Nathan May has been a musician since childhood and over the past couple of years has been releasing singles such as ‘Fix It Up’ and ‘It’s Gotta Start Somewhere’ that showcase his wonderful voice as well as his storytelling. In 2019 he won the award for Young Aboriginal Artist of Year in 2019 and in 2022 he won the Creative Young Achiever.
May’s latest single is ‘Love From Me’, which tells the story of his great-grandparents – his great-grandfather arrived in Australia from England to work on the Ghan railway line and met his great-grandmother, an Arabana woman from Marree in South Australia. They went on to have 13 children at a time when their relationship faced, as May says in our recent interview, judgement from both sides.
The song was written with beloved singer-songwriter Kevin Bennett and features a guitar solo from the great Troy Cassar-Daley. It was produced by James Gillard, who has worked with May on all of his singles.
On collaboration
In the interview May talks about the story behind the song as well as his experience of co-writing and how his perspective on it has changed – he used to be, he says, protective of his music and unsure of how collaboration would turn out, but now he loves working that way and just wants to do more of it.
That shift says much about how May opens himself up to new experiences and ways of telling his stories, and is no doubt part of why he’s found himself touring Europe lately and also performing in Hawaii. If you’re heading to the Gympie Music Muster between 22 and 25 August you’ll be able to see him there.
You can watch our chat on YouTube (above), watch a snippet (also above) or listen on the podcast. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
https://linktr.ee/nathanmaymusic | Listen to ‘Love From Me’ on Apple Music
