A local musician releases his first EP
Fernie resident, 19 Nesta Malcolm released a debut EP, written, recorded, mixed and produced by himself from his self-funded home studio.
Newspapers is a five-track EP of electro-pop songs that begin to shape the sound and versatile musical talent of the self-taught young musician.
It all started eight years ago with a drum pad app on an iPod. Eleven-year-old Nesta Malcolm (pictured above) was captivated by the variety of beats he could create with the touch of a finger. Refined on family trips, his passion for creating beats sparked a curiosity for what was possible beyond his iPod Touch. 1.5 million streams later, his curiosity continues to grow.
“I remember wanting to create a specific sound that I couldn’t find on my iPod. It was a defining moment, because I could have accepted that the sound I wanted wasn’t there, but instead I googled “How to make my own music for free”, which led me to Soundation, my first digital audio workstation (DAW),” Malcolm explained.
From there, Nesta discovered that there was an online community full of young people, also using Soundation, with similar musical interests and he leaned into the community as well as his new hobby.
Before long, he was churning out full EDM songs. Within two years he was making a name for himself online and at just thirteen he won first place in a community Soundation competition.
“I wanted to improve my sound and continue to create more complex songs, and eventually I felt like I had exceeded Soundation’s capacity, so I saved my birthday and Christmas money and invested into a more robust studio setup, which I still use today,” Nesta said of his progress.
Throughout high school, Malcolm was successful in producing electronic music, but the shift to his new sound was born during the pandemic.
Her 2020 pop-influenced single “Lonely” was signed to independent dance label, Charge RCRDS, and was the first track to feature her own lyrics and vocals. This change of pace resulted in a significant growth in her fan base, earning her 100,000 monthly listeners at her peak.
“While studying audio engineering and music production in college, I was exposed to a variety of musicians who were creating in a very different way than mine. I was really drawn to songwriting. and I thought it was a better way to express myself. This EP is really just me, learning to do that and trusting my music to convey my emotions.
Malcolm’s story has created the perfect skill development journey to create a debut EP that is written, produced and engineered exclusively by him, giving this up-and-coming musician all the credit.
Journals is available August 12 wherever music is streamed.
Learn more about Nesta Malcolm.
Photo submitted
Submitted
