Today we’d like to introduce you to Nina Joory.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Music has always been part of my life, and I always knew it would be the path that I would pursue. I started singing when I was a child, but started taking lessons when I was twelve years old. I was lucky enough to be exposed to many cultures, as it later allowed me the choice to explore them in my music. I was born to Brazilian parents and brought up in Geneva, Switzerland, and grew up studying in an international school, where I learnt to speak English. At home, I spoke French and Portuguese. It’s safe to say my privilege in being fluent in those three languages would open many doors for me in the future.
Growing up listening and singing to Beyoncé, Rihanna, The Black Eyed Peas, etc… on the radio, The Beatles and Genesis on my dad’s records, and Tom Jobim and Elis Regina with my mother shaped my musical taste into something eclectic that, to this day, still helps me keep an open vision to a new and innovative way to explore and create music. But I’ve always had a preference and ear for pop music, and I always felt the need to be able to merge my cultures and bridge gaps with hybrid genres through pop music, my main model as a child being Shakira.
Fast forwarding to 2013, I attended Berklee’s Five-Week Summer Performance Program, which made my decision easy for my college studies. I started Berklee’s four-year degree program. Berklee has been the most life-changing experience for me. I started off completely lost in my first semester (as most freshmen do), and graduated in 2018 as a totally different person. During those 4 years, aside from everything I’ve learnt from friends (from a musical and cultural point), to all-nighters working on projects and enlightening teachers and courses, I found a whole world within me. I discovered that I was a songwriter and had a particular ear for catchy melodies, and that I loved working with certain aspects of music production and social media, above all other things. Within those four years, I took a semester off and stayed in Rio De Janeiro, where I co-wrote for Brazilian superstars such as Anitta, but also had the pleasure of working on my own EP alongside extremely talented and successful producers, which helped me grow into the artist within me that I am still discovering today. Going back to Berklee after my semester off was even more challenging as I had to continue everything I had kicked off while in Brazil: my own projects and songwriting for myself as well as for other artists, in English as well as in Portuguese. In October 2017, I released “Original Love” my first single and music video, which is a merge of American pop and Carioca Funk (a rhythm and musical movement from the Rio de Janeiro “favelas”), a hybrid that is the perfect answer to this need I felt to bridge gap between cultures.
Today, being a fresh Berklee graduate of the Class of 2018, I can proudly say I am so excited to be writing for artists, working on projects of my own and having nearby releases. I plan to move to Rio de Janeiro for a year, and then hopefully live in LA to pursue my career as an artist and as a songwriter. Boston was my home for four golden years, and I will always cherish it and remember it as the place where I found myself, forever keeping my memories with me no matter where this path will take me.
Has it been a smooth road?
Music will never be a smooth road. Most struggles lie with finding the right people to work with. I have come across many obstacles along the way, people who have done me wrong, and a lot of disappointments, as most artists tend to find throughout their journey. You constantly have to keep proving yourself and prove to the people you work with – especially as a woman – that you can do the job and that you can go above and beyond.
If there’s any advice I can give, it would definitely be to not beat yourself up at the start of your career. If you are new at anything, you must accept that you will probably get played in the beginning. Of course it’s frustrating, but just be thankful for the fact that it’s happening so early in the game so you can be assertive and smart enough the next time you’ll have to deal with the same kind of obstacle, challenge or situation. In addition to that, you must always do your homework on whichever industry you are working in (marketing strategies, legal aspects…), sooner rather than later, as that could either save you or cost you a lot of money and damage.
The best concrete compliment I’ve heard over the past two years has been “we need you for this job because we can’t think of anyone else who’ll do it better”.
My final advice would be: find out what YOUR special something is and what sets you apart from anyone else, because the industry’s already got that “anyone else”.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am a performer (singer) and a songwriter. I mostly sing pop, in English and in Portuguese. I love the stage, the rush that it brings when the audience is right there with you, singing along and dancing. A really fun thing that comes along with the stage (or with music videos, photoshoots, and any other type of production) is your freedom to do whatever you want with your artist persona, and to me, that comes down a lot to the outfit and the makeup. I always try to innovate my outfits and to wear an unconventional piece of clothing that will weirdly blend in with more “mainstream” items.
The magic continues in the studio, where it’s like a safe space, a bubble of happiness and creativity. I love everything about being in a studio. The talented people I get to work with (producers, singers, songwriters), making the music come alive from scratch, recording in the booth and getting ideas every time you record a new take, hearing freshly made music on amazing speakers (that’s my version of instant gratification)… the list goes on!
And as for songwriting, it’s one of the most challenging ones. Songwriting is a roller coaster of emotions, from the moment you compose until the moment you try to pitch the song in for an artist, or until you record it for yourself as an artist. Sometimes, you’ve got no inspiration, but you’re on a clock, so you need to get something done no matter what. Other times, you’re given a melody-less track/beat to write melody and lyrics to (a songwriting method called “toplining”). You end up working on it for weeks, not being able to come up with anything good, and then suddenly one day, a crazy experience in your life makes your brain ooze with ideas and makes you write the perfect song in less than an hour.
My first experience as an official songwriter was my contribution to the composition of Brazilian pop star Anitta’s English version of “Bang”, translated from Portuguese. Although the song was leaked and never officially released, I was credited by the label. This opened many doors for me and introduced me to a lot of people.
I ended up translating other songs (which are still in the making) for other Brazilian artists. It’s really challenging and feels like a constant puzzle, but it’s really fun, and definitely rewarding to put my linguistic knowledge to work. People also come to me a lot for melodic composition, and that is by far my favorite part within songwriting.
Which women have inspired you in your life?
There are so many woman who have inspired me, and it would be impossible for me to name them all, but here are a few contrasting ones:
Shakira was definitely my first inspiration as a child. It was clear to me, from that young an age, that I would want to bring cultures together like that. Given that I tuned into a lot of pop music on the radio and on MTV (that being the early 2000s), she was my first exposure at that time to a Latin woman bringing Spanish into the US and merging genres.
Beyoncé, Rihanna and Lady Gaga were also giant sources of inspiration for me. I’ve always loved their music, their style, their strength and their girl power.
Nowadays, I inspire myself a lot from Dua Lipa and Anitta. Dua Lipa is the perfect mix of classy and sensual, and that’s an intoxicating and seductive style, music-wise and personality-wise, bound for success, as she has already demonstrated. As for Brazilian superstar Anitta, I admire her path a lot. She was extremely criticized at the beginning of her career and, although she still continues to be so sometimes, she is one of the most successful Brazilian artists of this decade. She is now investing in an international career and seeing it unfold has been very exciting.
Contact Info:
- Email: sabrina.joory7@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ninajoory/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ninajoory/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/ninajoory
Image Credit:
Christy Barley, Thayna Laduano, Ariff Danial, Gabriel Not
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