Nolan Natasha
Toronto, Ontario, Canada | INDIE
Music
Press
...The all-queer four-grrrls-and-a-sissy-boy combo put the garage back in garage band...their super lo-fi electro-infused punk rock sound is charming and they've got a killer secret weapon in (their) frontwoman...one of the best lady MCs we've seen in these parts, Pike fuses the smart-aleck...attitude of the Beasties with the whimsical storytelling skillz of Buck 65.
(Article about Scandalnavia)
- Now Magazine
“Bands like Le Tigre or locals Scandalnavia are closer to what ‘queer’ music is about.�
- Lucas Silveira (The Cliks) - Now Magazine
Torontonian MC Nolan Natasha is ready to party this weekend. A male identified, queer identified, feminist MC and former member of the queer punk band Scandalnavia, Nolan Natasha's rhymes are introspective, humorous, captivating and full of attitude. The Coconut Grove plays host to Girl-ish Productions' notoriously rad Valentine's party, The Heart On. On Saturday February 16, expect "a sweaty night of babes, boogie and broken hearts," with DJ Simon Thibault, DJ Ro and Motlette and The Divine Miss C joining Nolan Natasha. While visiting Halifax (Nolan Natasha performed last week at The Youth Project, a support group for queer youth), the MCs used the downtime productively: "Lots and lots of writing. I'm really trying to get my album out, so I'm working at trying to make that as much of my full-time gig as possible," says Nolan. "I'm hoping it will be out this spring and I can do some touring around in the summer...pride festivals and stuff like that. Other than that I'm serving at a breakfast spot and eating a lot of eggs." 

Nolan's front-man skills were often cited as one of the best parts of Scandalnavia and the experience helped him develop Nolan into a magnetic onstage personality. "I love Scandalnavia, both as a project and a family. Without that band starting up when it did, I really don't know if I would be making music at all." Branching off from the band has led to a serious commitment to music for Nolan. "I've sort of gotten rid of everything else---school, time-consuming jobs, other stresses---now I just want to focus on making music and having fun with it." - the Coast, Halifax, NS
"He's arguably Canada's only transgender MC. He'll get the city warmed up for Pride." - Chart Attack
Nolan Natasha is this awesome trans MC from Toronto. He talks a lot about a lot of different things—his transition, his gender, other people’s reactions to his identity, as well as things like sexual assault, relationships, and life in general. He says some really deep things, like: “Are you sure that you don’t want to be a guy? I don’t know a**holes, I can’t decide. I’m just 5, 10, 12, 13. It’s just a baseball cap and some rolled up jeans, if it corn cob and a button nose, would that mean I was made of snow?” and some really deep but also hilarious ways of describing gender, like “I can’t decide whether I’m hard or if I’m wet, but I guess I’m both.” His pretty bare beats make his amazing lyrics really stand out. - Genderfork.com
The transgendered MC Nolan Natasha in full effect, clever racy rhyming over a sweet-sounding electro-funk grooves. NN bare-chested, well-chiseled (revealing surgical scars in all it's glory) lit-up the stage with a commanding, yet kinky stage presence. The queer manifesto in full effect, invoking the giddy crowd to collectively quiver with joy. - lonelyvagabond.blogspot.com
Discography
Beginner's Luck
--1/4 inch records, 2009
ACTION! DISCO!
--crunks not dead compilation, 2007
Your Crazy Get Away From Me I Love You I'll Call You
--self released EP, 2007
Photos
Bio
Though the solo debut from transgender Toronto MC Nolan Natasha is entitled Beginners Luck, the album is anything but. Instead, it's the product of a meticulously honed knack for lyricism, a finely tuned ear for rhythm and the ability to take on the most serious topics with cutting humour and clever insight.
Former front-man of queer punk band Scandalnavia, Nolan branched out on his own in order to find an outlet for the intensely personal subject matter, layed back flow and refreshingly minimal beats that would eventually make up Beginner's Luck
Nolan Natasha's music career began early. At the age of eleven, Nolan would hang out in his cousins basement during band practices and parties and soak up music-nerd chatter about the defining qualities of a great bass line or guitar riff. Later, the tough, proud lyrics of icons such as Queen Latifah, and Salt n Pepa, and the fierce feminist and DIY tell-it-like-it-is spirit of musicians like Kathleen Hannah and Tribe 8 would further shape and fuel his expression. The result is a mix of evocative, heartfelt storytelling and witty lyricism laid down on a deceptively simple and elegant scaffold of homemade beats.
"I've been writing since I was a kid and it's always been about these things. Love makes and breaks me. Through writing this stuff down I get a better sense of what it means to me, where I fit in the world and where I don't. The first time I heard a Bikini Kill record something just snapped into place for me. I understood that I as long as a keep communicating what I think and feel and someone else is connecting with it, then I have community, I'm doing something worthwhile. Once I started to learn the software and began producing beats, I fell in love with that side of things as well."
Like Nolan says in A Bit Gay: "its not much, I made it in garage band with just the thoughts in my head and the beats on hand, its nothing grand. But I was hoping that it might help you understand"
Nolan produced all but two tracks on Beginner's Luck. Friend and renowned DJ Cozmic Cat (named best DJ in Philly) - who's shared the stage with heavy-hitters like Jazzy Jeff, Switch and De La Soul - lends her production skills on "I'll do it tomorrow" and "Work in progress". "Cozmic Cat's beats are so inspirational to me, they don't sound like anything else out there right now. Working with her gave me a boost; from there I had a better sense of the sound that I wanted," Nolan says.
Beginner's Luck is a heart on the sleeve masterpiece with no punches pulled.
The 13 tracks tackle love, loss, gender politics, sexuality and identity; they will make you want to do everything from dance your ass off to drown yourself in a bottle of jack, but you'll stay glued to your headphones, hanging off his every clever word.
"I can't promise this record is going to be up your alley, but I can promise that it isn't like anything you've ever heard."
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