Nick Batterham is an AFI/AACTA award nominated sound designer and ARIA nominated musician, based in Naarm / Melbourne, Australia. Nick has shifted gears from indie-rock bands and cinematic pop toward something more meditative with his new classical album, First Snow. Speaking with Australian Musician’s Greg Phillips, Batterham reflects on his creative evolution, his process, and the quiet rewards of composition.
MORE ABOUT NICK BATTEREHAM’S ‘FIRST SNOW’
Batterham, known for his work with The Earthmen, Cordrazine, and The Bell Streets, says First Snow emerged naturally from his experience scoring visual installations by artist Rone. “That’s really where all this has come from for me,” he explains. “The first show I did with Rone in 2018 was the first time I’d written purposefully for piano and strings. This record wouldn’t exist without that.” The collaboration rekindled his early connection to classical music, a passion that traces back to his childhood cello lessons.
Despite being labeled “classical,” Batterham approaches composition much like songwriting. “I’m quite focused on melody rather than just atmosphere,” he says. “I’ll start at the piano, and something in the progression implies a melody that I follow. The melody then tells me what the movement should be.” Each piece begins with intuition and develops through long refinement. “It takes time to just sit on it and come back to it a year later,” he adds. “This kind of music is about chiseling away-seeing how little can still hang together.”
The album’s title track, First Snow, became the emotional centrepiece of the collection. “It felt sparse and cold-a little on the miserable side,” Batterham admits with a laugh. “But it summed up the record.” While much of the album was conceived alone, it transforms when performed by real musicians. “When you hear a real person play, their emotion changes the music,” he says. “One expressive part can be enough.”
Batterham will premiere First Snow on November 10 at Tempo Rubato in Brunswick, a performance space he clearly admires. “It’s a beautiful, small venue with a really positive, inclusive community,” he says. The concert will feature piano, violin, viola, and cello-a piano quartet mirroring the album’s core instrumentation. “It’s a dream come true to have my music performed there,” he adds, though he confesses he’ll be “nervously sitting in the front row” rather than performing.
Though immersed in classical writing, Batterham hasn’t abandoned his electric guitar. “That’s my flow state,” he says. “I don’t have to think, I just play noise, and it’s very soothing.” He laughs about his “sickness” for guitar pedals but admits he’s trying to downsize. Alongside First Snow, he continues to work on projects with Cordrazine, who launch a new EP in December and The Earthmen, who recently reunited for anniversary shows.
Ultimately, Batterham’s hopes for First Snow are modest but heartfelt. “I’d love for people to hear it and be moved by it,” he says. “The process itself is the reward. Anything beyond that, the concert, the players, the connection is a beautiful bonus.”
https://www.nickbatterham.com/
ALBUM LAUNCH TICKETS: https://www.temporubato.com.au/tempo-concerts/nick-batterham-first-snow