Nia Fisher Fishing For Her Truth

Your debut single ‘Lost In You’  is out now. What was the inspiration/story behind the song?

Lost In You is a deep, intense ballad that was inspired by my own thoughts and theories around the theme of romantic love. It looks at the walls we often build around ourselves in order to try and protect our hearts. This song is about the connection that can break those barriers down and how resistance can give way to surrender. I think for anyone to truly reach us, truly love us, they need to be willing to look beneath the mess and chaos we may carry. Lost In You is about loving someone’s darkness as well as their light, both in equal measure.

Your new music was recorded at Sonic One Studios in South Wales, United Kingdom with the producer Tim Hamill whose past credits include Steve Balsamo, Scarlet Rebels, and Luke Evans just to name a few. How did that opportunity arise?

My introduction to Tim will forever be one of those defining chapters in the story of my life. It all came about thanks to my good friend Steve Balsamo who has, in a stealthy manner, become a mentor over the years. I was chatting a lot to Steve over the course of 2020 when lots of us suddenly had more time on our hands and he was listening to the music I was creating. One day he said to me “You’ve got an EP or an album here and I’m going to help you make it”. Now Steve has been in the business as a singer/songwriter for 30+ years and has recorded in studios all over the world. He spoke passionately about Tim who has been an integral part of Steve’s life as an artist for decades and the sound that Tim was able to capture in his vocals. I knew that Sonic One Studios was the place to start my own story as a recording artist. Tim and Steve are super close so I knew if they were a good fit, chances were I’d be able to connect with Tim in a similar way.

In addition, the new single will be accompanied by a music video. Where was this filmed and who did you work with? Any memorable/interesting/funny stories from the filming day/s?

The stunning video that accompanies Lost In You was shot by the ridiculously talented Rhys Davies of Furball Films. Yet again I have Steve to thank for that introduction. I had seen the results of their partnership in a number of videos that Rhys had shot for Steve in the past, Armour Of My Soul, Breaking Apart, Lighthouse Keeper and It’s Always Been You. I fell in love with these works of art and the opportunity to film with Rhys was a dream realised for me. We shot on location in and around Ogmore-by-Sea which lies at the most westerly point of the Glamorgan Heritage Coast in South Wales. I knew that I wanted nature to be front and centre of this video, my connection with it is a vital part of my life and I have sought much healing and inspiration from its beauty over the years. It seemed only fitting that my first ever music video should have a natural dramatic backdrop. We only had the one day back in early July 2022 to film and of course, weather in the UK (Wales being no exception) is unpredictable to say the least. I was adamant about sticking to the plan though, if it rained, so be it, I’d just embrace that and let it inform the mood and aesthetic of the piece. It turned out that Mother Nature got the memo and showed up on the day with perfect lighting and a well timed wind machine. Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for more perfect climatic conditions. Just enough cloud which allowed the sun to shine through periodically and a breeze that any hair commercial would be lucky to have. Rhys is a wonderful director too. He moves pretty continuously around you which means that you’re not aware of having a camera in your face. It was as if he himself became one of the elements allowing me to lose myself in the song and the landscape. The whole experience was memorable for me, one of my most favourite days ever and I’m so happy with the video. In my opinion it elevates the song whilst allowing the viewer to decide what the story within it means to them personally.

Who are some of your music influences? 

I can’t remember a time without music. It occurred to me just the other day that the first ‘gig ’I attended was actually a recital by the chamber choir my dad belonged to. It was the first time I ever heard ‘The Lamb ’by John Tavener. I was moved so deeply by the haunting harmonies and it’s a memory that is as strong today decades later. They were performing at Allington Castle in Kent, it was Christmas time and I can literally smell the fire that had been lit whenever I hear that piece. I love the evocative power of music. Church music featured heavily in my upbringing as did the eclectic mix of artists that filtered through the house from my older brothers ’bedrooms. Foreigner, Pink Floyd, Bob Seger, Elvis, The Beach Boys to name but a few. As I grew up and discovered my own musical tastes I fell in love with a variety of voices and writers.

Sting’s music has been a huge part of the soundtrack of my adult life. I love words, the power that they hold and the ways in which they can be used be it sparingly or not! The lyrics that Sting pens are like poetry and I’ve been so inspired by the way in which he can weave narrative in to his songs not to mention his musicality. Artists such as Sarah McLachlan, Shawn Colvin and Amanda Marshall featured heavily in the 90’s for me and the older I get the more I am drawn to the tone of someone’s voice rather than purely a ‘great ’voice.

Bruce Hornsby, Bonnie Raitt, Don Henley, Jackson Browne and Richard Marx are just some of the incredible songwriters I admire. If I need a certain vibe, wanting to feel and experience a song rather than simply ‘listen ’to it I will head straight for Talk Talk or The Blue Nile. To be moved at the end of the day is the only thing I really care about. A simple melody, delivered in a truthful and uncomplicated way can floor me far more effectively than a complex albeit impressive vocal. It’s all subjective though (thank goodness) so there’s a place for it all!

