Episode 233 - Head to Head: The Blackened Air vs You Follow Me by Nina Nastasia (Side A)

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This week we have the first of two episodes on Nina Nastasia, as we go deep into her career, decision to vanish from the public eye, recent events and much, much more.

It’s been a wee while since we did a head-to-head episode, but Chris and Vicki couldn’t agree which of her albums was the best, so here we are. Vicki has chosen her second album, The Blackened Air, whilst Chris has gone for her 2007 collaboration with The Dirty Three’s Jim White, You Follow Me.

But there’s a bit of an elephant in the room here that we felt we had to address. As of writing (September 2022), Nina is in the midst of wrapping up press for her most recent album, Riderless Horse. It’s a landmark album for her in two ways:

One: it is her first album in over a decade. In the time between this album and 2010’s Outlaster, she essentially vanished from the public eye, except for one single that she released in 2018 called Handmade Card.

Two: it is the first release since the suicide of her partner Kennan Gudjonsson. She has openly stated in interviews recently that Kennan had a lot of input into almost all aspects of her career, so this album, in her view, is also her first ever “solo” album as it is the first time she’s ever made music without her former lover.

In the press surrounding Riderless Horse Nina has gone into a lot of detail around the nature of her relationship with Gudjonsson, particularly with regards to his controlling, manipulative behaviour and how long it really took her to see it.

Needless to say, there was no way we couldn’t bring this up in any conversation about Nina Nastasia’s music given how integral Gujonsson was, by her own admission, to her music.

On this week’s episode we chat about some more biographical elements of her life, focusing on her relationship with Gudjonsson, how it effected the music, her personally and the overall trajectory of her career.

There is discussion of abuse in this episode, so please bear that in mind before listening.

Next week: we talk exclusively about her music, so tune in!