Amsterdam Singer/Songwriter Nina June Shares “Your Surrender” Feat LA Artist Emily James
November 9, 2023 BY Bailey Vigliaturo
Amsterdam-based singer/songwriter Nine June adorns living and breathing alternative pop soundscapes with keen observations, earned wisdom, and arresting storytelling gleaned from her journey and grafted to the songs practically in real-time. With the help of a few special collaborators, Nina explores herself as an artist, as a woman, and as a mother on her 2024 collection of songs, Paradigm, out March 1, 2024.
“This is a different phase in my life,” Nina observes. “I’ve developed as a woman, so I’ve developed as an artist too. I feel very at peace with my music and, maybe, with myself as a storyteller. All of the noise is gone. I’ve become more mature, and I’ve added more layers to who I am as a writer, a performer, and a person.”
Nina first introduced this body of work with the dreamy single “Wish You Well” (feat. Old Sea Brigade), where her sultry vocals coast over breezy acoustic guitar, picking up momentum like a wave breaking on shore. Today, she shares her new single “Your Surrender,” a collaboration with Los Angeles singer/songwriter Emily James. The single is available everywhere tomorrow here: https://ninajune.ffm.to/yoursurrender
Listen To “Your Surrender” (Feat. Emily James):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxOPm6hK-sk
“’Your Surrender’ is a song about a love that seems to be effortless,” Nina says. “If you’re accustomed to drama in relationships, you’re not used to things going easily. ‘Your Surrender’ is giving yourself a hard time surrendering to this other person who, actually, fits you like a glove.”
On working with Emily James, she adds, “To me, her songs are downright addictive, just like her voice. I dropped her a message to ask if she would like to write together some time, and to my delight she said yes. It’s fun to notice how during such a first meeting you can go into depth and tell each other things about your life that few other people know. We talked about love and how uncomfortable it can feel when it seems to come naturally. From behind my piano, I played a verse for Emily, and when she intuitively started singing a chorus, I knew we had something special. Emily sent me a demo of her singing our song, and it immediately brought me to tears. I sang my vocal part when 40 weeks pregnant with my son. I tried to re-do it a few months later, but I couldn’t capture the depth that was in this first take. Some things are best when you don’t overthink them.”
Emily adds, “Creating this song with Nina June was such a special experience. We immediately clicked. This song is about letting go of the belief that love always has to be difficult, and learning how to accept an easy, gentle kind of love instead. I’m truly honored to be a part of this song and Nina’s beautiful project.”
Nina June first introduced herself with Bon Voyage back in 2018 and was honored with her home country’s coveted Zilveren Notekraker—an award reserved for “Promising New Talent.” A year later, she expanded her audience with the Shadows & Riddles EP in between touring worldwide and receiving major film and television syncs. During 2021, she reached critical mass with her sophomore album, Meet Me on The Edge of Our Ruin. The standout “Rainbow Ashes” reeled in over 7 million Spotify streams and counting, and she incited widespread tastemaker applause from American Songwriter, Atwood Magazine, MUNDANE, Under The Radar Magazine, Unpublished, and more. FLAUNT christened it “10 eloquent and artful arrangements,” while Rolling Stone (DE) took note of June’s “glitter voice.” Most recently, Nina received a golden award for the song “We Watched It All Come Down” from the Dutch Radio 2 program “Muziekcafe.”