Do you have any further music releases planned? 

 

Over the course of the past 2 years I have continued to work and save hard, returning periodically to continue recording with Tim at Sonic One Studios. To date, I have 2 EPs mixed, mastered and ready to go with a 3rd that I’ll be finishing in August of this year, 2023. I’m really hoping that first of these, entitled Glorious Life, will be out as soon as possible.

 

How do you look after your voice?

 

I very rarely drink alcohol these days, not intentionally but I’ve just gone off it really so that’s definitely beneficial for the voice. Day to day I don’t do anything specific, I’m naturally quite aware of how my voice and body feels after having spent so many years performing for a living. The main thing I do is allow myself anything in moderation. Cheese, coffee whatever it is that some people will say is ‘bad ’I’ll happily consume as the moment I cut anything out is when I get in my own head about it. Personally speaking, nothing is guaranteed to mess with my voice more than my own self chatter!

 

If it is possible could you please tell me about your work with The Daisy Network Charity and how you came to be aware of them and their work? 

 

The Daisy Network is a wonderful resource run by amazing women. It is solely dedicated to supporting and providing advice and information for those affected by Premature Ovarian Insufficiency or Premature Menopause as it’s more commonly known. I myself was diagnosed with POI back in 2010 at the age of 35. It was a shocking diagnosis that came completely out of the blue and one that for myself, there was no explanation for. I feel there’s a far more open dialogue about it now, more publications, more blogs, more stories to be found than there were when I found out I was infertile. The Daisy Network was the only beacon of light I can remember seeing when I was flailing around desperate for more information. Around 2012 I started writing a blog about my experience in the hope of turning it in to something more positive. If I remember rightly, it was one of those blogs that someone from The Daisy Network read subsequently asking if I’d speak at one of their annual conferences at the Chelsea and Westminster hospital in London back in 2017. I had so much to say, not least that writing my blogs had unearthed a pain that I hadn’t fully faced. In 2014 I started allowing myself to grieve and in February 2021 I wrote a piece for the charity that was published in their guide book ‘Understanding Premature Ovarian Insufficiency ’available in paperback. My contribution to the book was about being ‘positively childless ’covering my journey from diagnosis to acceptance. I had no idea that this life altering time of my life would be the biggest contributing factor to finally giving myself permission to embrace songwriting in a very real way.

 

Do you have any plans for any live shows to support your music releases?

 

One of my biggest goals is to perform my songs live one day. My music is muscular, emotional and often cinematic and I would love to perform my music with a band. Realistically speaking this isn’t likely to happen soon but one day for sure! Right now it is about my story as a recording artist, finally setting my music free. I truly believe life is all about timing and I don’t regret that I didn’t start on this path when I was younger. I wasn’t ready, my writing wasn’t ready and my voice wasn’t ready as I was too focused on my career and singing how others wanted or needed me to sing. My hope is that anyone who enjoys Lost In You will find me on the socials (Nia Fisher Music- Instagram, Facebook) and come on this journey with me. Let’s prove that it’s never too late to be unapologetically you!

 

In doing my research, I noticed that you have worked in Musical Theatre for over twenty years. What has that experience been like, have you learnt anything about yourself from that and what advice do you have for anyone looking for a career in the world of Musical Theatre?

It’s pretty hard to sum up 20 years of experience in just a few words but I’ll try my best to give you, the reader, a sense of what that time was like for me. Like most people, I have changed and evolved a lot since my twenties. I spent 3 years at Performing Arts College graduating in 1993, it was a tough, demanding, incredible time. Following that I spent 6 years at sea working as a production dancer for Princess Cruises. College was a bit like learning to drive and passing your test, it’s only then once you’ve passed that you REALLY learn how to drive by the experience of doing it and living it. It was whilst working for Princess that I really honed my skills and learned how to be a professional performer. I was able to work with different choreographers, adapting to different styles whilst understanding the discipline needed to maintain a good work ethic and get along with others. I missed singing terribly though and that was what spurred me to leave, return to the UK and start auditioning for the West End. It took a few months and a few rejections.

*Lesson number one, don’t ‘want ’anything too much. If how you feel about yourself is solely defined by whether or not you get the job, you’ll become desperate and that’s likely to go against you. I’ve learned that confidence isn’t the way in which you perform or the way you walk in to an audition room. It’s a state of being that is quiet yet powerful and it comes from within. Over the years I’ve learned that we need to work at and give as much attention to what’s going on inside us as we do the ‘us ’that we project to others. It’s an energy that others will respond to and feed off in a positive way. If you’re not successful, of course it will still hurt but you won’t lose yourself in the disappointment.

