Fresh from releasing his first solo track in eight years, the sumptuous summer pop of ‘Getting Lost’, Nathan Sykes today shares the follow-up ‘Butterflies’. Both songs feature on his long awaited album ‘Ultraviolet’ which is set for release on October 17th and comes after his Silver-certified 2016 solo debut record ‘Unfinished Business’. His return has been greeted with coverage spanning everywhere from The Sun to Notion and The Line of Best Fit, while he also shared his story on 5 News with Dan Walker. Listen HERE.
‘Butterflies’ is representative of the supercharged, razor-sharp pop focus that Nathan relishes performing throughout much of the ‘Ultraviolet’ album. With the broad appeal of his voice, a hook that embeds itself in your subconscious after one spin, and a universal take on first love, it balances where Nathan has come from with where he is going: the sophistication drawn from artistic experience and the natural growth that comes as the years pass, together with the radio-friendly, instant charm of his time with The Wanted.
Nathan says, “While writing the album, I wrestled with the balance between telling stories through moments of introversion – something I’ve often not been afforded the space to do previously – to just letting go and having my big pop moments. As soon as we stumbled upon ‘Butterflies’, I knew this was the song that captured the latter perfectly.
It’s about that feeling you get in your stomach; nervous, excited, giddy – thinking about someone new, someone you’ve known forever and the fun that person brings. The song came together quickly once we got there and it just as quickly sticks in everyone’s heads who hears it – it’s one of my favourite moments of the album and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it.”
Like ‘Getting Lost’ and ‘Pieces Of Me’ before it, ‘Butterflies’ was created with the same tight-knit team that has allowed Nathan to express his truest self for the first time. He wrote the song with producer Tobie Tripp (George Ezra, Tom Grennan) and co-writers David Sneddon (Lana Del Rey, Lewis Capaldi) and Theo Hutchcraft (Calvin Harris, Måneskin), while mixing was provided by Steve Fitzmaurice (Sam Smith).
Nathan first came to prominence with the chart-topping, arena-headlining success of The Wanted, before reaching a billionstreams with the first stage of his solo career. That was put on hold as The Wanted teamed up to celebrate everything they achieved together with an emotional arena tour shortly before bandmate Tom Parker’s tragic death.
Following that shattering news, Nathan eventually returned to music and decided to start a new album project from scratch. What emerged is a record which bursts with big, life-affirming pop moments like its two recent singles, but one that also dares to get introspective as Nathan expresses the pain and vulnerability of his own personal truths, as showcased with ‘Pieces of Me’.
‘Ultraviolet’ is now available to pre-order / pre-save HERE. It will be released on purple, vinyl, picture disc vinyl, CD and cassette plus digital/download formats. All album bundles include a signed art print.
Earlier this year, Nathan returned to live action by playing a London show at Omeara which sold-out in just five minutes. His set mixed big hits and fan favourites from his first chapter, such as ‘Over And Over Again’ and ‘Almost Is Never Enough’, with a wealth of new material. Next up are two October headline shows, remaining tickets for which are available HERE.
OCTOBER
29th – Manchester, Deaf Institute
30th – London, O2 Academy Islington
