Photo by Tom Thorpe


THE EIGHTIES

Although he is now known as a composer of music that is very much classical in style, he certainly did not start his musical career in that vein. A self taught musician, Nick forged a reputation in the mid eighties as a skilled songwriter and a gifted pop keyboardist & vocalist. Inspired by the likes of the English keyboard virtuosos and singer songwriters Howard Jones, Thomas Dolby and Nik Kershaw, Nick released his first two solo albums in 1985. Make it Happen reached number one on the West Australian Independent Charts and the follow up album Deja Vu made it to number three.

In 1986 Nick formed an original band called De Vie who recorded an album of Nick's songs entitled Spice of Life. Despite their potential, De Vie was short lived. The following year Nick withdrew from the music scene to focus on other interests after recording Dress to Impress, his third solo album.

THE NINETIES

It was not until 1992 that he re-emerged with A Chance to Dream, an album he produced and engineered in his own studio. The production values of the recording, the quality of musicianship and the strength of song writing earned praise.

In late 1992 Nick moved to Melbourne where he continued to hone his skills as a songwriter. He wrote commercial jingles and recorded with a number of local musicians.

Nick returned home in 1996 with the desire to expand his musical horizons. Inspired by the World Music phenomenon, Nick set about recording Tears of the Moon which was released in May 1997. The instrumental album received generous reviews and represented a significant departure from his previous writing styles.

Once again Nick took time out from music composition and recording to pursue other interests including acting and singing. After completing an acting course he landed the lead role in Playlover's production of David Williamson's Dead White Males. Dead White Males played to packed houses and Nick won plaudits for his performance.

It would be a further 6 years before he would even play a keyboard again!

THE NEW CENTURY

Yearning to get back into writing music, Nick wrote and recorded Eclipse in 2003. Nick produced an album that was an eclectic fusion of New Age, contemporary classical, Celtic and even jazz styles. Eclipse was Nick's attempt to step out of his comfort zone and take his writing to the next level. Despite favourable reviews, Eclipse failed to sit comfortably in any one genre and as adventurous as it was, it did not strike the same chord with listeners as Tears of the Moon. Eclipse was, however, a very important step in his musical development and he learnt a lot from the experience.

In March 2004 Nick set about writing material forTales of a Summer Past . Released in February 2005, it is an album that is firmly in the realm of New Age classical/crossover classical music. Using only orchestral sounds he aimed to re-captured the energy of Tears of the Moon yet produced an album that explored the neo-classical far more deftly than did Eclipse. The reviews he received were extremely positive.

Not one to sit still for too long, Nick was driven to produce yet another album and commenced writing material for Candescence in July 2005. It was released mid 2006. His rapid development as a composer is evident with the critiques he has received.

As for the future, Nick is undecided about whether he will compose again. He is enjoying a well earned break after a prolific few years.