EP Review: Nia Wyn - 'Take A Seat'
Welsh neo-soul pioneer Nia Wyn bares her soul on spectacular new EP ‘Take A Seat’.
With last year’s debut EP ‘Love I Can’t Ruin’, Nia Wyn already had us falling head over heels for her unique blend of soul, jazz and RnB and bold take on storytelling. ‘Take A Seat’ takes that blunt honesty one step further. Spanning everything from swaying rhythms to an uplifting brass section, the EP is an open reflection on Nia’s mental state. “I had been writing about two parts of myself and trying to connect them - giving a voice to the adolescent me, and myself in the present,” she explains. “A lot of the songs deal with my experience with mental health issues, confusion around identity and struggling with the relationships in my life growing up and now - feeling let down, angry but conflicted.”
Framed by groove-infused opener ‘Come Home To You’ and soft-spoken closing number ‘Freckles/Argyll Road’ -a beautiful thank you note to her first counsellor after they passed away- ‘Take A Seat’ showcases the different aspects of Nia’s sound. While soulful tracks like ‘Imma Be Honest’ allow Nia’s distinctively raw vocals to shine, more immediate songs highlight her brilliantly direct lyricism as she confronts frustrations about the current state of the world (‘Such A Shame’) or rises above small minded small-town politics (‘Who Asked You’). On a record filled with an abundance of poignant songwriting, it’s hard to pick favourites, but one of its most vulnerable moments has got to be soulful ballad ‘Getting High’ that revisits Nia’s continuing fight for sobriety. Carried by a gentle instrumentation and heartfelt vocals, it looks inward, uncovering a fundamental truth: “I ain’t got that life no more but that don’t mean I’m alright.”
With its clever social commentary and continuously changing sonic environment, the ‘Take A Seat’ EP represents everything that makes Nia Wyn stand out as an exceptionally talented artist that should be on everyone’s radar. Talking about her intent behind the record, Nia perfectly summarises: “‘Take A Seat’ is a play on what receptionists of course say at mental health services when you have to sit in a waiting room, waiting to express yourself and try to connect with yourself. But it’s also a statement asking the listener to sit down and be introduced to me, my music and what I have to say. And that this is just the start.”
Words by Laura Freyaldenhoven