Interview: Nathan Dawson
Nathan Dawson is a songwriter and filmmaker from Denton, Texas. He currently lives in Oaxaca, Mexico, where he’s working on his new album, an audiovisual project that has elements of rock, hip hop, and plenty of guitar! His latest EP JAGUARES was mastered by Silver Gun Records.
What led to you becoming an artist?
My intro to becoming a music artist started with playing guitar when I was about 11 or 12. I had played piano for a few years, mostly by insistence from my parents. I wasn’t really drawn to piano but I had regular classes and recitals as an extracurricular activity. Then one day a new kid joined my school, and he played guitar, so everybody in class seemed to want to learn how to play. There was a couple of us who bought some cheap nylon string guitars, with necks so thick we could barely wrap our fingers around them, and we started going to classes. I loved it and haven’t stopped since.
The guitar sparked my curiosity for music in general and songwriting. I started making my first songs in a midi software called Guitar Pro Tabs, if I recall correctly. You would have a tab sheet you could insert notes into and then it would playback in that classic 8-bit sound. I felt like a true composer because it was just noted on a sheet of paper, but the program would play it back for you in real-time. Years later I was making music on my Ipod Touch, just rudimentary instrumental tracks, then moving on to garage band so I could record guitar parts.
Now I’m using Ableton Live. There's pretty much anything you can do nowadays with this software, there’s just endless possibilities for sound selection, how many tracks you can record, or anything really. But I would say that my songwriting process has always stayed the same though, just my guitar and me. I think if you can make a song that sounds great just like that, then you’ve got it made.
Preview His EP JAGUARES
What inspires your music?
I’m inspired a lot by film. I studied filmmaking in college and love the visual medium. When I’m writing a song I can picture scenes, or parts of movies that it could fit into. For my first album, which I’m hoping to finish the recording process in the summer, I made a folder with visual ideas, color palettes, screenshots from movies or photographs that lead me in a general direction in terms of sonics or lyrical themes. I did the same for the EP I launched last December, and I believe it helped a lot in creating a more fluid and homogenous product.
Who are some of your influences?
I am a big fan of looking for new music, and listening to new albums or artists just out of curiosity is a big thing for me. You could say that influences change, but I’d say that a lot of the music I digested as a kid is present in my own material. Even if the sounds are “newer’ or the style of music is more conformed to the present music landscape, I get a lot of inspiration from the music my dad played for me when I was young. We used to go on really long road trips and we would listen endlessly to The Beatles, Neil Young, some folk music like John Denver, and classic rock.
What are some of your favorite memories from your career?
There are certain parts of the process when I feel the exhilaration of making music the most. When we finally record a vocal part and you hear it for the first time over the chorus and everybody in the room starts jumping and everything feels electric. Those are the moments that I am just living purely, focused entirely on the present, feeling more than thinking. That’s what keeps me going, even through the pain of getting down to finessing details, the mixing process, re-recording parts, etc. I always remember those moments, and I live to create more of them.
What have been some of the greatest challenges of your career?
The challenge is to believe in yourself. I can attest to moments when I think I am the best there can possibly be, and others where self-doubt creeps up your neck and paralyzes you. I made music for years, and never put anything out, I’d always say oh I don’t know how to sing that well, my mixing sucks, and the track feels unfinished. The truth is you only get better with time, but you have to put yourself out there, and then you realize how harsh you were being on yourself.
Which of your songs/eps or albums is your favorite? Why is it your favorite?
The EP JAGUARES is my best project. It feels so complete to me in terms of sonic consistency, and thematic elements in the lyrics. Out of that project, the title song JAGUARES is my favorite, it lifts me up every time I hear it.
What are you most excited to bring to your fans in the next year?
I am excited for everyone to hear my new album, my first album! It’s been a long time in the making, with most of the songs already written actually. It will be a complete audiovisual experience true to myself and my vision as an artist.
What are your goals for this upcoming year?
My only goal is the release of the album. I am documenting the writing and recording process, to release the music alongside a mini-documentary of how it all came together. It will also release with a slew of music videos to tell the complete artistic vision I have for it. All of the material will be recorded in Mexico, with the recording sessions taking place on the coast of Oaxaca, and the surrounding mountains.
How can your fans best support you right now?
Listen to the EP JAGUARES! It’s on every streaming platform, and you’ll get a taste of my musical vision. It’s the stepping stone toward my next project.
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