In this interview under his Unpopular Demand series, Variance’s Ethan Ijumba sits down with Australian alt-pop artist Nick Ward, to discuss his emotive debut album, House with the Blue Door. For his debut, Ward unpacks the personal stories that define the album’s tracks. He opens up about how his music became a mirror to his emotional journey, crafting vulnerable and resonating songs. Ward also reflects on his creative process, collaborations, and his excitement about performing songs from House with the Blue Door with fellow Aussie native Troye Sivan on his upcoming “Something To Give Each Other” tour that kicks off on November 16th. Be sure to stream House with the Blue Door on all digital streaming platforms and subscribe to Unpopular Demand with Ethan Ijumba.
Ethan Ijumba: Alright, so just get into it. You're Australia's very own Nick Ward, and your recent album, House with the Blue Door, is your debut. It's got a lot of deep personal topics, including everything from your family, your childhood, and everything that runs through it. What exactly does the title represent, and why did you title it House with the Blue Door?
Nick Ward: House with the Blue Door was the name that my twin brother and I gave our house when we were growing up. So anytime we would leave the house to go outside, we'd wave and say, “Goodbye house with a blue door.” So once I knew that this record was going to be about childhood and digging into family, the past, and stuff like that. It seemed like the perfect title, and I think it's kind of sweet that technically, my five-year-old, six-year-old self-named it.
EI: How was it for you to explore and write such deep and personal songs? Was it cathartic, therapeutic, relieving, or complicated? How exactly was it for you emotionally as not just an artist but as a human being to start making music like this and putting it out for people to listen to and take in?
NW: I've always tried to be vulnerable with my music. I always feel like I haven't done my job if I don't feel sick of listening to it, especially when I'm showing someone else. But I think with this new record, I wanted those emotions and that kind of confessional side of the music to take place over pop songs and something that feels right, warm, and inviting. In the past, I've written lots of ballads and folk songs, and stuff like that, where the tempo is slow and has lower energy but puts more emphasis on the lyrics. I was more interested in contrast with this new record and working out how much we could kind of Trojan horse into these tight songs.
EI: Then you previously mentioned that this album is more of a farewell to your childhood and saying goodbye. What exactly inspired you to create a project centered on these themes, and how did your personal journey start to now go into these darker tones and more emotional elements that you decided to go about?
NW: I think everyone, when they leave high school, even just speaking from my experience when I left high school. You leave that bubble of people that you're always seeing. You start to become your own person; you figure out what parts of your childhood you want to take with you and the things you like. You really decide who you want to be, and part of this record was a lot of looking inward and reflecting and looking back towards childhood, just like figuring out what parts of my childhood still affect me today. Which parts do I see myself in my parents? It was definitely a personal journey that I was going on, and my music is not going to be about what I was going through at the time then. So it's definitely super therapeutic working through those feelings and emotions within the safety of music and creativity.
EI: Do you feel that you've closed or opened a new chapter of where you want to go as an artist? Or is this a new pivot or even just a checkpoint for where you want to take your next musical direction in your career?
NW: Yeah, I think with this album, I thought it was going to be my third EP. But halfway through, I realized that if this isn't my debut album, I don't really know what it is because I'm putting so much of myself into it. I feel like I've finally been able to be confident enough to make the sounds I want to make and be bolder and more colorful. I don't know if it's necessary, but I want to do something different every single time. I think that the surface always needs to be scratched. It's hard to say whether it's an entry point for what comes next, but stay tuned.
EI: Just to get into it, speaking on how you felt, you were pouring so much into yourself into this album. Was there a specific song that made you feel that this can't be an EP? It has to be on my debut album.
NW: That's a great question. It was probably “I Want To Be A Mother” or “All Your Life.” I think there was a period when most of the songs got written, which was after I made a trip to Perth by myself and spent some time with family and looking through old family photographs. In that month or two, I was just on a run of writing most of the record, and “I Want To Be A Mother” and “All Your Life” really cemented the need for this to be a full-length album.
EI: Speaking on looking through with family and friends, you collaborated with a lot of people that you're close with on this album, including Gab Strum and Fabian Odame. How did their contributions help shape this album for you? And what was it like working with such a talented team of people on your debut?
