4.52am Issue: 041 6th July 2017 The Nancy Kells Issue

Was it what you expected/what
would you change now?
“I never really had any expectations and
don't think I do now that much either. I
have an idea of what I want and keep on
working on it until it seems right. I don't
think I would change anything because
it all led to where I am today and I am
pretty content with where I am and hope
to keep stretching myself and improving
as a musician.”
You have collaborated with so
many, but how have you found
working with producers?
“I guess you could say Brian with Noxon
Light University and Dan with Zilla-Plex
are producers. With Brian, he sends me
a completed track and then I actually
play instruments on it and also sing and
the parts I do, I produce. Dan probably
does more production with me than
Brian. I send Dan tracks and then he
creates a new song. Essentially
everything that I send him are tracks
from completed songs I wrote and he
creates something new with them.
As far as Spartan Jet-Plex, I do
everything myself, including any
production.
With collaborative stuff, that end of
things generally is also collaborative. I
will admit that I am kind of like a
mamma bear with SJP. Those songs are
my babies and I am not letting anyone
change or influence how they sound as
finished pieces in the end.
Collaborating is a whole other thing
though. With that, there is give and take.
I have a desire to do both and get
different things from doing solo and
collaborative work.”
Thinking about your approach to
songwriting - which comes first -
words or music?
“It is a mix of both. Often one leads the
other and sometimes they come at the
same time.”
How did you learn to write a song?
“Probably just from listening to music. I
haven't had any proper classes on
songwriting. A lot of it is trial and error
and just experimenting and trying
things.”
Which one are you proudest of?
“That's difficult. I think any of the songs
that make it onto an official release are
ones I am proud of. Of course, there are
ones on each album I like most, but in
order for it to have made it onto the
album, I had to have had some kind of
fondness for it.”
Can you tell us more about how your
collaborations actually work,
collaboration with Brian Piccolo,
Noxon Light University?
“Brian sends me a completed song he
created and then I play instruments over
it, usually keys, synth, guitar, and also
vocals.
We have made a few songs with me
sending him instrument samples or tracks