*Number 2, I learned that to be a good ensemble member you need to park your ego at the door. I know that sounds crazy as to stand on a stage requires a certain amount of exhibitionism but it’s not all about you. I worked for 14 years in the West End often understudying leading roles but always hired as a member of the ensemble. You have to have enough pride in what you do that you’re willing to give it 100% of what you’re capable of (some days there might only be 80% in the tank so you give all of that) regardless of if anyone is looking at you or not. I learned over the years that I enjoyed the discipline of 8 shows a week (often for a year or more). I worked with some amazing directors, musical directors and choreographers including Peter Darling, the wonderful choreographer known for the musicals Billy Elliot, Matilda and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. I’ll never forget his words “We don’t repeat it every night, we re-create it every night”. That is what takes discipline and focus and is strangely exhausting.

*Lesson number 3, no-one else is going to push you or motivate you every night. I learned that I had to be responsible for myself. Sometimes as a cast you’d be corrected or critiqued. Take it on the chin and ask yourself honestly if it applies to you. If it does, work on it, if it doesn’t, don’t absorb anyone else’s energy or opinions about it. Just concern yourself with doing the best that YOU can.

*Lesson number 4, be nice! Be respectful to everyone, all departments! I know for a fact that there are certain jobs I got, not because I was the most talented person in the room but because I had a good reputation. People talk, word gets back about ‘difficult ’people, endeavour to show up in the best way you can and if you can’t, own it!

*Last lesson (there are plenty more but I have to stop somewhere) and this is a big one for me. I was listening to a podcast a few years ago and this really stuck with me. It served me well in theatre as a performer and continues to serve me well in life. ‘Be responsible for the energy you bring in to a space’. I get to choose every day whether I try to contribute positively to the environment I’m in or not. I’m not saying I’m happy all the time, that isn’t realistic or achievable but I can still choose how I enter a space.

 

My advice to anyone who wants to have a career in Musical Theatre is work hard! Sounds so obvious but it is essential. Work hard on your craft, work hard on your self, mentally, spiritually, all aspects of yourself as you will need them. I’m not a particularly tough person,

I’m sensitive in lots of ways. You don’t have to be ‘hard ’to be resilient. You will know in your gut if your heart is in it and it really needs to be if you want to have a shot at working and continuing to work. So much is out of your hands, it isn’t always about talent. Sometimes you just don’t ‘fit ’but if you know you’ve done all you can and have fulfilled your end of the deal then there’s a certain peace of mind that comes with that acceptance.

What led to you going in this direction with your music as opposed to Musical Theatre?

 

When I found out that I was infertile the first thing I thought was “Why am I here?”. That shocking news changed everything for me and I felt this longing inside to just ‘be me ’as opposed to who someone else was asking me to be. I know it sounds a bit crazy and it wasn’t an overnight shift but my diagnosis was definitely the gentle beginning of my moving away from Musical Theatre. Vocally speaking, although I was fortunate enough to be part of some original and exciting productions during my career, I often felt like a square peg in a round hole. I admire and respect those who are vocal chameleons but I couldn’t change my voice dramatically like some. I wanted to sing in an authentic and natural way. If I’m honest I also think I was knackered. The last show I was part of for two years was especially tough physically and I was 20 years older than some of my fellow dancers. I knew I wanted to stop for a while but I didn’t know I wanted to pursue songwriting until the pandemic hit. With extra time on my hands I started writing more and more. It has always been part of my life but I didn’t necessarily know how to write for MY voice until I moved away from theatre and found my natural sound. We have become so used to applauding others for big notes or impressive riffs and I never quite appreciated that my strength lies in the fact that my voice isn’t that! It is quite deep with a unique tone and allowing myself to embrace and explore that through my writing has been so freeing. Ironically, the recording process has actually ‘given ’me a range of notes I didn’t know were comfortable for me. No longer singing and dancing at the same time (which inevitably ends up requiring you to push a bit as you become more fatigued) and with the beautiful sound that Tim Hamill gives me back in my headphones, I can just step in close to the mic and let the notes fly. It has changed the way I write for myself for sure, especially when it comes to harmonies.

In short, the answer to the question is this: The darkest time in my life actually led me to the most rewarding and fulfilling time. My music is the truest expression of who I really am and I’m not sure I would have found my way here without the personal trauma that really made me question myself and my purpose.

 

What makes Nia Fisher happy and what makes you unhappy?

 

What makes me happy? Plenty of things, some big, some small but right up there on the list has to be the company of my best friend. 30 years and still going strong we have weathered so much together and as fate would have it, we’ve managed to evolve emotionally and spiritually at a similar rate! She is my rock, my compass at times and can make me laugh like no-one else! Finding time isn’t always easy but it is precious and soooooo good for the soul!

What makes me unhappy? Ultimately my own mind. If I get too much in my head about anything then overthinking will lead to worrying. Worrying will often become about projecting something in to the future that hasn’t happened. What I choose to think or not think influences how I feel. I’m not saying it’s easy to stop but it was a game changer for me once I realised that I had more control than I originally thought!

Photo Credit:  Kirsten McTernan Photography

Nia Fisher’s latest single ‘Lost In You’ is out now on all digital platforms released on Brick Harbour Records, distribution by Absolute Label Services.

To find out more information about The Daisy Network please visit: Charity for Women with POI | The Daisy Network

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