Natalie Wilson is ok with keeping you at a distance. There is an element of craftsmanship that goes into the sculpting of her musical persona - she’s ok with you knowing that. The biggest challenge for the twenty-three year old singer/songwriter during the release of her highly anticipated EP, Track Season, was deciding how much she’s willing to share. Notoriously protective over her career, the Simsbury, Connecticut native has always been stringent in selecting those who get to be a part of her musical process. Wilson’s journey to this point hasn’t been straightforward, but it’s always been hers.
Track Season, Wilson’s five song EP, debuted worldwide on May 26, 2023. A week and a half later, “Something To You” (a song Samantha DeCarlo of Sheesh Media labeled as an anthem for the “side chick”) went viral on TikTok. One month in, Wilson has amassed more than 61,125 monthly listeners and over 150,000 streams on Spotify alone; the EP’s been streamed in 132 countries. Just yesterday, “Something To You” was added to Spotify’s Fresh Finds playlist which identifies “the best new music by independent artists and labels;” the playlist has north of 1 million saves. It’s an accelerated ascension for a woman just beginning to familiarize herself with the spotlight.
The EP centers around Wilson’s time as an undergraduate student at Skidmore College and has been described as a gracious thanking of Saratoga, the town Skidmore calls home. Seeing as her collegiate years were the ones in which she became familiar with the identity of ‘independent artist,’ it feels fitting that Wilson’s introduction to the industry pays homage to her alma mater. Track Season examines dual identity, personal attachments, habits both bad and good, self-reflection, and friendship. It’s a body of work ruminating over the dichotomy of individual identity and moral values challenged during our most transitory epochs; a peek at the thought process of a college-aged woman reckoning with decisions she’s made, identities she’s assumed, and behaviors she doesn’t want to explain.
Wilson’s senior capstone in songwriting piqued the interest of the Skidmore College Career Development Center, who went on to award her a $15,000 postgraduate fund allowing her to record, mix and master Track Season. The EP was produced, in its entirety, at Skidmore’s Grossman recording studio. Leveraging renowned facilities like the Zankel Music Center, Track Season - a titular nod to the famous eight-week schedule of the Saratoga Race Track during which the EP was recorded - actualized in the same rooms Wilson spent her undergraduate tenure within.
For Wilson, music has always equated to family. The EP opens with “Saratoga,” a song featuring a sample from the Saratoga Race Track and ends with her brother, Scott ‘Scoobi’ Wilson playing the Rhodes piano on “Medusa.” A non-negotiable for Wilson was the inclusion of her brother’s piano playing on the EP. In fact, the EP is populated with familial musicians: Bryan West and Dan Aber, two of Natalie’s friend’s fathers are credited with drums and saxophone, respectively.
Wilson’s linguistic dexterity is on display throughout Track Season. In “Secret” - a song Wilson would have skipped on releasing if her cousin Samantha did not convince her otherwise - she writes, “I’ll keep your secret if you keep mine // I’ll talk about it none of the time // maybe when we all get older it won’t be so bad.” Her music is described as “exhibiting a poetic approach,” her lyrics adorned as “heartfelt,” “detailed” and occasionally “haunting.” Listeners can, perhaps unexpectedly, find soft rock undertones in each of the EP’s five songs - but for people that know her, this is suitable given that Wilson recognizes Jack Johnson, Michael Nau, Phoebe Bridgers, Peter Cat Recording Co., and M. Ward as her creative influences.
I spoke to Wilson on the back patio of her one bedroom Gramercy Park apartment three days before the release of Track Season. Adorned in a knit crewneck and cowboy boots, Wilson was profuse in her gratitude for the weather. The late spring humidity was taking a reprieve, and the sky’s blue was minimally interrupted by clouds. Wilson’s cat, Moody, joined us outside.
INTERVIEWER
In one of your unreleased songs, “Island Time,” you write: “I’m living on Island time, I wish on a star and a clover / and when I get on again, I’ll try my best to start over.” Are you someone who gives people a do over on Mondays?
WILSON
For other people in my life? Sure. I’d like to think I do that. It’s hard for me to hold a grudge - except against myself.
INTERVIEWER
Do you often hold grudges against yourself?
WILSON
Sure - I often judge myself.
INTERVIEWER
Did you find yourself in a period of self-judgment when creating this EP?
WILSON
A lot of judgment came from calling myself a singer/songwriter, but not feeling like I had the tools to own that label. A big part of doing this project was legitimizing myself to myself. It was healing for me, really, to feel more in control of my career than I did a year ago. That growth has led to less judgment.
INTERVIEWER
Have there been times in your career that you’ve felt completely out of control?
WILSON
Absolutely. Right now, I’m in a new city - I don’t have a lot of musician friends at the ready as I once did. That complicates the next stage of the process: playing live shows. At the moment, that’s what I’m most insecure about because I have material coming out but no band to play it with. I know what type of show I want to put on - a legitimate one - but I don’t have control of all the resources needed to make it happen at this moment.
INTERVIEWER
What does being a legitimate artist look like to you?
WILSON
For me it’s about committing a lot of time, energy and money on a year-to-year basis, for, maybe, at least five years. That’s when I’ll be comfortable with calling myself an artist: when my art is part of my revenue stream more than it is my hobby.
