'First Mind' by Nick Mulvey

First Mind
by Nick Mulvey
Release Date: 12th May 2014

Tracklist: First Mind / Fever To The Form / April / Juramidam / Cucurucu / Ailsa Craig / Meet Me There / Nitrous / Venus / I don't Want To Go Home / The Trellis / The World To Me //

The post for this album has been a long time coming. Not only have I had a draft track post, consisting of three songs from the album, sitting in the drafts box for a good 6 months now, but this album was actually my most listened to album on my Spotify Year in Music for 2015. Now, bear with me for a few days (possibly weeks, only two at the most - promise) and those Year in Music posts will be in front of your very eyes. I know it’s March now but it’s always nice to look back and see what music people have been listening to even if you already know it – who knows, you might find something new! Back to Mulvey.

I was very surprised when I found out this was my most listened to album – it had some hefty competitors in my opinion. However, after finding the album again this week, it’s not as surprising as I thought. The album is consistently stunning and a brilliant release for Mulvey’s solo debut. There are definitely obvious elements that give away his previous work as a part of Portico Quartet, with the incorporations of his intricate guitar parts and rhythms.

Portico Quartet plays a more technical style music that always pulls the tracks in a different direction and tries to push the boundaries of jazz. The elements within First Mind are familiar from Portico Quartet as their influences were that of modern jazz and African music. From listening to it and reading about his musical background, you can see First Mind is so well reviewed. Before Mulvey decided to become a solo singer-songwriter, he was a part of a jazz quartet - "I had a real desire to follow the guitar and get back to writing lyrics, and all of that was dovetailing with a dissatisfaction with the hang drum and the low ceiling of the jazz world", he tells The Independent. Mulvey wanted to get back into songwriting, so that's exactly what he did.

His knowledge of both percussion and guitar is evident in his music. The guitar parts in his tracks add lush features to the album: the percussive and plucked part throughout Juramidam; Cucurucu demonstrates airy arpeggiated figures that then move into a percussive rhythm to pick the piece up; and April has the sounds of a complex and intricately picked phrase that gives a haunting soundscape to the piece.

First Mind is such an easy listen, it's understandable as to why it was played so much when I first heard it and why it's still played so much (it's been on repeat all week once again). It's full of little details and phrases, rhythms, melodies, from full textures to thin, and larger arrangements to just Muvley and his guitar. He exploits the use of percussion with how much he incorporates in his work, which creates these full textures and larger arrangements that add something slightly different to the album. First Mind is made up of pulsing rhythms, that are influenced from his time studying at a guitar school in Cuba, and melodic patterns from his acoustic guitar. The music on his debut album pulls you in - the combination of the rhythms and melodies are addictive when you first listen to them.

So, if you haven't had opportunity to experience Nick Mulvey's debut album, First Mind, as a solo singer-songwriter, here's your chance: