Nick Hogg (Nitrate)

Interview by Woody

I’ve been a fan of Nitrate since day one with the band’s debut ‘Real World’ but I’ve felt with each consecutive album there has been a slight improvement or bigger impact on me as a listener. I Certainly think your latest ‘Feel the Heat’ is your best yet, is this progression in quality something you’ve noticed or are you equally proud of every Nitrate album?

I think you’ve always got to look for progression and improvement on everything you do in life. Having Tom and James come aboard for albums three and four has made a massive difference. They have a certain way of giving a song a real atmospheric production with big layered keyboards and sound effects which play a big part in transporting you back in time.  There’s definitely a more AOR direction now which is influenced by those cool 80’s and early 90’s movies and tv shows. My Name has always been attached to Nitrate, but the majority of the hard work comes from the team I have been lucky enough to have around me, whether it’s the current team or the past musicians that have played their part in growing the band. The other big change between album three and four is that now Tom and James are mixing as well as producing it, which has really given the production a step up in quality. We need not forget the fact that for the last two albums we have been lucky enough to have one of the best singers in the genre singing for us in Alexander Strandell. That guy can just about sing any genre and has a ridiculously high vocal range. (I have had the privilege of working with great singers)

You’ve always worked with a few collaborators and songwriters did the creation of ‘Feel the Heat’ go as you planned, were there any hiccups? or changes of ideas to the sound of the album or scrapping of songs to fit the feel of this particular album?

Not really. We sort of picked up where we left off with Renegade. I had co-written quite a few songs with Rob Wylde before we went into production, but as the album developed, we, (Me, Tom and James) wrote a load more together which suited the feel and vibe of where we wanted to take the album. Also, I remember that Tom and James were writing a crazy number of songs at the time and I was in a prime position where there were tracks that I thought were perfect for Nitrate so they got used as well. 4 of the tracks are Tom and James with one of them being co-written by the legend Bob Mitchell who co-wrote the USA Billboard number one smash hit the flame.

What songs on the album are you particularly proud of and why? Are there any stories behind the songs you think would interest fans?

So, on our last album we had a lot of success from Big City lights. We got messaged a lot about that track. We even had contact from Jedward off the X factor LOL.  I wanted to write something similar to take that spot on the album. I was sitting in my studio (spare bedroom) and through the corner of my eye I saw the DVD cover to the Tom Cruise 80s movie ‘All the Right Moves’. I think 20 minutes later the song’s lyrics and melodies were written. I sent an acoustic rough voicemail to Tom and James and asked them to create a Big City Lights part 2. They smashed it. It’s still my favourite track on the album, the first we recorded and was probably the quickest and easiest to write. Tom and James brought the big singles ‘Feel the Heat’ and ‘Wild in the City’ to the table. Both give the album a real Miami vice sort of vibe. They are also band favourites. I also love the track ‘Haven’t got time for Heartache’ as it’s a proper rocker. Maybe the heaviest song Nitrates done and would sound love to play that live.

I’m a huge fan of Issa! I adore her vocals so her duet on ‘One Kiss (To Save My Heart)’ is clearly one of my favourites on the new album. Obviously getting her involved was easy with her being married to the rather lucky James Martin! But was this song always written as duet or just a track that was picked for Issa to guest on?

I am a big fan of her voice. I don’t think there’s anyone better in the genre. She actually sang every demo on Feel the Heat and most of the Renegade tracks. She sets a Standard that not many vocalists could follow, and I think if we didn’t have someone as good as Alex singing for us then there would be a sense of letting down the songs after hearing Issa’s version. Her version of ‘Big City Lights’ is still my favourite.

The Ballad was Tom and James song. It’s very Roxette in its vibe and has a classy feel to it. I had been needling them for a while that it would be good to have an Issa duet on the album as it felt like she was part of the team. I think James suggested that this could be the track and just rearranged it slightly to feel like a proper duet. She also sang backing vocals on most tracks.

With Nitrate over the years, you have worked and collaborated with many musicians and songwriters. Is there anybody who you’d love to work with in the future? Outside of the big and obvious names – is there anyone who you genuinely could see yourself working with in the future?

We were lucky to have Paul Laine do the backing vocals for three of the tracks. He is someone that sets the standards for me so that was a really big deal. We are all huge fans of him. He was there when this sort of music was huge. I’m hoping he might help out a bit more in the future. I would love a few co-writes or one of his tracks to be on a future Nitrate album. So that would be a big deal.

There’s lots of amazing musicians out there but at the moment it feels for the first time like a proper band and I love the guys we have in the band and hope that doesn’t change. 

Nitrate are fronted by Alexander Strandell of Art Nation fame; how did you draft him to been the bands vocalist?

The joys of Facebook!! I am an art nation fan and love his unique voice and range. I sent him a message to see if he would be interesting in singing on Renegade, expecting to be rejected and he agreed. I think timing helped as Art Nation were on a bit of a break and covid had hit so his calendar was not as busy at the time. Just a matter of great timing on my behalf I reckon.

He puts in a stellar performance on ‘Feel the Heat’ with his voice expressing these songs perfectly. What was it like working with him and getting him to blend his voice to the style of Nitrate?

He is a true pro. He sang the songs in pretty much the same key as Issa and added his own take on the tracks making them his own.

