Meet Nectar Woode, the rising UK soul star loved by Elton John

There’s a sunny disposition so deeply embedded in the DNA of Nectar Woode’s songs that she’s capable of making even the toughest of scenarios seem like they’re not too bad. That’s shown on 2024’s ‘Head Above Water’, which sees the rising soul star ruminate on lost love and “all the battles we are fighting” while funky jazz keys and soft drum beats reign supreme in the background.

To put it another way, she’s a glass-half-full in musical form and it’s this unique proposition that has allowed Elton John to hail her as “amazing” in his recent Rolling Stone UK cover interview.

But after the introspective tone of ‘Head Above Water’, Nectar says she’s now hoping that her next EP will give fans a true glimpse into her own personality. The first taste of that arrived last Friday in the subtle funk-flecked ‘LOSE’, which was recorded in Ghana – the country of her father’s birth – on a trip there earlier this year. The accompanying video captures the vibrant trip in all its glory.

Now, fresh from an appearance on Later… with Jools Holland last night, she’s on a path to becoming one of the UK’s most distinctive soul stars. You can read our full Q&A with Nectar Woode and listen to her via our Play Next Spotify playlist below.

An appearance on Later…With Jools Holland and an endorsement from Elton John. It’s not a bad time to be Nectar Woode is it?

I’ve always been a big Jools fan so that was great and the Elton shout-out was just crazy. It was the first time my mum thought that my music was doing something because he was such a musical milestone for her. But Elton’s an absolute legend and I can’t believe that he champions my music. It’s crazy.

For the uninitiated and the unaware, how do you describe your music?

It’s soulful, warm and summery but a bit deep in meaning. That’s come from a mixture of things, particularly like the music that I was exposed to from an early age. My dad was a big jazz lover but then he also loved reggae. So I had like a cross of loads of different music growing up and then I gravitated towards more of the neo-soul side and those kind of melodies and chords. When I wanted to pick up the guitar and write I was just had loads of mixtures of music in my brain. I was like, ‘Okay, I can do a different kind of melody, like a soul melody but with some jazzy chords’. And that’s basically how my music came about, just from experimenting.

What does a Nectar Woode live show look like?

I did a lot of performing arts stuff back in the day and really helped because it gave me something to channel my energy into. But picking up the guitar too, I always talk about watching the Lauryn Hill MTV Unplugged video on YouTube and I always wanted to do something like that. Where you can play and sing these deep, meaningful songs but also have funny chats in between. It really helped in learning to be comfortable on stage.

A lot of people will have discovered you through the Head Above Water EP. What did you want to achieve with that project?

I wanted to be completely transparent with how I was feeling at the time of writing the songs. I was a bit confused in myself, I had a lot of growing pains during that time. It was a project to show how I’ve grown so much throughout making it. There’s some bits that focus on when you and your mate are going through the same issue, but it’s all about how you get yourself out of it. You’ve got to grow and hold yourself accountable for making mistakes and stuff like that. So the whole project was really honest for me and now I feel it’s a good explanation for this new project because this is the real introduction to me. On my new single ‘Lose’ and my next EP I go deeper into my identity and my heritage and what it’s like when you’re from a mixed heritage background and you can’t really fit into one group. You’re constantly bouncing around. That’s kind of the message I wanted to have for this EP.

And you recently went to Ghana for the first time to record music. What was that experience like?

It was a lot of fun. You get your nerves because you’ve never been to the place that you’re actually from [Woode’s dad is Ghanaian]. But I got there and I never felt like an outsider. I felt super accepted and felt like this could easily be a second home. Everyone was so welcoming, so generous, and I wanted to go back as soon as I got home. I wrote a lot of the EP prior to going there, but I then wrote the super jazzy ones when I was there. They’re written from that nervous point of view and the anticipation too. I’d definitely play shows there.