About Nate Maingard

"Think the kind of effect a Nathaniel Rateliff and Bon Iver collaboration might have..." - The Tudor, Aficionado (Jun 14, 2011) "Somewhere between Radiohead and a more intellectual Jack Johnson" - Mike Smith, LMG Cape Town is the city of cold surf, rugged mountains, raw creativity and thus, not surprisingly, Nate Maingard. A self-taught musician, Nate has been playing guitar for over ten years and singing his whole life, from teenage gigs around the mother city to busking his way through the UK. In early 2011 he committed to playing music full-time and the rest is notated in the songs spanning his experiences of the world. In a small village on the Atlantic side of the Cape Peninsula, Nate grew up in his father's guitar-making workshop. Maingard Guitars being some of the best in the world, he learnt from an early age the origins of good music- from the best wood to use when making an acoustic guitar, to the lilting sounds of Cat Stevens and The Beatles. But since those early days of sawdust and wood-smells, Nate has made his very own instrument -named Melody- and sound to go with it. His voice has been compared to Radiohead's Thom Yorke, his lyrics have reminded audiences of the depth of Leonard Cohen and his easy style and likeable tunes brings the likes of Jack Johnson to mind. Nate has performed at Splashy Fen, White Mountain Folk Festival, Grahamstown National Arts Festival, Flamjangled Tea Party, Up The Creek and The Drake Fest, while his tireless touring has made his shows popular all over South Africa. In 2012 he was presented with a Standard Bank Ovation Award at South Africa's National Arts Festival. In the words of Pedro Carlo (who runs both Splashy Fen and White Mountain), "I hired Nate Maingard to perform at this year's White Mountain Festival. He blew us away and would highly recommend him to any other festival out there." While his stage energy and presence are honest and real, Nate has been known to disappoint fans at a daytime gig. When asked for another song, he grinned and declared, 'I'm sorry, but the waves in Scarborough are cooking, I'm going to get barrelled'! This is easily forgiven when one hears the inspiration nature brings to his songs- from 'All I need's a patch of sunlight, from which to watch the world go by' in Cat's Got Time, to 'I hold onto my love like a sailor holds his breath in the last moment of life' in Just Like You. With songs varying from indie-folk to soft rock, Nate's original lyrics make his music unique and catchy. 'The Wild Land' is a richly textured song about that place in all of us, where civilisations' shoulds and should-nots have no place, a place where 'sex still breathes'. In 2011 Nate recorded and released his debut album 'The Wild Land', of which Muse Magazine's Rachel Briant said, "Above all, Nate Maingard is a brilliant lyricist. Listening to his album I am enthralled at his ability to string words together in a way that is altogether intriguing, imaginative and chilling. Combined with sensitive guitar chords, it's enough to give me spine tingles." A brief year later Nate recorded his second album, 'Home, live in studio, with all new songs written in a year of music, touring, love, loss and laughter. About his lyrics Nate states: 'Often-times I stand in front of a room full of people, sharing what a song is about and I hear myself saying things I didn't know before; it's as though I write the songs and only discover what they're about as I learn them more myself'. His words are powerful and passionate, often with an honesty that forces the listener to take their guard down, and that's when the strength of his music hits you right in the stomach. As Angela Weickl said in her review for yourLMG magazine: "Maingard writes protest songs for lovers and love songs for rebels." Nate is currently based in London, UK, connect with him at his website (http://natemaingard.com) or on twitter: @natemaingard. *Thank you to Hanli Prinsloo for the Bio*