I’ve never hidden my love of The Martin Brothers music and them becoming part of Nitrate on ‘Renegade’ intensified my interest in the band. But with ‘Feel The Heat’ they seem more heavily involved in the sound, style and impact of the band. Is this purely because I know they have more time to devote to the band following their departure from Vega or have they been more focused on ‘Feel the Heat’?

I don’t think it was the split as much as the fact it’s their first album mix. (Once you hear the album you will find that hard to believe) They had something to prove to themselves and devoted a lot of their time on it. More than on Renegade as it was more personal this time and their reputation was more on the table.  They set themselves high standards and wanted to produce the best album they could. They take all the credit for the sound and the production, that’s definitely their department. I’ve been a fan of theirs since the first Vega album and its pretty special to have them onboard in Nitrate.

I was a little shocked to see Alex Cooper as the band’s new drummer! He’s a multi-talented guy who I have a lot of respect for and his own band Devilfire are a unique and exciting band in their own right. So how did you draft him into the band and how did you discover him?

Yeah, he is a proper all-rounder. Singer, plays every instrument, writes, producer’s, mixes and then there’s the artwork and media side of his talents. Like I said earlier I have extremely talented musicians around me. Devilfire are a cracking band and I hope the readers go check them out.

I got in touch with Alex towards the back end of Renegade. He did the videos for the three Renegade tracks and took on all the artwork media sides of the band. We hit it off and have similar interests. (We are both big Sci-fi geeks lol) The friendship grew and I knew he was originally a drummer before swapping to lead vocals. With Nitrate I knew we would need great backing vocals, so Alex was the perfect choice.

Nitrate isn’t just about the music; we are trying to build a brand around the Cyberpunk/Bladerunner esque artwork amongst other ideas we have in the pipeline.  Alex is key to the visual aspect of the band, there is a clear vision and that is now his domain. The Three videos are all Alex’s work. We had to use green screen technology as Alex S lives in Sweden. He had never done that before.  I said to him you will work it out and he did. A new skill I pushed him into LOL.

I have to admit your new guitarist Richard Jacques is a new name to me, is there anything you can tell us about him and how he became a member of Nitrate?

He’s actually been around the band for a while.

Rich is great, and a fun guy to have around the band and a great guitarist. Definitely the joker of the group LOL He’s always got a good joke for us. He came into the band during Renegade but a lot of the Guitar work was already done so he just featured on the videos. He plays the Phil Collen role in a Def Leppard tribute band called Ultimate Leppard (The UKs number one tribute IMO) I head hunted him and stalked him on Facebook for a while until he agreed to join.  He’s perfect for the style of music we do and also has a nice singing voice which again is perfect for big backing vocals.

Opportunities to perform live aren’t easy within the melodic rock genre, but could this current line-up of Nitrate perform live in the future?

I hope so. If the offer means we can cover our costs and the schedule works around Alex’s availability with Art Nation and Crowne then we would love to do it. I would love to get Nitrate on the bill at a few festivals. I’ve had to turn a lot of gigs down in the past as with the first two albums there wasn’t really a band there to commit to show. We are definitely open to offers now though.

Is the current line-up of Nitrate stable going forward? For example, are The Martin Brothers official members of Nitrate? Or are you always open to working with new musicians on further albums?

I hope so. I would love to continue with this current lineup going forward. We all get on and have a laugh. Fingers crossed!!!

It’s not easy getting deals with labels in this genre, you’ve managed to release albums on well-known labels in the underground scene like Melodic Rock Records, AOR Heaven and ‘Feel the Heat’ coming out on Frontiers. It also not easy to get opportunities to play live either. How do you personally see the state of the Melodic Rock genre at this current time? 

There is a very loyal fanbase that tends to support the whole genre. Fans that buy all the CDs and merch whichever the band. You don’t get that in other genres as much. The fans need applauding for that commitment to the scene.

I suppose the issue is, is there enough fans to make it profitable for the bands and is there an appetite to buy CDS in 2023 with the ease of streaming? I don’t think it’s possible for bands to make a living in the industry now and it’s something the majority of bands/artists do for love as an expensive hobby in their free time. They sort of work two full time jobs. That’s the way it’s been for a long time now.  I’m still an optimist though and hoping that the 80’s inspired TV shows such as Cobra Kai, Peacemaker and Stranger things along with movies such as RealPlayer 1 can reignite the love for this sort of music again. If any ones got any contacts to those shows, send them my way LOL

Are there any bands or artists out there you enjoy that you think may be flying under people’s radars that you also think Nitrate fans would enjoy?

I am good friends with Dennis from the band Cruzh. I love their sound and think they are a fun band. They are a band I would personally like to see more of in the UK and perhaps a Nitrate/Cruzh tour in the future. I think what Nestor are doing at the moment is helping the Genre, and I think even though Lebrock are in the Synthwave genre they would fit nicely on AOR/Melodic rock festivals.

What does the future hold for Nitrate and is there anything else you’d like to add?

We hope to get out there and play some shows in the new year and crack on with the next album. Theres lots of song ideas ready to go. We also have some cool ideas up our sleeves so watch this space.  To any reader that gives our music a listen or buys the album, Thank you x