Ultra Nate: Goddess Worship
ULTRA: A lot of them, really. People have their specific favorites. The stand-outs from the first album were definitely "Scandal" and "It's Over Now." A lot of people strangely enough tell me they love "Sands of Time," which was a really downtempo song from the first album. From the second album, a lot of people tell me they really love "How Long Must I Wait" and "Joy." Obviously the big hits were "Free" and "Found the Cure." From Stranger Than Fiction, my fourth record, "Twisted" is like the end-all, be-all song that I still get emails about from people around the globe, and "Desire." I think that it's a pretty long list.
5 MAGAZINE: Grime, Silk and Thunder is your fifth full length album, which is almost unheard of in an industry that is so focused on singles. And there seems to be a greater concept to it, almost like a you're a storyteller.
ULTRA: There's always a theme with a full album. Albums are really about a concept, a vibe, a story, a feeling. They capture a period of time, a moment - you know what I mean? To me, album projects show more depth, reach and artistry than just a collection of singles. Singles are very linear - you're only getting one perspective of that artist, that one vibe from them, that one interpretation. Being an artist is broader. It's also necessary to be considered a substantial, "real artist" in the eyes of the world. People would never expect the Rolling Stones or Gwen Stefani, who they consider to be "real," credible artists, to just put out a single or a compilation of singles. It'd be ridiculous. That's one of the things that's been lacking in the dance music community in terms of the artist: artistry, as opposed to these very linear, fragmented projects.
5 MAGAZINE: You started your recording career on a major label, Warner Brothers, and then moved on to an indie label, Strictly Rhythm. Was starting with a major label something of a cautionary tale?
ULTRA: There are pros and cons to every situation. When I started out, I didn't think one way or another about being on a major label because I didn't have enough experience to know the difference. You're a kid, you're making a record and you don't know what you're doing - and then Warner Brothers says "Hey, I want to sign you!" Sure, what have I got to lose? [laughs] A little bit of time, that's all...
I was just kind of coasting because I really didn't plan on becoming a singer, or a singer by trade. I was still in the process of writing my first album - my first efforts at even trying to write songs - and then to sing them, and then to be in a studio recording them to bring them out to the world... That was enough going on for me! The fact that I was on a major was so mind-boggling and overwhelming that I think I downplayed that part of the equation. Six months from the day I sang this little ditty that came to me, which was "It's Over Now," and then being in England for the first time - I was just out of my teens (if I was even out of my teens, I'm not even sure)... That's a lot for a kid to digest. I'm in a different country, I'm shooting a video, going on Top of the Pops - I was just kind of going through the motions. That was the only template that I ever had. You have these major marketing meetings, you meet with this department and that department, and then these departments get together and decide how they're going to market your project and they do all of these great things and suddenly your face is going by on the side of a bus!
After the second album - that's when I became more aware of the business side of things. My project was transferred from the UK being my home label to Warner US, and that was a whole different ball of wax. My first record was cut on Warner UK and that was really cool, because these were people that really understood dance music and I was being marketed to a consumer that knew, understood, appreciated and purchased dance music. When I was sent to the US label, I was being handled by people who didn't know or care about dance music and wanted to figure out how to change me into an R&B artist, which I didn't want to do. When that wasn't happening, I was shelved.
The light came on for me then. To be on a major sounds very glamorous, but I didn't have fifty dollars in the bank. I've got videos, I've been on Top of the Pops, I've traveled the world - I've done this, I've done that, I've got a great name and credibility in the underground and above ground but I don't have fifty dollars in the bank. That's when you say, "Okay, maybe I need to go independent on the next go-round..."
I decided to go to Strictly Rhythm after Warner Brothers when Gladys Pizarro, my A&R person, worked hard for a year and a half to sign me. I was really kind of gunshy. And also, after I left Warner, I left the Basement Boys as my production team. I didn't have a record deal or a production team anymore.
5 MAGAZINE: You took a lot of chances on Grime, Silk and Thunder with a lot of different sounds - from downtempo to pop to straight-ahead House with producers like Quentin Harris and singers like Dajae. You could easily make a good living as a "hired gun" on other people's productions - why stick your neck out?
ULTRA: Yeah, but that's so short-sighted. That's a nowhere street for me. Not everything is for everyone, and I won't dis anyone that's gone that route, but for me, personally - I'm a little bit of a psycho in terms of believing "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." If you don't take the risk, you have nothing to win. I don't want to live with the regret of what I would've, should've or could've done. Whenever that day comes that I decide to call it quits, I don't want to say, "If only I tried to step out on my own, invest some of my money in myself, I would be much further along in my career." I don't want to look back and feel like I sold myself out and didn't at least try.
But it is a tough gamble - this is my own money, and quite a few of my own dollars were spent to get this up and running over the last five years that I've been working on the album. That's difficult for some people to do. There can be a lot of revenue streams in this industry but it can also be feast or famine. But I believe that if you don't bleed, sweat or cry over it, it ain't worth havin'.
5 MAGAZINE: I remember seeing your videos on MTV and I'm glad to see you're still making them. I can't imagine the Rolling Stones or Gwen Stefani doing a song without a video, either.
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