Thursday 24 September 2015

Nina Jones Talks About Her Third Single - Promises


Newport based singer Nina Jones has been somewhat busy since the release of her debut single Never Let You Go back in April. As well as taking her A Levels, Nina has been busy recording new material at Caerphilly’s Shabby Road studios, Andy Howells recently caught up with Nina to discuss her new single Promises.

What have you been up to since Never Let You Go was released?
I’ve been pretty busy! Firstly I had to finish my A level exams with juggling the music stuff too. After my first single release I then released 2 songs sorta simultaneously. I released Purple Rain by Prince straight after Never Let You Go (see more info below). To coincide with that release I also put out a dance remix of the debut single Never Let You Go too. I let Darren Parry (the co-writer of the original song) take charge of finding a re-mixer for the track. It took a while to find the right people but Darren chose ‘Adventurer’, a dance producer duo who have recently re-mixed for Pixie Lott, Pendulum, Get Cape Wear Cape Fly and Young Guns. Darren Parry was executive producer on the re-mix and between them they came up with a thumping Dance/Club/Ibiza vibe that has received much interest online and has been played in Clubs; some of the Cardiff Clubs especially, which was cool! Check out Never Let You Go (Adventurer Remix) on iTunes.

Were you pleased with the response to the single?
Yes. It was my first ever proper release out to the public on iTunes, Amazon etc. and to radio, so it was a big thrill for me. I was fortunate to get BBC Radio Wales airplay, much interest from bloggers, music websites, The Argus of course, Wales Online and radio all over the UK and abroad. Local radio such as BRFM, GTFM and Radio Cardiff were especially helpful with giving me airplay and in house interviews. I have learnt so much in the last 6 months or so about how the music industry works!

Your new single Promises is out soon, can you tell us more about that?
Promises is my third single release. It will be out to buy from October 1st. It’s a fantastic contemporary Pop/R&B/Ballad song written by the talented Darren Parry again. Darren also produced the track at Shabbey Road Studios in Caerphilly, where I record all my songs. The song also features the ultra-talented Al Steele (studio owner/engineer) and was brought to life even more with the guitar licks of the great Rob Devereux. I’m very, very excited about it. It’s a song about not trusting someone anymore, being tired of their lies and promises. It’s about being strong and moving on to better things. I think a lot of people can relate to this song so I hope that radio will embrace it so that as many people as possible can hear it! You can hear the song for now on my Soundcloud.


You recently did a fantastic version of Prince's Purple Rain on YouTube, why did you choose that particular song to record?
I recorded my own version of Purple Rain by Prince as I’ve always loved the song. I saw somebody perform it on X Factor a while ago and it brought the song to my attention again. I suppose it was a brave decision to record that song as it’s so iconic and part of the public consciousness. I like a challenge though and the vast majority of feedback I have had has been very positive indeed. We had to get permission from the Publisher and get a special licence to release it in the first place! It’s had over 47,000 views on YouTube however, which I’m thrilled about and had quite a lot of airplay all over the UK on radio as well as mentions in various blogs, music websites and journals. Some of the YouTube comments blew me away with their positivity; with some even saying it’s their favourite ever version of the song… which was very flattering!

Are you working on more material at the moment?
Always working on some new stuff. Just finished the new single Promises of course just 2 weeks ago and Darren Parry has some more songs up his sleeve for me to record soon! So watch this space.

Are there more live dates scheduled?
Yes indeed. The summer has been busy with gigs at The Celtic Manor, Merthyr Redhouse, Caldicot Castle (Dubs At The Castle) etc. I also just did two live appearances on TV up near Birmingham too for ‘Big Centre TV’ which was fun where I performed Never Let You Go and my own version of I Can’t Make You Love Me by the wonderful Bonnie Raitt. Check out my Facebook page for up to date info on live performances by me, as a solo act, and with me and our fantastic 9 piece band…’Sounds Familiar’.

Are there any current albums or singles you’re particularly enjoying at the moment?
Basically anything that Sam Smith puts out

To find out more about Nina Jones check out the following links:
A version of Andy Howells' Q&A with Nina Jones appeared in The South Wales Argus' entertainment supplement The Guide on September 18, 2015.

No comments:

Post a Comment