Fast Five: Nik Lloyd

When did you begin making music, and did you ever ponder a different career?

I was 9 when I got my first guitar. I would sit for hours trying to learn the songs from the ‘Nevermind’ album by Nirvana. At that time I thought my love for music was the same as anyone else’s, but then I quickly realised it was a huge part of my life when my friends were getting the latest games for Christmas and I just wanted albums.

How would you describe your music?

It’s hard to say really, I’ve been described as everything from the rough Ed Sheeran to Mike Skinner with an acoustic. One girl called it Street Pop which I felt was a fair comment. My lyrics draw from experiences I’ve had growing up in a small town & the mentality and lifestyle that come with that. I suppose there are hip hop influences in my music as it’s what a lot of people listened to around here growing up. I think a lot of my chord sequences come from typical top 40 songs of the 90’s, probably because they’ve been imprinted on my mind from when I was a kid.

What have you been up to so far and what can we expect over the coming months?

We’ve started recording the songs for my debut album, along with these acoustic tracks for the EP in a studio in Kent. I would spend every day of the week in a studio if I could, it feels like home for me, as I’m also a producer. I’m not at pro level yet, so seeing the guys who produced my tracks at work was a huge experience for me. My EP will be released on 17th November so there will be a busy gigging schedule to follow that, that will then lead up to the release of my album.

If you could duet with anybody who would it be and why?

There’s so many, it’s hard to say. I think I’d like to pen down some chords and write a hook for a rapper, it would be good just to see how other artists approach writing and recording, & if there are any major differences.

What’s your desert island disc and why would you take this one album?

It would have to be ‘Deftones – White Pony’, I know that you probably can’t hear that influence in my music at all, but they’re my favourite band. Chino Moreno’s voice is second to none in my opinion. I never get sick of the song ‘Digital Bath’ so I’d stick that on repeat on the island.