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- Sep 22, 2020
- 3 min read

NATHAN SMITH RELEASES LONG-AWAITED ALBUM OF ORIGINAL WORKS

Local music lovers should always be excited when a purely South African album is released, more so when it contains original music, written by the artist. That is why we love this album. Renowned guitarist, singer and songwriter Nathan Smith’s brand-new album of original works, Here’s to the Now has just been released, and it is a masterpiece!

The ALBUM

The album features twelve original tracks and is named after the opening song. This song represents Nathan’s motto about life: “Plan your best for tomorrow, but live for today and enjoy what you have because tomorrow will take care of itself.”

Musician Dewald Wasserfall provides possibly the best synopsis of this album: “Here’s to the Now transitions seamlessly between soaring rock riffs, soulful blues and nuanced acoustic folk. Catchy melodies and stellar musicianship tie it all together.”

The title song and tracks like Scientist Say feature beautiful rock music, whilst Dry Cry Smile is a blues song with a hint of a Dire Straits sound. If you like acoustic guitar sounds, you won’t be disappointed. Alice, The first and The Last and the moving song dedicated to Nathan’s nephew Aiden, provides beautiful acoustic guitar sounds that soothe the soul. The song Aiden was written as a heartfelt tribute to his nephew who passed away at age 22 from an Auto-immune disease.

The song selection features something for every taste, with original band instruments as the foundation of the sounds. For song selection, Nathan depended on inputs from colleagues. “Because of my extensive musical background and session experience, a big challenge was to create an album with a coherent sound and to not let every song run in a different direction,” he explains. “I did pre-production for about eighteen songs while I was on tour in the Netherlands. From there, I got feedback from colleagues on which ones seemed best, and twelve tracks made the final cut.” Quite a few well-known artists confirm their approval of the song selection. “Finally, a change of scenery in the music industry. I can listen to this all day long. Get out those headphones, you need to hear this…” says Bobby van Jaarsveld. And Riana Nel agrees: “Here’s to the Now is one of those albums you can listen to every day of the week. So melodic with killer lines. Skilfully done!”

The ARTIST

Nathan grew up in a musical family. Both his parents were music teachers and playing music has always been quite a natural thing for him. Nathan started playing the guitar at the age of eleven. Soon after that, he began performing live in venues and on national television. “I discovered my love for writing music at the age of thirteen”, he adds.

Nathan is a seasoned musician, having spent around 26 years in the industry with many experiences and stories to share. A career highlight, he says, was playing at various Soccer World Cup events in 2010. “Besides the huge stages and crowds, it brought so many people together in spirit.”

He is inspired, says Nathan, by entertaining people and delivering something likeable to the ear. What is clear from listening to the album is that Nathan is a master of the guitar. “I’m dedicated to the craft of playing the guitar, which is a whole other inspiration to me.” But the talented guitarist’s hands are not only good for making music. “I love handyman work. My daughter even calls me ‘Handy Manny’, thanks to her mom,” he laughs.

While renowned for his session work, original work has always been at the core of Nathan’s love for music, with 2006 seeing the launch of his solo album Songs from a Diary. In 2009 he released an experimental album with Mark Heydenrych, Paddy Smith and Kyle Rutten called The Nathan Smith Project – The Sum of All Things.

Commenting on his brand-new single and upcoming album, he says: “I love how you can instantly connect with people you don’t know on a deeper level of emotion and understanding through music. I want people to relate to the stories behind the music while appreciating the artistry.”

Our FAVORITE SONGS

SA-Artists likes all the songs on the album, and it is tough to choose favourites. We have decided to choose three songs from different genres. Our rock song of choice is the title song Here’s to the Now. A great blues sound is heard in Dry Cry Smile, and a beautiful acoustic track is The First and the Last.