NYC-based singer-songwriter, Nate Blizzy, climbs up the ladder of success with singles like “Flames” and “Stripper Music.” The multi-instrumentalist had last dropped “Live It Up,” a 90’s-inspired track that is full of life and positivity. During our interview, he talked about the recent song and why it’s important to seize the moment and live in the present.
Blizzy admits that there’s so much to be thankful for. The talented musician never misses on an opportunity to celebrate life and shares one of his most memorable experiences as an artist. He also teases that more music is on the way, in addition to a US and a European tour.
Read the rest below.
Tell us more about this new song. What inspired it and what was the vision behind this empowering anthem?
It’s about not waiting to celebrate. All of us, no matter what situation we’re in, have things to celebrate in our lives and the lives of those around us. But too often we wait for what we think could be a better or more convenient time to recognize and celebrate the great things that are in and around us. The time to live it up is now – we have so much to be thankful for, and if we keep putting off the party it will never happen. Take time to live life to the fullest – don’t wait.
There are so many genres and different elements in “Live It Up.” How do you manage to blend them all in one coherent track?
By not thinking about it. I think Rhino goes in and makes music that has no boundaries in general. Fusion Music he calls it and that’s his forte I think. We both have a lot of genres and artists that influence us, and we’re fortunate in that inspiration just comes to us – we don’t have to think about it. There’s no rules we have to adhere to, or are even thinking about, so when we’re inspired to mix reggae with R&B and hip-hop and pop, we just do it and trust that the end result will mix together. It all mixes together naturally and effortlessly in my mind, so it’s just a matter of getting the track to sound like it does in my mind. You’re gonna hear every genre of music listening to our music.
How did you start your journey as an artist?
On paper at four when I first started taking violin lessons and was obsessed with the composer Mozart, but my journey really accelerated in high school when I picked up the guitar, and then just about every other stringed instrument I came across. I was in a lot of plays in high school, usually with some performing instrument role, and they always knew I could learn a new instrument if that’s what the play needed, so I picked up everything from banjo to upright bass. Later I started hanging with musicians from all different backgrounds and would pick up not only what instruments they played but how they played it. I learned drums from a guy who was obsessed with Bob Marley and so each practice we’d play a few of Marley’s longer songs and drum along – I remember playing through Punky Reggae Party in particular about a hundred times. Later I moved up to NYC and worked in a few recording studios as a sound engineer but was often pulled into various bands to play some random instrument on one track. All in all it gave me a ton of experience with different sounds, genres, and artists to find inspiration from.
How different is your creative process now compared to when you started?
Every year it gets more diverse. I have more influences and inspirations to pull from. I’m also more comfortable using my recording platform as an instrument in and of itself, and using different ones to get different workflows that lead to different songs. For example, I’ll write a very different song when using Ableton Live than I do when using Logic, and a different one still when using an MPC. However, in many ways the process still starts the same – I hear a full part of the song in my head, like the chorus, or a bridge, and I work to figure out how to best interpret that into a recording with the tools and instruments I have.
What is your most memorable experience as an artist? Is performing live one of your main sources of inspiration?
Most memorable was hearing the first song I ever recorded professionally. Realizing that I could do that – create something permanent from nothing. I know I’m not unique in that with so many bedroom producers creating studio-quality hits at home – Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas being one of the best examples. But there is something magical the first time you hear one of your own songs and it sounds like it could be on the radio. Next most memorable is actually hearing one of my songs on the radio – that was a trip. Live music is absolutely a huge source of inspiration for me, especially when it feels like I know the song so well and everything is clicking and, as Bono says, the song is singing me instead of the other way around – I am a willing instrument for the song to perform itself through. That’s the best feeling of all.
What style or genre would best describe your sound?
Pop-Soul, but also Pop-Soul that is ours alone. I want it to feel familiar and brand new at the same time, like you’re not just listening to the next big artist, but you’re listening to the next big wave of music style.
What’s next for Nate Blizzy?
Next is not stopping. We’re going to keep pumping out hits because there’s so much music already written in our heads that needs to come out, both as a cathartic exercise for Rhino and I but also because I know we have a lot more to give to our fans that will give them even more reasons and a soundtrack to celebrate and live it up. This year, next year, we’re going to keep on building out that soundtrack for our fans to always have something new to keep them inspired. We’re also going to do a tour in the US and Europe to meet fans and show them what this music sounds like live – it’s a different, interactive vibe live where we play off the audience and riff and remix what they know and love to the vibe of the room, the crowd, the evening. Keep growing until people throughout the world know our music.
Listen to “Live It Up” on YouTube & Spotify: