In 2015, singer-songwriter Nick Carpenter, better known by his moniker Medium Build, began what would become a unique journey through the music landscape. Garnering co-signs from high-profile artists like Elton John, Lizzy McAlpine, and Remi Wolf, and earning a coveted spot on Zane Lowe’s Artists to Watch 2024 list, his sound resonates widely.
Drawing inspiration from his own exploration of sexual identity and a diverse palette spanning country, ’80s new wave, emo, and ’90s rap, Carpenter brings a fresh, magnetic presence to the stage. His upcoming EP Marietta, set to release on November 15 with Slowplay/Island Records UK, is eagerly anticipated. In anticipation of the EP, he told us all about touring with Holly Humberstone, his wide variety of influences, and his plans for 2025.
Hailing from Alaska and currently residing in Nashville, we found Medium Build – aka Nick Carpenter – on a balcony in Los Angeles. “My manager lives here, so it’s an easy place to do work. It’s a different vibe. If you’re a creative kid, even the most creative kid at school, then you move here and everyone does what you do – it can be intimidating. It can get in your head, if you don’t have a firm sense of self,” he says. “Nashville is a smaller version of LA. It’s kind of similar, a bit more traditional, less constant TikTok energy. It’s a slower pace of life. My house in Nashville has a yard, so you can have more escape. In LA, you can see three dozen apartments from where I am right now.”
Closer to the UK, Nick has also formed strong connections with British artist Holly Humberstone. “She’s amazing – she’s real. Maybe she hasn’t blown up in that way where you can’t access her, but she’s so accessible. She loves her family; her parents came out to visit when we were on tour. She has a full-blown life, which is impressive for someone under the microscope. Her grandma even came to one of our shows. She’s a real one, she’s cool, and I loved touring with her. I’m excited to come back to the UK next month and see that gang again. She’s younger than me but way wiser, so I was taking notes.”
On tour, Nick has gathered plenty of lessons from working with Holly and other artists. “You watch someone’s show every day and you become a fan of them. After touring with Lewis Capaldi, I wanted to write a song like ‘Bruises’ because I had heard it every night. I felt like I needed a song like that in my set. But I think what I really take notes on is work ethic and attitude. Holly’s camp is the sweetest, hardest-working, good attitude – that to me is so inspiring, and that rubs off on me. I take notes from how people’s teams act. Even Holly having good distance between the job and the fame. I can’t say enough good words about them.”
Nick’s own strong work ethic is evident; he released his album Country early this year, with upcoming EP Marietta on the horizon. “In the zeitgeist, the spirit of now, there’s so much music that people can move on quickly and forget about you. I don’t have enough of a base where I can disappear for a few years. This EP is a bridge into the new album. Holly did the same, rolled out two albums in 18 months. I’ve been making music for 10 years but I’m new to a lot of people, so I have to come out swinging, just to stay in the conversation,” he says. “If I look at my entire career, it’s time for a break. But for someone who has discovered me from my last album, I can’t go away. I don’t want to fade away; I want to stay. It’s a fun acceptance of the fact that I have to work my ass off and it will work. I might get less sleep and spend less time at home, but it could lead to 10 years of success.”
Marietta represents a shift from Country, where he was still processing the end of a relationship. Named after his hometown, the EP does still feature two songs about his break-up, but it is mainly a collection of songs reflecting on his childhood. “I closed the chapter of grieving the relationship and opened a chapter of being less broken-hearted and more curious, trying to do a bit more internal work. Forgiving my parents for their flaws, and giving myself empathy for the bad habits I have that developed as a kid. Sonically, there’s more rock songs. I made a bunch when I was younger. When I’m recording, I just get in the room and see what happens – and sometimes a rock song falls out.”
Nick’s music crosses genre boundaries, thanks to his broad influences. “I listened to the radio when I was a kid. My mum loved the oldies pop, and then my dad loved ’80s rock. My brother was into hip hop and grunge. Then I loved Britney Spears and N-Sync. So, I had all the genres handed to me. I found that I wrote very simple, folky songs. I lean heavily on three or four chords, and I love storytelling. That’s what comes out of me naturally. Even on this EP there’s a song that feels like Arctic Monkeys, Kings of Leon, then one that feels like Fleet Foxes, then one that feels emo. The throughline is my lyrics and my voice, so as long as I’m being honest and saying my introspective, journal-entry lyric, people feel like ‘Nick is still here,’ no matter the genre.”
When crafting set lists, Nick aims to blend his diverse influences to give the audience a taste of all sides to his artistry. “I want to have spaces for all of the things I adore,” he explains. “When you’re a support act you want to bring out your highest-energy moments, but when you’re playing to your own crowd, you can play some of the slower ones and know people will still enjoy it. It’s like a movie – start high, drift into the deeper bits, then try and pull them out and end on a moment of either high intensity or emotion. One of my favourite bands are IDLES – when I saw them, I was in the pit enjoying the feeling they were giving us. I was like, how do I do more of that in my set? But I don’t really make those types of songs. I also love artists like Mitski and Lucy Dacus, who are more emotional. Medium Build has become a great hiding place for me to put all of my idols. I get to put all of my influences into this thing. And then the show becomes a little show-and-tell.”
Nick resists being put in a box musically, due to an early experience that stuck with him. “Before we had national or international attention, we were big in our hometown. There were a few years where we were the buzzy band there. We went through a phase where we lost a few bandmates, we brought in a new person and changed our sound a bit, into a bit more ’80s electronic stuff. Not everyone was on board with the change. Getting to experience that when I was so young, the stakes were low. So, now I’ve experienced the tiny version of it, I know people come around. You keep finding the people who need what you are making currently, and I’ve learned that lesson enough times that I try not to consider them,” he says. “Right now, I’m curious about making something more personal and slower, so I know the next thing I want to make, I don’t want to think about anyone enjoying it but me – but I think someone will enjoy it because I’m not the most unique person so if I enjoy it, there will also be other people who will.”
Following the EP release, Nick is set to tour the UK and Ireland, then head to Europe. After that, he plans to write. “I need to be alone. I’m going to spend a few weeks hanging in London, then I’m going to go back to the States and do the holidays with my folks. January is supposed to be my time alone. No phone, playing guitar, playing piano. That’s my goal – to see what happens. And don’t be scared. I need to overwrite; I just need to create. Do stuff for the little guy inside me. If I lean into that – but then, there’s not a lot of time. If you want a large yield, you need a lot of tenderness. So, it’s a bit of a catch-22. At the end of February, we go to Australia and New Zealand with Role Model. Then the machine starts back up in April, so I’d like to have something ready by then. Pray for magic!”
Medium Build’s new EP Marietta will be released on November 15, 2024.
