Name: Nicki Wells
Nationality: British
Occupation: Singer, songwriter, composer
Current release: Nicki Wells's new single "Holy Smoke" is out now.

If you enjoyed this Nicki Wells interview and would like to find out more about her music, visit her official homepage. She is also on Instagram, Facebook, and twitter.  



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

For me it’s generally a feeling that I need to express or if I hear something that makes me feel a certain way it will inspire me to go to the piano and improvise until something more concrete comes from that openness. Then a song can be born from that experimentation.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

I normally allow myself to just get lost in the process without my head / mind doing too much of the talking.

I find the most interesting and genuine things come from a place where you yourself are taken in by the process, without controlling it too much. Things unravel and you learn to trust the process that something will eventually come together.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

There is an element of having a certain environment that is conducive to the creative process. I can’t create with a lot of mess around. A messy environment also gives you a messy mind.

I like to have a minimal environment, that is uncluttered. During recording I’ll always light a candle for example, to have a little ritual and blow it out after the recording as a kind of thank you.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

As I said above. And yes, lighting is so important too. For me, it has to be dim and cozy but if I’m writing during the day I like as much light as possible.

What do you start with? How difficult is that first line of text, the first note?

The music comes easier to me. I usually write the music first then words come. I try to stay very close to my initial feeling and try not to dilute it otherwise it becomes something else and can be scattered or distracted.

Of course there are many times where a song is completely different to how you first imagined it. I like the song to guide the way for me and I’ll try to listen carefully to the direction it wants to go.

When do the lyrics enter the picture? Where do they come from? Do lyrics need to grow together with the music or can they emerge from a place of their own?

Lyrics come after music for me. I like to read books, poetry which really inspire lyrics.

Sometimes I have watched a film and wrote a song about the same kind of narrative.

What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?
 
Imagination, poetry, a play on words, humour and wit when appropriate and a feeling of not taking yourself so seriously. As you would converse with a friend, to have that informality, ease and genuinity.

The best songwriters for me are the likes of Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and Jeff Buckley.

Once you've started, how does the work gradually emerge?

By trusting the process, being concentrated and open to the creative flow.

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control over the process or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

Exactly the latter.

Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

I go with it. Sometimes I try to go back and focus harder on the original feeling but if it’s not meant to be, then I allow myself to be swept with the creative tide and the song go where it needs to.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

Everything is spiritual. The word spiritual itself has come with a lot of associations and concepts and that’s a problem. To me it’s about being part of a flow in an open and surrendered state and in that there will always be gifts, surprises and lessons along the way.

Spirituality is a way of being not a way of doing. If you are in that childlike curious, open yet focused state, quite frankly I think you’re there. And the creativity can flourish within that state.

Especially in the digital age, the writing and production process tends towards the infinite. What marks the end of the process? How do you finish a work?

I like to work quickly and move on quickly because there are always endless ideas that come. The trick is to have good time management, focus and not to get distracted by other chores or other people’s needs of you, which of course sometimes you have to attend.

To be of service to one’s art is the artist’s both gift and dilemma.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practise?

Once a piece is finished, I personally move on from it, once it has a life.

The process after writing is the real mountain, because you have to write it, live with it, perform it, watch it grow and then become something to somebody else. It’s no longer your own.

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? How involved do you get in this?

For my upcoming album Ellipsis, I wore most of the hats in terms of production, engineering and mixing. I wanted to be involved in the whole process in a really ‘role up your sleeves’ kind of way.

After I got the tracks to a place I was happy with in the mix, I gave them to another mixer to take the tracks to next level and then got them mastered.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

I feel a sense of urgency to move on to the next body of work fast because I have a lot of ideas that I want to get out and have only just started feeling that my own voice is beginning to be heard.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

I’m not sure if making a coffee would be similar. More likely to cook a great meal, where all the ingredients are carefully chosen and all the spices and flavours are balanced in a manner that provide nourishment and joy to the consumer.

There’s an art to being a good chef for sure.