Natty
London style, global sound – welcome to the world of Natty, who describes himself as an “opinionated, story-telling crowd rocker!†- one of the brightest new acts to emerge on the UK music scene this year, Natty, releases his debut album ‘Man Like I’ on 4th August - a collection of raw grooves with intelligent and savvy lyrics about life, loves and modern young Britain today.
With a killer performance on “Later with Jools Holland†under his belt, a playlist on Radio 1, support slots for his mates Adele and Kate Nash who invited him onto their recent tours, along with many of his own headline gigs across the UK - this 24-year old Londoner has already made a great impression on music tastemakers and scene-sters alike.
Hailing from North London 24-year old Natty grew up surrounded by an eclectic mix of sounds from Neil Young to Marvin Gaye. Having been making music from an early age, it was while working in Sphere Studios in Battersea that his plans began to come together. By day he was engineering for some of the biggest names in the indie music scene and by night this gave him the inspiration to nurture his own developing talent.
Following his self made path, this former indie-band engineer built a following at open mic nights becoming a champion on the circuit and garnered some devout fans also with his Vibes and Pressure nights he hosted, which have seen everyone from the Get Cape Wear Cape Fly, to Tawiah, to Statik and Mr Hudson and the Library perform.
Natty’s debut album ‘Man Like I’ is a testament to the diverse sounds he grew up listening to and mixes up reggae, indie and soul topped off with a healthy dose of London-style attitude. “It’s a collection of real stories but with a social commentary†he explains. The album includes the clean West African guitar sound of ’Coloured Souls’ - This is the parent song for most of my album,†Natty explains, “After writing this I felt I had a voice. It’s a song for my generation saying we can’t let our situation, the media or these ‘black and white towns’ determine who we areâ€. With “Revolution†he says “I wrote this song staring at my reflection, I was in a dark place mentally and I was reminding myself of all the dreams I had, kind of like sparking an internal revolutionâ€. The album also includes the gentle soulful pop of love song ’Bedroom Eyes’, the sun drenched ‘July’ and the sparse lament ’Say Bye Bye’. Playing guitar backed by a four-piece band of friends, he sings in a rough-edged voice that has genuine soul. Also featured is the much acclaimed debut single ‘Cold Town’ that shot Natty into public consciousness.
A smart, unique, thoughtful singer and songwriter with integrity, something to talk about and a diverse sound ready for summer and beyond, Natty says it like he sees it.