INTERVIEWER
In what ways has your first year in NYU’s Masters in Music Business program legitimized your artistry?
WILSON
My time at NYU has given me a full picture of the music industry that I didn’t have previously. All the ways artists do and do not make money - seeing the whole spectrum. The more I go through this program, the more I’m like, ‘artists don’t make any money, what am I doing?’ But I’m just happy to have my foot in this industry. Wherever I land, I know it will be somewhere in the industry.
INTERVIEWER
What did it mean to know that an institution - your former college, Skidmore - saw value in what you were seeking to do artistically?
WILSON
It’s one of my life’s miracles. It was, in all honesty, a pretty abstract pitch that I gave them but they went for it. I recently learned the Career Development Center stopped awarding the grant this year and that I was one of the last people to obtain it. It’s a lot of money to be given. Having that financial backing was freeing. I feel very fortunate to have had that opportunity given it was a fleeting one.
INTERVIEWER
Would you say you had an abstract childhood?
WILSON
I loved my childhood; it was vivid and I was very privileged. I was thrown into music classes and pottery classes and soccer and tennis. Anything and everything I wanted to do was nurtured.
INTERVIEWER
Does child Natalie show up as one of the faces you’re exploring in “Track Season”?
WILSON
She’s everywhere because, at the end of the day, music for me is just play. Childhood was play and songwriting is much of the same - it is just messing around. Recording this EP was the ultimate playdate with myself: it lasted three months long.
INTERVIEWER
What is play?
WILSON
I think play is something you choose to do for yourself when there is no expectation to perform.
INTERVIEWER
Is “Track Season” a love letter to a college student trying her best to figure it out amidst expectations?
WILSON
Yes, probably. I certainly try to empathize with younger versions of myself. When I was in high school, I thought I knew it all. And I didn’t know anything. I imagine the same will happen five years from now. Right now I feel like I am figuring it out, but when I look back in five years I am sure I will feel differently about this period.
INTERVIEWER
What’s surprised you the most in the last year of your life?
WILSON
That confidence is key in your career. That New York is actually full of opportunities (it’s not just a cliche society perpetuates) and that you are allowed to move into different lives from time to time.
INTERVIEWER
What life have you moved into?
WILSON
A year ago I was in an entirely different life than I am now. Of course some things have carried over, but my day to day is totally new. I wouldn’t recognize the person I am today a year ago if I was looking right at her - it’s black and white. And that is good, that is ok, even if I was uncomfortable in the beginning.
INTERVIEWER
Let’s talk about Scoobi.
WILSON
Ok.
INTERVIEWER
What do you cherish most about your relationship? And how are you embarking on this Goliath journey of young artistry together?
WILSON
We are each other's support. Scoobi is my best friend. He is my truest, unconditional love. He’s a master of all, just someone who is great at everything, but his chosen passion - the art that he continually pursues - is filmmaking. That makes it a little easier to support him, I suppose, because if he was also pursuing music professionally, maybe I’d get a little jealous. It’s nice that we are, ultimately, chasing different dreams.
INTERVIEWER
Did your parents encourage you to operate in different lanes?
WILSON
Well, he is the younger brother and maybe just likes things that I like because I, as the older sister, like them. If I was in piano lessons, so was he. We both played soccer and tennis because both of our parents played those sports. There was a lot of overlap. But he has different skills - more skills - than me. He sketches, directs, and acts. I don’t do any of that.
INTERVIEWER
Another thing you don’t do is talk about the first songs you ever wrote. Talk me through the progression of Natalie Wilson as an artist: from the girl who carried her guitar into the living room to the entrepreneur with a clear sense of her brand.
WILSON
Ha. In third grade, my best friend started taking guitar lessons which I thought was the coolest thing in the world. I was in North Carolina visiting my grandparents, my mom and I walked into some rickety vintage shop where I saw a guitar on sale for $100. And she bought it for me. I started lessons the very next day even though we were on vacation. That’s where it started.
INTERVIEWER
Is it true your dad would have you play at dinner parties?
WILSON
That’s very true. I started writing songs in fifth or sixth grade – I think that was the only reason I kept playing guitar because I liked how songwriting felt. Those songs were horrible, but I had so much fun and endless encouragement from my parents. My dad would make me “sing for my supper” and have me go up and play whenever people were over. When people invest in your dreams like that, it helps you stick with them.
INTERVIEWER
What does control look like for you as an artist?
WILSON
Control is everything to me. I really want to be in full control of all aspects of my career. Perhaps my downfall is that I believe that I can do it better than anyone else. I don’t trust a lot of people. In order to be part of my professional life, you need to earn it because, fundamentally, I believe I can do it better than you.
INTERVIEWER
Where does that confidence come from?
WILSON
The confidence comes from people telling me I’m doing great and me, ultimately, believing them. Encouragement legitimizes you - that’s the trick. When you keep leveling up, and people keep telling you you’ve got talent and should stick with it, maybe you should listen to them. That’s how I ended up here with an EP coming out in three days. After a while, I believed them: I believe that I can be great. Like I said, music is play. I am going to keep playing.
Track Season is available wherever you get your music.
By: Emily Burstein