NW: It was great! What's nice is that so many of the people who worked on the record are friends I’ve known for years. Normally, when you meet someone to do a writing session, there's that ice-breaking couple of hours where you're just working out what you know and each other's tastes and stuff like that. To be honest, for this record, knowing all the people I was working with and having those walls come down immediately was nice.
EI: With that being said, do you feel that this is the method and process of how you want to create music and what you want to continue for your upcoming projects? Or do you feel that you're not as apprehensive towards trying new methods and meeting with new people to try and create new music in any other way if it was open and given to you that way?
NW: Yeah, with this record, it's a big part of the process of starting a lot of songs with people and having that initial catalyst be with another person. Then, I would take it home and finish the album and those songs myself. But I think with this next stuff I'm working on, I'm more open to working with people a little more closely, just because everyone you work with is gonna teach you something, and I think it's important to listen.
EI: Speaking of working with people, you will also be one of the opening acts on Troye Sivan’s “Something To Give Each Other” tour. How exactly are you feeling because you get to go perform this new album for people?
NW: It's gonna be crazy. I haven't played shows, even a 20th as big as these Troye ones coming up. So it's going to be a big jump from a fear factor standpoint, but it's gonna be great. I feel like Troye's built such a great community around his music, and he's just built a listenership that everyone sees as everyone. They all seem so empathetic, and his music is so vulnerable. I don't feel like I'm going into a space where I won't be welcomed, so I'm feeling excited about it.
EI: I mean, you are pretty much just staying home. So, it does make the most sense in that case. You're basically playing in your backyard but at a bigger venue.
NW: Yeah, that's a way to look at it.
EI: After releasing this album, you have the tour on the way. How exactly are you planning for what you want to do next? After this, it’s now take some time to tour, promote, market, and push this to everyone's ear so that they can find it. But for you right now, in terms of what you want to present next musically, do you have a plan, or are you just going to wait till it's time to go about into whatever comes out of you in the studio?
NW: I'm working on a new album and have a couple of songs I've made with other people that I'm really excited about, which will hopefully be out next year. I'm feeling really good about next year, and I think that I was worried that I would feel unprepared to go into writing a new record immediately or anything. But I don't know; it's been a really nice break from rolling out this first record and making the videos, so it's been a good process.
EI: Do you feel that remaining vulnerable and personal will be something we can see from you for your upcoming projects as well? Or do you feel that maybe let's take a little bit back, let's get a little bit more lighthearted, let's make some happy-go-lucky, pop-catchy songs, and maybe give your personal stories a break, or do you feel that whatever comes from you, is whatever happens?
NW: I feel like the personal stuff is the only story I have to tell. That's the only thing I can offer when it comes to songwriting; I don't think that will stop. I’m interested in experimenting with different styles of writing and different perspectives because a lot of my music takes place from my point of view. Usually in conversation with someone or in conversation with myself. So I'm really interested in writing from a character's perspective or trying to figure out ways to talk about similar themes that are still as personal but with a bit more creative license.
EI: That sounds amazing, and probably the best way you can ever go about it is just to have everything be exactly what you want it to be and not have any fear or restraints in showing that or sharing that with your listeners.
NW: Of course!
EI: And with how your songwriting is so deeply introspective, how much you give from what it is that you are as an artist, and exactly who you want to separate that from or even combine with that as a human being. Do you ever find it hard, maybe from this record or any other specific records, to let that happen and let that out? Or does it come naturally and come with ease when it comes down to just creating whatever song you want to make?
NW: Yeah, I like to think that I don't try to think about what other people think until I get there or until the song's actually coming out because I think you should really just make music for yourself and the people around you. Even though everyone owes so much to their fans, you want them to be happy with the stuff you're making. I think what's best for the work is that you just do what you want and you go where your instincts tell you. For this record and all the music so far, I've just been able to make it the way I want to make it. When it comes to the personal side of it, music is like therapy for me, and I can work through so much stuff and so many issues by talking about it in my music; long story short, I don't see it.
EI: No, and honestly like you said, it's best to do whatever you want. It allows you to do it as well, which is just a win-win nonetheless. So kudos to you, and power to you.
NW: I appreciate it, man, thanks for that.