GARRY LONG
Brisbane music artist Nathan MT has announced his upcoming single, “Snatch”, will be released by the end of the year.
Nathan Melvin-Tong, or Nathan MT as he is known professionally, creates songs in a fusion of indie, pop and acoustic style that is well received by fans and other artists.
The 22-year-old artist said he planned to continue in that vein with this new single.
Mr Melvin-Tong said the song was about people feeling stuck in a relationship with someone dragging them down, where leaving would create more pain than staying.
He said the song had been in production for a year, with both the lyrics and structure changing as a result.
“I always begin the writing with either a melody line that I hear in my head or a guitar riff,” Mr Melvin-Tong said.
“However, since I’m terrible at finding harmonies, I use the iZotope VocalSynth 2 plugin to find most of them, so this aspect is highly derivative of the production,” he said.
Mr Melvin-Tong said he had gotten better at song writing since he started writing songs in 2016, gaining more experience in producing songs along the way.
“My lyrics aren’t as clichéd sounding and I’m not using the easiest rhyming words in the world like ‘cat’ and ‘hat’,” Mr Melvin-Tong said.
“Producing my own songs has allowed me to find the exact sound I’m after [and] my visions for a song aren’t getting lost in translation with another producer as it’s just me and the song,” he said.
“In saying that, I do send my songs out to some people for feedback on both the song writing and production, which helps a lot!”
Prior Nathan MT releases include the singles “Friendly Fire”, “Thinking” and “Every Ending”.
Musician Liam Johnston, who has worked with Mr Melvin-Tong in the past, said Nathan MT got better and better with each release, having both great lyric and melodic ideas.
“I feel like it will be a song that people can relate to, as he really owns the style he has created,” Mr Johnston said.
“Nathan’s sound is constantly improving, and I can’t wait to see what he’s done with this latest tune!” he said.
Nathan MT, who has been performing since he was in high school, plays cover gigs to earn a living, but also books original gigs a few times a year.
Fan John Edmunds, who has attended Nathan MT’s live gigs, said his music perfectly captured the raw emotions that many of us experienced in our lives.
“His ability to immerse listeners in his music consumes my entire attention when I listen to him play,” Mr Edmunds said.
“Listening to the passion in his voice and the powerful lyrics that he writes, you can tell they are inspired from genuine experiences and feelings,” he said.
Nathan MT’s live performances of his original music are a big factor in his success, thanks to his ability to captivate audiences and involve the crowd during his gigs.
“A good live performance can make it for an artist, and this is something that he achieves flawlessly,” Mr Edmunds said.
“From the nifty little riffs that he throws into the set, to the witty little comments that he makes, it all involves the crowd so much and makes it a great time all round,” he said.
Nathan MT who is studying for a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music) at Queensland University of Technology, had planned to release “Snatch” in May this year but had been unable to use the university’s studios to finish the mix due to COVID restrictions.
After the release of “Snatch” at the end of the year, he plans to release one more single in early 2021 before releasing his debut EP of new material in the middle of the year.
If you would like to keep up to date with what Nathan MT is doing, you can follow him on Spotify or on Instagram.