a vocalist? What moves you in the voices of other singers?

What always moves me with a vocalist is control and when you can hear that, the sound is completely natural and unique. I feel today a lot of vocalists are trying to emulate, or sound like other performers.

I love to hear when a singer is so comfortable with how their instrument sounds and works that they just sit back in it. No added flare, or change of tone, just letting the voice sound like itself.
 
How would you describe the physical sensation of singing? [Where do you feel the voice, do you have a visual sensation/representation, is there a sense of release or tension etc …]

When I sing I can feel it all in my chest. To me singing is such a big stress release and it feels like getting to shout really loud but in a controlled manner.

If I’m doing a concert, the first few songs are always like a warm up, but then as I settle in and my voice is warm it’s like being able to just talk but I can feel the vibrations and I can play freely with my voice.
 
We have a speaking voice and a singing voice. Do these feel like they are natural extensions of each other, ends on a spectrum or different in kind?

I have always liked my singing voice better than my speaking voice.

To me, my speaking voice sounds more nasal than my singing. When I sing, I feel I can use way more of my deep range, and get a much richer timbre to my voice. A warmer feeling, and sound.

I don't see them so much as on a spectrum but more so on two lines going parallel with each other. They co-exist but they very rarely meet.
 
How do you see the relationship between harmony, rhythm and melody? Do you feel that honing your sense of rhythm and groove has an effect on your singing skills?  

I have been singing in choirs since I was a very young child so harmonies are something I both love and have a lot of experience with. To me harmonies are the best part about producing and recording for me. I could go on for days recording harmonies. I LOVE it!

I think rhythm and groove are extremely important, especially when it comes to jazz and soul. To play jazz with a band a lot of the time means listening to each other and finding the groove together. To really listen and feel the rhythm with the band.

And I think this has affected my singing quite a bit, I am much more comfortable as a singer to take charge and lead the band with the groove. As a singer it very often becomes the job to lead the band in a tempo and rhythm.
 
What are the potentials and limits of your voice? How much of your vocal performance can and do you want to control?

I have a lot of limits to my voice. I am not as able to belt or really use my chest voice as I would like sometimes. I want to be able to control and expand my limits.

However I like to embrace my cracks and limits as well. I feel they add a sound of fragility and force at the same time to a piece of music.
 
As a singer, it is possible to whisper at the audience, scream at the audience, reveal deep secrets or confront them with uncomfortable truths. Tell me about the sense of freedom that singing allows you to express yourself and how you perceive and build the relation with the audience.

To be in front of an audience is the most exposing thing ever.

This is already a form of relationship: you are alone and they are all focusing on you. Being alone, expressing yourself with the risk of everything going wrong. It is not natural to put yourself in a situation like this as a human.

For me this is the position I become the most wearable in, I want to whisper, to scream and to reveal secrets in front of them. I want to be completely honest with the performance.

If I am nervous, scared or excited I show it. Both in singing and in how I behave on stage.
 
I'd love to know more about the vocal performances for Half Silk Half Blade, please, and the qualities of your voice that you wanted to bring to the fore.

I have always been a choir kid at heart so I always want to bring my range out to the forefront. I love singing in the higher registers and I think it is very evident I like to stay up there.

However I of course love to highlight the higher register with the sound of a lower and perhaps deeper contrasting harmony underneath.
 
When you're writing song lyrics, do you sense or see a connection between your voice and the text? Does it need to feel and sound “good” or “right” to sing certain words? What's your perspective in this regard of singing someone else's songs versus your own?
 
I often write my melodies around my text, it is usually where I start.

I have never thought about it like I am writing my melodies around my words, and how it feels to sing certain words. But perhaps subconsciously I am, maybe my voice is just doing what feels naturally around the words written on the page.

That sounds quite nice to me.