OCTOPUS
19:30
20:00
From the joyful musical roots of her Ghanaian heritage, to the raw storytelling of singers like Lauryn Hill that first piqued her interest as a teen, to the supportive South London neo-soul community that she’s found a home in more recent years, there’s one thing that connects the musical jigsaw of 24-year-old Nectar Woode: honesty.
Though seemingly disparate on the surface, Nectar’s influences speak of an artist who has spent her life so far nurturing the things that truly make her tick. Growing up in Milton Keynes, she jokes of her hometown as “a very beige place”, but her household as a “creative bubble” within it. Her Ghanaian saxophone-player father would fill the house with jazz and Highlife music, while her English mother worked as an artist and fashion pattern cutter; exposed to a creative way of life and a wide variety of sounds, both mainstream and niche, it opened Nectar’s ears to a world of sonic possibility.
Having released a few songs independently over the past couple of years, the real introduction to Nectar Woode begins with forthcoming debut EP ‘Nothing To Lose’. Merging the improvisational ethos of the jam sessions that she cut her teeth playing in, with the more streamlined pop nouse of co-writers and producers Bad Sounds (Arlo Parks, Rose Gray) and Tobie Tripp (Tom Misch, Dave), the EP is a testament to letting go and kicking down her own barriers even further; allowing new collaborators in and fully embodying the sentiment of its title. The rich patchwork of influences at the heart of Nectar’s writing are still there for all to hear, but they’re also riddled with hooks that you’ll be left humming for days after.