“Do what I do; say what I say. Live as I live and I pray as I pray. Expect what I get; get nothing less. I don’t cheat, don’t lie; just do my best. I’ve been around the corner once or twice before, where the welcome mat was something like a slamming door…You can’t catch me; I’m free...”

To me, these words from the song Can’t Catch Me on her new album Mercurial lend themselves to describing Nash Reed. She is a lot like her lyrics: Strong yet sensitive; adaptable yet uncompromising. She knows what she wants and is not afraid to do what it takes to get it.

Nash has spent more than a decade on the road, exploring her place in the world at the same time as developing her music. “I’m a nomad at heart, maybe that’s why this business suits me so much,” she says.

She has performed in numerous countries, from her home nation of South Africa to Japan; Thailand to Jordan; the United Arab Emirates to China. Now her debut album has hit Bahrain’s airwaves and she is ready to take on the new challenges of promoting her work internationally.

“I’ve been making music for a long time. Since I was four, I've been told. But Nash hasn’t always been a singer. “I started out writing,” she recalls. “I couldn’t even sing, but I wanted to communicate what I was writing. So I just kept going and my singing kept getting better year after year. Finding my own voice has matured my song writing too.”

Sources of inspiration
Nash’s taste in music is eclectic, to say the least, which is reflected in Mercurial. “To me, the strength of the album is that the influences are so varied,” she says. It is difficult to name her favourite artist: “There are so many.” From Freddy Mercury to Chrissie Hyde and Gwen Stefani to Chaka Khan to JayZ, Nash is inspired by many singers from different genres.

But she takes ideas from more than just the world of songs. “It is not only music that moves me,” she explains. “Relationships, the human condition, politics, design and construction influence my work too. You can hear that on the album.

Art is the common thread weaving through her life. “I’m a bit stuck in my ways,” she admits with a smile. “If it’s artistic I like it. Though you have to have your wits about you, I prefer leaving the red tape of this business to someone trustworthy who’s not me. Vision meets precision equals artistry! That’s my alchemy.” These are clear words and one of Nash’s character traits is certainly directness.

“My heart is intense but pretty straightforward,” she says. “I don’t like too much fuss. Say it like it is.”

Some musicians dread recording albums and thrive solely on playing live, but Nash enjoys herself in the studio. “I relish the recording process,” she says. “Making this album was a gift; I had the time of my life. It grew so naturally …each musician’s contribution was like a series of little explosions of ‘wow!’”

Mercurial features the kind of easygoing groove that should appeal to a wide audience. “The album is sensual, mischievous but with a fierce backbone” says Nash. “It’s a little bit gritty …edgy. There’s nothing obvious about it. It has a magnetism that creeps up on you. It was within my power to facilitate pure expression so I didn’t set out with one target market in mind. Mark [Nash’s producer and writing partner] and I just made music! If I had to describe the album in one word, it would be ‘timeless.’ Play it back ten years from now, it will still move you.”

The cover art is perhaps more elaborate that most would expect of a first album not to mention the video.

A lot of thought and creativity went into it, resulting in a mix of such motifs as Camps Bay in South Africa (where Nash is from), Nash in her garden and a dragon sculpture in Kiyoto (where she has performed).

“Everyone said ‘it’s your first album, are you crazy to spend so much money on the artwork?’ But I say ‘it’s my baby, it’s the first one. Nothing will ever be like it again,” Nash comments.