Nanette is a 20-something Durban-born R&B singer eager to make her mark in the South African music scene. To that end, the Universal Music Group signee has just released her debut album, titled Bad Weather. The 9-track project runs a little under 30 minutes and has been described as “an exercise in finding refuge in cathartic artistic expression” by the singer herself. This is evident given how much of her soul she bares in her lyrics.
Speaking to Apple Music about the album title and how she conceptualised it, Nanette says, “Since I was a child, I’ve always been scared of thunder and lightning. I was an only child, and sometimes I’d be staying as this lonely child in the house alone during a thunderstorm, scared as heck. That fear of being alone in the thunderstorm or a catastrophic event has never left. I always saw even the things that went wrong in my life as another thunderstorm. I wanted the album to feel like an account of me in my room with my blinds down, and it’s pouring, and the thunder’s crashing against the window. The album is a really tumultuous journey because nothing about Bad Weather is peaceful.”
The project deals with varying subjects such as self-critique and introspection (“Same Mistakes”, “The Nice Guy”), modern dating (“Vent”), familial stereotypes (“Mama’s Boy”) as well as shades of grief and frustration (“Good Girl Gone Sad”). Chalking up her main inspiration to the ’80s and ’90s R&B she grew up surrounded by as a child, her writing and singing style is very much rooted in a soulful and reflective sonic palette. The album’s production is handled mainly by Lee Global, as well as Zadok and Batundi. Further production credits go to Syriee, Mars Baby, Yours Truly and Nanette herself.
Listen to Bad Weather by Nanette here:
