Get To Know... Ninush • Neu • DIY Magazine

Hello and welcome back to DIY’s introducing feature, Get To Know… which aims to get you a little bit closer to the buzziest acts that have been catching our eye as of late, and working out what makes them tick.

Name an instrumentally-expansive, cult favourite act to have come out of the capital in recent memory - Black Country, New Road, Geordie Greep, Jockstrap - and, chances are, violinist and composer Nina Lim is in the picture somewhere. The classically-trained strings virtuoso has spent years cutting her teeth between London’s alternative underground and pop’s big leagues (having shared stages with the likes of JADE and Anne Marie), and now, her first foray under her own moniker, Ninush, blurs the two worlds to charming effect.

Ahead of the imminent release of her debut EP ‘The Flowers I See You In’ - which lands as the inaugural release for The Bird Records, a new label set up by BCNR’s Charlie Wayne - we learn more about Nina via music school, Lana, and leaps of faith…

Hey Ninush! Let’s get to know you a little better… what’s your worst musical habit?
I don’t have any. They got beaten out of me in music school.

Speaking of - you studied at Guildhall! Has being a musician always been your dream from a young age? How do you think that environment compares to the grassroots circuit you’ve worked within since?
I started playing the violin at the age of seven and took to it very quickly. I loved all the opportunities that came from it in my teens; mainly the opportunities that involved having a good time with my friends. Going to Guildhall felt quite different from that, and I ended up developing crippling performance anxiety. Entering the grassroots scene was very healing, it showed me the world was much bigger than playing perfectly on a wooden box. I think it’s helped me come to terms with making mistakes.

If you could time travel back to one decade in history, which would you pick (and why)?
The ‘70s… for the music, and the house prices.

“Entering the grassroots scene was very healing, it showed me the world was much bigger than playing perfectly on a wooden box.”

You’ve collaborated and performed with a number of contemporary music’s most defining names - including BCNR, Geordie Greep, JADE, and Little Simz - but this is your debut solo endeavour. Why did now feel like the right time to strike out on your own? Are there any particular pearls of wisdom you’ve picked up from these other artists you’ll be taking forward in your own work?
It never really felt like this was the right time, starting Ninush was sort of an accident. I made some songs for fun with my producer Sam Tsang and then he kept showing them to people without my consent. Next minute, I’m on stage shaking with fear in front of 1000 people supporting BCNR on a UK tour.

Excitingly, ‘The Flowers I See You In’ will be the very first release on new label The Bird Records. What do you hope it says about both you as an artist, and as an introduction to the label?
This EP is a small collection of my first attempts at songwriting. Since starting the project it’s been overwhelming how many of my friends have been up for helping out - one of those people being [BCNR drummer] Charlie Wayne. He’s a great friend and has wonderful taste in music. I’m very flattered and in total disbelief that he would want to launch his label with my little nursery rhyme type songs.

What’s the best-ever festival set to watch back on YouTube?
Lana turning up late for Glasto. Let my queen take her time.

Finally, DIY is coming round for dinner - what are you making?
Borscht with pierogi followed by char sui pork with rice, then eton mess for dessert.

‘The Flowers I See You In’ is out now via The Bird Records.

#AD