London-based singer/songwriter Nick Mulvey already had a plethora of musical experience before embarking on his solo project in 2012. Picking up a guitar in Southern Spain at the age of 18, he moved to Cuba at 19, only to return a year later and study ethnomusicology at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, where he formed Mercury Award nominated band Portico Quartet. A pretty hectic prelude in the run-up to his solo career, he went on to release his Fever To The Form EP in 2014, followed swiftly by successful debut album First Mind (which was also nominated for the Mercury Prize), Mulvey resurfaced early this year with his second LP, Wake Up Now through Universal Music.
His tracks, which make firm use of rhythm and a trusty acoustic guitar, are often atmosphere driven stories of love in all senses of the word; ‘Fever To The Form’ and more recently ‘Unconditional’ are firm examples of this. Wake Up Now tackles this recurring theme whilst also looking at topical issues such as the refugee crisis – single ‘Myela’ discussed the topic, with all proceeds going to charity Help Refugees UK. “Exploring first-hand accounts of refugee journeys, we wanted to give them a voice” explained Mulvey in an interview early this summer; using his platform in the name of such an important issue is clear of Mulvey’s intentions.
Now embarking on a UK wide tour, it’ll be exciting to see Mulvey’s goosebump-inducing tracks take centre stage and come to life away from the late night’s listening to him in my bedroom.
Check out the video for ‘Unconditional’ below:
