“Beautiful Mind” by Nicola Thoms

“Beautiful Mind” is the hot new single from East London’s Nicola Thoms, with a solid message to her grandfather, and everyone who loves music and people who care about those who leave this world without letting go, which the song carries on so well about. Her style of music takes strong influences from soul and RnB legends such as Lauryn Hill, Whitney Houston, and older generation influences like Stevie Wonder and Candi Staton. She’s also admired current artists, with Amy Winehouse being one, and Jessie Ware and Nao being a couple more. But Thoms doesn’t sound like any of them, she’s got her own voice.

SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/track/4gbpso3Gn4ncT7zwKKyRXX?si=l7jty0K0QZO5RBH0zu9GDg

She’s been at it since she was only 16, and talents did not go unnoticed as she was offered a place at the prestigious Brit School of Performing Arts, where she not only studied music, but also started to discover her love of song writing. She has since gained herself a music degree, recently graduating from the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance. However, she’s not the type just reading from a sheet, she’s a naturally gifted singer, singing Soul music in London. There’s only so many to choose from in that crop, it’s not abundant and most wouldn’t even make it in with them.

This puts Thoms in a unique position which reflects her unique music, even if you’ve only heard two of her songs, which both are equally fantastic but in completely different ways. It’s just another reason this single comes on so strong, as does her vocals and everything else about it, being the flawless-track it is. The beat is also so strong it speaks volumes for itself, but this isn’t a fast beat, as the song is more of a traditional ballad, but a big one at that. Once you hear her voice you’ll know what I mean, the song shows she can sing anything. It’s full of vocal dynamics and done with ultimate taste.

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/nicola_thoms/

If that doesn’t impress, the song is about her Grandad, and once you know that it’s worth it all-the more to hear the lyrics as she sings about missing the good things he was made of. She sings around a cloudy series of beats that are really-just there to accent her beautiful voice, it’s not very musically busy, but that’s also some of the beauty of this excellent song. There’s both a rawness and a polished combination of elements that make it such a masterpiece that she gave all she could give and that’s more than enough, and nobody can really ask for more from a singer than that.

SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/nicola_thoms/beautiful-mind

You can make out Michael Jackson influences, you can also make out Lianne La Havas influences, but soon enough you might make out Nicola Thoms influences in someone else. This is a powerful and inspiring artist with a voice anyone would want to possess. “Beautiful Mind” is a single anyone would want to release, and it paves the way for more from her. This single is one of the best songs to be heard in 2018, no question about it.

Zachary Rush