The Bleached Shall Inherit The Earth - Interview with Nina Nesbitt

Is Nina Nesbitt the anti-Miley Cyrus? The UK Times thinks so: last year, it ran a piece on young female singers who ‘refuse to twerk’. Top of the list was the Scottish strummer, singled out by the paper as a self-created artist with a “punky DIY ethic”. Some might blanch at being pigeonholed as squeaky clean and parent-friendly – which was essentially the thrust of the article. Nesbitt was absolutely fine with the designation. Controversial is the last thing she is aiming for.

“I thought it was quite good to be included,” says the 19 year old. “Music videos are so sexualised. It takes away from the song. I might sound like someone’s gran saying that. Ultimately, I’m not a sexy person at all. I couldn’t do it [twerk à la Miley]. In music, I want to make a connection, tell a story.”

Nesbitt knows all about the dark side of glamour. Aged 15, she briefly worked as a model in Edinburgh (she grew up in a small town on the outskirts of the Scottish capital). Shy and awkward, stomping up and down a catwalk was, she discovered, her idea of hell while she bridled under the lifestyle constraints imposed by the fashion industry.

“Modeling didn’t help my confidence,” she says. “If anything it probably made it worse. You are surrounded by lots of beautiful skinny girls. I felt under pressure to be a certain weight, look a certain way. My hair was never as long as anyone else’s. Honestly, I didn't like it. Now I’m a musician and I can present myself any way I see fit. It is hugely freeing.”

A quintessential post-music industry artist, Nesbitt has built her audience one fan at a time – initially by performing on YouTube (she was too shy to gig), then, once her confidence had progressed to a point where she could step on stage without visibly quivering, through relentless touring. Along the way she crossed paths with Ed Sheeren (they were briefly rumored to be a couple), his imprimatur helping build her fanbase yet further.

“We both play guitar, we both write about real life. So I can understand the comparison,” she shrugs. “And we both tour a lot. That lifestyle is not glamorous at all. I love travelling. But you're doing it constantly. You really do need to be up for it.”

Rather less expected is her friendship with Example, the lairy London r’n'b star. In 2012, Nesbitt went on an arena tour with the artist otherwise known as Elliot Gleave. It was a highlight of her career even if, in the moment, she was terrified beyond description.

“I was 17 and it was just me and a guitar,” she says. “Literally nobody had heard of me. It was intimidating. To my surprise his crowd was up for it and clapped along. I think the contrast between what I was doing and what he was doing helped.”

Nesbitt has just released her debut LP, Peroxide. Sung in her cracked
lilt, the lyrics are extraordinary confessional. There's the odd glimmer of levity – such as on the Gen Y critiquing ‘Selfie’. Generally, Nesbitt is crooning from the heart, laying her feelings out for the whole world to see.

“I write about what happens. I want to make music that's honest , which draws a response from the listener, whether that is to make them happy or sad. I find it very thereupuatic to put my emotions out there. If you're going through a break up or what have you, it helps you put it behind you. Some people have diaries. I write songs.”

Typical of musicians of her generation, she has a close relationship with her fanbase, with which she's in near-constant contact via-social media. She enjoys forging a connection, though the occasional fusillade of snark from a ‘hater’ does get her down. She tells herself that these people exist and that she shouldn’t let it bother her. Increasingly she believes it too.

“It's lovely to receive nice comments. You also hear from bullies. In the beginning I would get very angry. Eventually I got that it was okay for them to have an opinion. There's music I don’t like either. That’s fine.”