Music
Nathaniel Making tracks on 22 West Live Sessions. Interview by Aziza Gomez
Art by Marissa Espiritu
Photos by Isaac Kau and Brandon Kheang Nathaniel is a bedroom R&B singer-songwriter from West Covina, California. Inspired by his family’s musical background, Nathaniel began creating his own music at a young age and is now focused on developing his craft even further. Nathaniel released his first EP titled “Dreams After Dusk” in 2018 which is available on all streaming platforms. Q: Were you always a songwriter or was it something that you started doing as your musicianship progressed? A: I did minisongs when I was in middle school but it wasn’t really serious until I did choir in high school. Sophomore year was when my musicianship really increased and I started making my own lyrics and beats. Q: What is one of your musical goals? A: I want to get to a total of one million streams. I feel like that is a good goal by the end of two years, maybe. I don’t know how slow or how fast it’s going to take, but it’s something I really want to achieve. Q: What were the easiest and hardest parts of releasing your first EP? A: The easiest part was probably making the music and the hardest part was figuring out how to get it all out there. I had to inform myself on music distributors and how to get all of my songs on music streaming platforms. This process is what allowed me to see both the creative and business side of the music industry. Q: How do you combat writer’s block? A: I get writer’s block a lot and whenever it happens I leave it alone for X amount of time and think up different methods of songwriting. For example, I like to think about how my favorite artist would tackle my song in terms of flow and I really try to emulate that. All of my music is heavily inspired by other musicians.
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