North Walian singer-songwriter Nia Wyn has released her latest single, Imma Be Honest, this week. The new track, a soulful R&B slow jam, is a collaboration with rapper and producer Aaron London. The song is set to feature on Wyn’s second EP Take A Seat, which is due out on March 19th.
Wyn, who is now based in North London, has enjoyed a whirlwind twelve months in spite of the disruption the coronavirus pandemic has caused to the music industry at large. Last February the Llandudno product unleashed her debut EP, Love I Can’t Ruin, which was described by Purple Melon as “an offering oozing with fluidity and fluency” which “displays Nia’s rare, raw and exquisite vocal tone.”
The EP demonstrated Wyn’s ability to fuse together musical styles (notably R&B, indie, pop and soul) as well a host of divergent themes; ranging from love and lust to the increasingly murky state of British politics and the continued societal stain of misogyny. The treatment of women in the music industry in particular is an issue which is close to the vocalist’s heart. In an interview with Sounds Good last year she said “Women and non-binary people are underrepresented pretty much in every corner of the music industry though, from festival line-ups to engineers and producers, PR and label executives. In terms of festivals I would like to see a lot more soul (ideally women soul artists) represented on line-ups.”
The singer-songwriter went on to reach a whole new global audience last September when her track Who Asked You featured on the best-selling video game Fifa 21 alongside music from the likes of Dua Lipa, Celeste and Royal Blood. Wyn, a huge football fan and passionate follower of the Wales and Manchester United women’s teams, has spoken of her delight at the association with one of the biggest brand names in sports gaming.
In an interview with the North Wales Pioneer, she said “Max Music Publishing submitted my track to EA who liked it and got back to me to say they were interested in using it. But I didn’t actually find out that it was going to be featured on FIFA 21 until around July time, so the waiting around was the hard bit! It’s a dream come true to be featured on the game, I grew up playing it on Playstation and playing football too so it’s amazing. It’s absolutely mad. It’s definitely one to tick off the bucket list.”
The singer rounded off 2020 with another new single (Muzzle) which saw her team up with South Londoner R.A.E., the latest winner of Glastonbury’s Emerging Talent Competition. Wyn told Conversations About Her that the song’s themes reflected her own struggles with anxiety and self-esteem, saying “I wrote ‘Muzzle‘ about working a 9-to-5 and how it can grind you down, and the desire to quit that office life and pursue my music full-time. I wanted to represent that even if things are going well and you’re making progress, the impact of mental health issues and comparing yourself to others can lead to a lot of self-doubt.”
2021 should be another busy year for the up-and-coming performer. In addition to the new EP in March, Wyn will support Modfather Paul Weller – who had previously collaborated with the Welsh artist on her 2018 single Turnstiles – on his rescheduled UK tour this autumn.
