Nessa P Unveils New EP, Only Love
Nessa P celebrates the release of her new EP, Only Love, a poignant exploration of love’s transformative power and its ability to transcend the ordinary challenges of human relationships. This collection showcases Nessa’s indie electronic style, infused with influences from icons like Purple Disco Machine and Fred Again, crafting a soundscape that vibrates with authenticity and emotional depth.
Only Love delves into the complexities of love—its challenges and its moments of pure connection. The title track, born from a spontaneous burst of creativity, captures the essence of enduring love and the wisdom of patience. Throughout the EP, Nessa P weaves a narrative that reflects her personal and artistic growth, culminating in tracks that not only entertain but resonate on a deeper level.
This EP showcases her evolving artistry through a blend of indie electronic and disco nuances, marked by emotionally resonant lyrics and lush, dynamic production. Each track serves as a vignette, painting vivid pictures of personal experiences and broader existential reflections, making “Only Love” not just a collection of songs but a narrative journey. This EP solidifies Nessa P’s place in the modern music scene as a bold and introspective voice.
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Nessa P, I am a producer, artist, multi-instrumentalist, and DJ. I am from the San Francisco Bay Area, in California. I started playing guitar at 12, and started adding instruments from there. I had to teach myself everything, so music has become very intuitive for me. I can jam with anyone at a moment’s notice. This year I am really excited to be pushing myself in my releases. I own Órale Audio, my producer’s studio, where I work with other artists to produce their music. I’ve been in several rock bands, but in my adult years going to festivals has changed my life. I have gained so much from going to music festivals, and I’ve fallen in love with electronic music. I have changed so much in the past five years musically and that’s what I am showcasing now. The music you have access to is the result of those experiences. I’m excited about where I am right now mentally and musically! I hope that I motivate and inspire others to follow their passions. I want other creatives to know that they are enough as they are, and where you are is ok, keep pushing and making moves you will land where you need to be!
Tell us a bit about your recent release.
Only love came out of nowhere, one day I was stuck on a dance track, and writer’s block set in. I was at my studio when I called my boyfriend and told him we should go grab a drink. We went out to a couple of bars and had some great conversation, some of it centered around how far we’ve come together, then we headed back to the studio. I kept thinking about our conversation, how long we’ve been together, and how we’ve learned to work together. I realized that a lot of times we relied on taking no action during tough times. We learned to let those things pass and that has been a huge life lesson for me. When I got back, I had this phrase in my head “only love can save us.”
The proverbial lightbulb went off in my head and I was on fire. I immediately went into the booth and said I was gonna wing the lyrics, and I did. They are super raw and do not rhyme, but they just work. Later, Kahsii Autamese came to the studio and I asked her to jump on this track. We didn’t have a lot of time, so we did a little call and response type vocal where she sang one line and I sang another. She didn’t know that was what was going to happen, but I had to get her on the track, she has such an amazing voice, and we are currently cookin’ up some good good for you all, that will be coming a little further down the road.
Instrumentally, the focus was sort of nu-disco house, but as it goes I tend to get away from things a bit, I felt I was close, the Piano was the foundation of the track, I was using Arturia sounds, and then I layered on some bass lines, and I muffled them up real nice with some sound treatment foam. I recorded that live off an orange amp with an SM57. Then I started layering percussion instruments. Next, I worked with the mini moog from UA, and layered that with a Dave Smith’s Mopho X4 Synth direct input. The song is pretty simple from a composition point of view.
How do you typically go about the songwriting process? Do you have a specific method or creative routine that you follow?
I used to write everything on guitar, now I tend to think of the type of song I want to make, and create a beat first, then start layering instruments as they feel necessary. I definitely used to even write lyrics first, but now, I try to fit some stock lyrics I have on backup from poetry I write behind everyone’s back. I tend to like to add lyrics organically, I will get a whole track done, and write lyrics while driving around in my car. I just memorize the good ideas I have and repeat. It’s almost as if I never stop working on music; especially in traffic! I love adding guitar at the end of songs now, it’s kind of odd to hear guitar solos in EDM, but then there are some of the greats out there who have done that, and I love it. I try not to follow too many rules that really do not matter. Writing, recording, mixing, and mastering everything is a lot of work, and I am beating myself up mentally at every stage. I am proud of how far I have come in my songwriting process, and I love that I have these songs to learn from and look back on now!
Looking ahead, what are your plans for supporting this new release? Are there any upcoming tours, music videos, or additional content that fans can look forward to in connection with this project?
We’re putting together some Summer Tour Dates. They will be a mix of live shows and DJ sets so stay tuned. There is a lot in the works for this single. There is a lot planned for the next five months or so, fans will have the ability to buy some neat Nessa P merch, and there is even some vinyl talk happening right now, for sure we have a music video currently in the works. We’re currently editing some tidbits for the music video supporting the single so stay tuned!
Looking back on your musical career, is there a particular moment or accomplishment that you consider a turning point or a highlight?
When I wrote the song “LIFE,” a lot of people really liked it. I also beat myself up a lot mentally about that song. Once I put it out, my boyfriend would randomly play it, without telling me first, for people at parties and other occasions. He did it at camp when we were at Coachella last year, and I got really embarrassed and told him to turn it off. Then people walked over to our tent and asked who that artist was. I remember feeling extremely proud, and I gained a lot of confidence from that. Another friend told me they had been playing it on repeat all Summer because she loved the synth lead parts. I realized that I had something that someone could connect to, and I knew I could do it again, and maybe even better. As an artist and any creative person can tell you, you are always waging war in your head about your worth, and how well you are doing at your craft. Sometimes you just need to let go of your ego and allow yourself to just be proud of yourself for creating something in the first place. Our ego can also inhibit us, it’s the ego that also allows us to be self-conscious. I allowed myself to create something, and I put it out in the world. Gusteau from Ratatouille makes a great point when he says something to the effect of, the worst creator is better than the best critic. We creators can be our own biggest critics. I’d like to just allow my creations to enter the world, and I can also learn from them and do better next time, but I can also enjoy them for what they are and the beauty that comes with creation.
Last but not least, it’s time to pay it forward, what upcoming band or artist would you recommend your fans check out?
Solid! I love this question, a value I have is to support indie artists and local artists around me! So, I actually have two that I really love.
I love Eunith. He is just amazing. He is the epitome of resourcefulness! He admits that he doesn’t have all the best equipment, in a huge studio, but he just works with what he has and relies on his skills, which results in an amazing product. But lemme say, he also has some awesome gear too! One of my favourite songs from him is “Back Here.” Please Just stop right now and watch that music video directed by Keaton Punch. I mean just look the guy up, he is incredible. Euntih is a synth wavey, dance poppy dream! His synth leads are just sick, when he plays live you better show up, he’s gonna put on a great show, he’s gonna pull out the talk box, you just buy a ticket!
Then there is this husband-wife duo, Tarot de Marseille, that just kills it! Every time I see them live it’s a fucking vibe. Earl is a madman just tearing up the 404, and triggering a bunch of shit all at once, or playing a synth, and Rachel is holding it down with her bass lines. Everyone in the room is just entranced. They are constantly playing shows because they just love to perform and play music together. They are just too good, Check out the entire album Wave Conjugations and just go from there. There is a lot of nostalgia blended into their funky little beats, one song has samples from an ice cream truck, another from Unsolved Mysteries and so on…enjoy! Between those two, I’d say – You’re welcome, dig in!
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