German synthwave artist NINA has built a strong reputation from her recent singles, having reached #6 on UK Shazam advert charts with ‘My Mistake’, while she also received a heap of support on Hype Machine from her last single ‘We Are The Wild Ones’.

In this interview spotlight, we chat with NINA about the latest project, influences, challenges and more.

Full Q&A along with links and a stream of Counting Stars below.

Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)

I’m originally from Berlin and I make Synthpop and Synthwave music with a deep longing for sunsets, palm trees and distant sounds of analog synths with the occasional melancholy.

What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?

I’ve always loved singing. I was quite a shy person growing up and I enjoyed expressing myself through music. I used to suffer from stage fright but I pushed myself to go out there and at least try. I can say that now I really enjoy every time I’m on that stage, being able to exchange energy and tell my stories is amazing. I feel like that’s what I was born to do. It is tough sometimes staying motivated but I’ll always come back to it. What really keeps me going is the overwhelming love I receive from my fans at shows and all their positive comments on Youtube, Facebook and other social media platforms.

How is your new release different than previous ones? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?

For this release I teamed up with Metropolis studios to record all the vocals and worked with their label arm for the release. It’s a great team to work with.

‘One Of Us’ has more pulsating drums and is slightly more upbeat than my previous release ‘Beyond Memory’. ‘One of Us’ is also a more personal song, inspired by my struggle with bullying during high school.

Do you face challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? How has technology helped you (assuming it helps)?

Definitely! The music industry is constantly changing. The main challenge is to adapt quickly. Soundcloud and YouTube are great tools to get your music heard by millions of people, but they hardly pay. So there’s always that struggle to get funding for releases. But at the same time, both platforms helped me connect and collaborate with tons of artists and producers that I love.

Where can we connect with you online and discover more music?

You can find me as ninasounduk on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Soundcloud, and ninasingzmusic on YouTube.

Anything else before we sign off?

Got lots of shows booked this year, check out my website for dates and cities. And I’m hoping to release my debut album by the end of this year. Watch this space!