A Chat with Courtney Nord (14.09.25)
With a desire to connect and resonate with listeners across the globe, Courtney Nord’s music tells us you are not alone, that you are loved, and that the light is always brighter after the dark. We speak with the US-based singer-songwriter about her new EP, wild, inspiration, future plans and more.
OSR: Cliché, but what drew you to music? Why did you decide to pursue a career as a musician?
Nord: I started making music back in 2020 during lockdown times. I made my first song just with the prospects of hearing my own music on streaming platforms, and everything else fell into place. I really enjoyed what I made and got hooked very quickly to making music. I would sit down every single night and learn production, mixing, songwriting, and used to make 2-3 songs a week. It was easily the most exhilarating and rewarding thing I had ever done. I learned that I had a very unique style and sound, which would later evolve over time. The chills and catharsis I get from finishing a song is utterly unmatched.
OSR: What does music mean to you?
Nord: Music is therapy, its expression, and its uniting. It is one of the most unique creative mediums artists can partake in. It feels like ritual when listening or creating. As it ages, music holds as a portal into the past. It’s nostalgic and intimate. I can’t count how many times music has held me when nothing and nobody else could.
OSR: What inspires you to make music?
Nord: There is a feeling I get when I make music and write songs that nothing else can replicate. The way I experience life is very poetic already, and there are very few languages that fully capture how I feel; music is one of them.
OSR: You recently released your album, wild. What can you tell us about the album? Is there a particular backstory or theme?
Nord: The story to wild is a hard one. The entire album is full of things I did not want to look at. It’s pain, it’s vulnerable, and it’s a journey we take alone. Part of the album is about self-discovery, failing relationships, living with mental illness, and suicide awareness. wild was the much-needed release and the culmination of me pulling back from music, feeling twisted in my process due to a recent break-up with my music and business partner who I had worked with exclusively for a few years. I felt like I let my music go; I felt like everything was falling. When we split up, I felt too wild. I felt unsuccessful in my music. I felt like I was too much emotionally, and the only pathway was to withdraw. The image on the album was inspired by Jane Hilton’s photography, and it reminds me of this withdrawal for self-discovery. I had to close my eyes, accept the wind and let go. It is never easy.
OSR: What do you hope people take from wild and your music in general?
Nord: I hope this album helps anyone who listens to it relate to the themes that helped create it.
OSR: What does the new album mean to you?
Nord: The album is a return to imperfection after a few years of a serious business-type approach to music. I was able to go back to demos and go back to the raw beginnings of where my first album, Wonderland, came from. The name wild, starting with a “w”, helped inspire that subtle homage.
OSR: If you could change anything about wild, what would it be and why?
Nord: I would have released it without so much doubt. It felt like a giving-up point, quite honestly. I was struggling and just dropped it like whatever. But retrospectively, it was a beautiful release and not devoid of subconscious intention. It needed to be born that way, and most of my art is created in co-creation with the art itself. I believe that leaving room for what the art needs helps it reach its best form.
OSR: What do you find more challenging: melody or lyrics?
Nord: I need a melody first, then I write the lyrics over it. The melody inspires the lyrics, but it’s hard to get a melody that inspires me. It tends to be easy to start a song and more often harder to finish. On rare occasions, I finish a song in one session as the melody is written. ‘Wild’ was a song that took a few sessions, and it found its way to completion after almost 6 months. We went to watch the Led Zeppelin movie on Super Bowl day and got inspired by the melodies and ran to the studio to create the title track.
OSR: If you had to introduce a new listener to your music, which song would you recommend?
Nord: I would say to start from the beginning, it’s quite the journey to where I am now.
OSR: What’s next for Courtney Nord?
Nord: When I released wild, I released everything that had sat finished in the vault. I have a few half-finished songs and look forward to writing again after a 3-4 month break. It’s been an interesting journey, and I look forward to stepping into new sounds, new themes and opening up to what presents itself.
OSR: Do you have a message for our readers?
Nord: <3 I love u. You’re not alone.
Many thanks to Courtney Nord for speaking with us. Find out more about Courtney Nord on her official website, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Bandcamp and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
