30 Sep 2017

Anatomy Of A Scroll: Nadia Reid, 'Richard'

From RNZ Music, 2:20 pm on 30 September 2017

Nadia Reid talks about the heartbreak that led to writing her Silver Scroll nominated song 'Richard'.

"This is the song I'm closest to on the record." says Reid. "It was me processing a relationship that began... and then finished. So it really was me at quite a vulnerable point."

Written in a hotel room in Sydney, en route to Kuala Lumpar, Reid says the song "spilled out" of her.

"I was sitting in the bathroom, and I wrote the song. Richard liked the sound of his own voice/ in the kitchen/ by the mirror /it extracted all of our teeth/ filled the sink with blood it was this line that kept going around and around in my head." 

"It was so healing for me to be able to do that ... you know, I was completely flipped on my back. When something so significant ends, or you lose a person that was literally a part of you, you know, a part of your life, it feels like you've lost a limb. There might have been a bit of venom... no, there was venom."

The song was recorded in Lyttelton with Ben Edwards, along with Reid's band including guitarist Sam Taylor.

"Once it had started to form in the studio, it moved me to tears. I poured so much out of myself and I just felt lighter, from being able to get this shit out."

Listen to the other Silver Scroll 2017 Finalists explain their songs