Singer-Songwriter Natalie Price shares why she writes the songs she does...

As a kid, I remember writing lyrics on tiny notes in glittery gold gel pen (it was the 90’s after all!) Rhyming words of love I’d not yet experienced but imitated from the pop charts. My 'lyrical masterpieces' in love had a somewhat disproportionate use of 'baby’ for some strange reason! 

Thankfully as my teen years hit, this word was erased from my vocabulary!
I would start to write everything down on whatever scrap of paper I could find. Everything became vitally important to me. I wanted to remember how I was feeling in each moment. I searched for the words in an attempt to document the hidden darkness I was feeling.

My songs became a way to soothe as did my headphones and CD Walkman. A place to provide temporary relief. I didn’t reflect on it at the time but I wrote what I needed, what I wanted to say out loud but didn't yet have the courage.

Songwriting to me was less about the sound of the songs. I'd always found a greater importance in a song's meaning. As a listener, I enjoyed songs that were relatable, and understood how I was feeling. 

My lyrics became secret conversations with myself, whether I wanted to hear it or not.

The songs on the EP ‘Lost With You’ were written as a result of a search into why I felt unhappy. For some time, I had avoided granting myself permission to do this.

Late at night, if I was feeling restless and unable to sleep, I would plug in my headphones and play on my keyboard. And then the words would flow in a whisper.

“Two Blue Kites” captures a particular moment for me. It was the first song I'd written before I was ready to hear it. It was a realisation of the end. A subconscious decision being forced into my consciousness. I didn’t want to find the words but they found me anyway.
We were directionless, torn and unable to consider we were sad because of each other. I didn’t want to give up on 7 years. It was difficult to realise it was the end.

That ending brought about a beginning, and I returned to my home in Manchester. 

Throughout my life the darkness still returns and although at points it has become despair, I’m still here.
I can still make a joke, laugh and wear a smile.

 

When I'm listening to myself, I'm no longer lost.