Surgery to sexy dancefloor seem an unlikely pairing, but for Melbourne electro-pop artist Nussy, it’s been the epic pathway that she’s taken to record and release her latest single, “Tremble”.
The disco thumping beats of “Tremble” is all about the shiny good times. Full of sparkly lyrics about bumping and grinding to the smoothest grooves, the song shows no hint of its protagonist’s recent experience of surgery and rehabilitation. In the year before her synth-pop moniker Nussy was hitting the clubs, Danielle Smarrelli was going through the nightmare of vocal surgery and losing her ability to talk and sing. Getting back into making music wasn’t all smooth sailing, and here Nussy openly chats to us about her setbacks, almost throwing in the towel, and soul-searching to find her voice again.
It’s no small feat going from recovery to recording, so as we bounce around to the slick sounds of “Tremble”, we raise our glass to you, Nussy!
Q. Hey Nussy! Congrats on the release of new single ‘Tremble’. I’m a huge sucker for a catchy pop song, and that is one amazingly fun track. Did you have fun putting this track together?
A. It was so much fun! I worked on it with Michael & Michael from MSquared. We’ve done a few tracks together in the past and been friends a long time so it’s always a great vibe working with those guys!
Q. For people who haven’t heard ‘Tremble’, how would you describe the track in 3 words?
A. Sexy late-night club
Q. In 2017 you went through surgery to remove a benign cyst on your vocal folds and you lost your ability to speak or sing for months. Being a singer, what was the experience of not having a voice like to go through?
A. It was pretty traumatic; especially the initial shock of finding out I had to have the surgery. It was so scary but I had to come to terms with the fact that I couldn’t go on without having the cyst removed either – so either way I wasn’t going to be able to sing. At least through having the surgery, I’d eventually come through recovery and be back at it.
There are always risks with any surgery but I chose my surgeon really carefully (she specialises in vocal surgery for singers) so I was confident I was in good hands. I had a really great support network around me too – my family, my boyfriend, my band and my friends all kept me upbeat and busy because they knew I’d probably feel a little lost not being able to do much music for a while.
It seems cliché to say “you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone” but it’s true. I had a few setbacks – my surgery was more difficult than they had initially anticipated and my recovery was longer too – so there were definitely moments where I considered throwing in the towel because I just felt like I was never going to be back to being myself again. It took me to some pretty dark places and I did a hell of a lot of soul searching. But the time off just reinforced how much I love making music and playing music and how I could never see myself doing anything else. And here I am.
It seems cliché to say “you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone” but it’s true.
Q. It sounds pretty hectic going from surgery to recording the new single. How did you manage such a big transition?
A. It was! I worked really long and hard with a great team of professionals including my surgeon, speech pathologist, physio and vocal coach. I learned so much about my body and its capabilities – it’s super interesting when you get into the nitty gritty depths of the anatomy of it all.
Once my rehab was at a point where the medical side of the team were happy, I started working with an amazing vocal coach. She was so patient and worked really closely with the rest of the team to make sure my rehab was all still on track while getting my vocally fit enough to record and perform again.
Q. Did your experience have an impact artistically on your music?
A. It’s hard to say really. I’m most influenced by what I’m listening to at the time and especially when working with other producers, what they are listening to as well – it kind of all comes out in the mix!
Q. ‘Tremble’ is a shimmery ode to the dance floor, do you have any signature dance moves to accompany the track?
A. I’m a terrible dancer! Going out dancing is one of my favourite things to do – give me a few drinks and I’m the first on the dance floor, but I can’t promise I’ll be good!
Give me a few drinks and I’m the first on the dance floor, but I can’t promise I’ll be good!
Q. There’s some super crisp production on the track, what was the process like recording and mixing the single?
A. I worked on the track with Michael and Michael from MSquared Productions. I love working with these guys because we know each other so well! I went in with some influences and we created the basis of the track – enough to get a vibe to write to. It sounds weird but I usually just say to myself “what do I think this track wants to be about / what’s the vibe?” And I just go from there. We will kind of talk about a story – I’m a very visual person so it’s like I have a film clip rolling in my head while I go. We throw lyric and melody ideas around the room and then from all that, we get a song! The guys will always do extra production work as we go along and then they mix the track as well. It was mastered at 301 Studios in Sydney.
Q. You’ve been on tour around Australia and to Canada promoting ‘Tremble’, tell us about one of your highlights from these shows?
A. Canada was a huge highlight! It’s super exciting to get to play my songs overseas to a totally new audience. I met some incredible people over there too, which was really fun. Another highlight would have to be playing back in my hometown – Melbourne. After such a long time off, it’s so nice to be able to get back to playing to a lot of the people who have been there through the whole experience.
After such a long time off, it’s so nice to be able to get back to playing to a lot of the people who have been there through the whole experience.
Q. What’s next on the horizon for you music-wise?
A. I’m always working on new music. I’m getting ready to drop something new before the end of the year (hush hush) and working on an EP for release in the New Year.
Get your weekend groove on with Nussy’s new single “Tremble”, streaming now on Spotify and Soundcloud.