Award-winning Lara singer-songwriter Nardia is currently making waves in the US with her new single ‘Is It You’. She caught up with Matt Hewson to talk about her journey as a musician and the recent attention her music has received.
Nardia Brancatisano is no newcomer to the Australian music scene or the international music scene for that matter.
She has starred in the sold-out tribute to Ray Charles, ‘Eulogy for a Genius’, and fronted band Rambal, whose album went to number one on the Australian Blues and Roots charts.
She has performed in the VIP lounges for Beyoncé and Adele’s Australian tours and shared the stage with Aussie musical icons such as Jimi Hocking, Jon Stevens, Russell Morris and Tex Perkins.
For the better part of two decades, Nardia has performed in bars, clubs and theatres beside Australia’s best – if not always best-known – musicians, sometimes to a handful of people, sometimes to a multitude.
Having just launched her sultry R&B single ‘Is It You’, she is currently finalising her upcoming album ‘Own Every Scar’ in Tennessee with legendary producer Lawrence ‘Boo’ Mitchell, who, among other accolades, won a Grammy for his work on the Mark Ronson/Bruno Mars hit ‘Uptown Funk’.
So how does one go from late-night gigs in jazz clubs on Brunswick Street to recording with the world’s best in the US?
“When I was younger, just like every other young teenager, I had a lot of favourite pop singers and R&B singers that I loved at the time, people like Mariah Carey, I loved TLC and Aaliyah, artists like that,” Nardia said.
“But my father was a blues guitarist and my mum also plays guitar and music… so what was really great about my upbringing was my father was very big on me being educated in a lot of older music as well.
“He introduced me to a whole bunch of different artists – Etta James, BB King, Eric Clapton, Eva Cassidy – and it really broadened my thinking around music. A bit more of a holistic approach and an understanding of how music works in storytelling, writing, composition.
“So even though I’m writing a contemporary R&B album now, I come more from a background of jazz, soul and blues.”
As a teenager, Nardia was passionate about music, but it was something she saw as a hobby.
“I started performing professionally at the age of 19… but it wasn’t something I expected, it just happened,” Nardia said.
“I was in the mindset of maybe being a vet, or a psychologist… I never went, I’m going to be a singer, people were just discovering me, hearing about me and offering me things, and I was like, okay, I’ll go with the ride.
“And it’s been pretty amazing so far. I wouldn’t say I’m famous or anything, but I’ve had a really great career with my music, and now it’s only going on to bigger and better things, which is exciting.”
This year Nardia was the only female artist to reach the final 400 of the 2025 International Blues Challenge in Memphis. She went on to earn a top five spot in that competition in January.
And that’s when things began to change. Her performances in Memphis came to the attention of the right people, and Nardia soon found herself under new management.
‘Is It You’, currently receiving widespread airplay across the States, is a smooth, smart and sassy track combining lush vocal harmonies and a warm horn section to deliver a classic soul R&B sound reminiscent of Etta James or Dusty Springfield.
The song channels the experience of budding attraction and the excitement, fear and uncertainty that go with it.
“I had a whole bunch of songs that had been sitting in the vault… and so when this opportunity arose and I was discovered by some new management it drove me to really take it seriously,” Nardia said.
“And when I showed the team the various songs I had and (they heard) this particular song, a lot of them just went, ‘this is a hit, we have to release this’.
“I went okay, I’m just a humble female from the land Down Under, but if you guys think this is a hit… I’m all ears. And I have to say, it’s been doing absolutely amazingly at the moment in the US.”
Unlike many artists these days, Nardia has decided to eschew the strategy of releasing single after single.
“We’re thinking we might just go straight into an album next, just go big and bold,” she said.
“A lot of artists are just releasing singles, but I feel like the music that I’ve written is my journey, a story that I want to tell through a catalogue of songs, not just through one song.
“You can hear it within the title itself, ‘Own Every Scar’. My songwriting is all about storytelling, and I guess owning your imperfections and embracing that.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, what issues you’ve had in the past or any flaws that you’ve got, it’s about how you take those and you navigate it and make it better.”
Although she expects to relocate to the US after the album launches in July, Nardia said she won’t be selling up her house in Geelong just yet.
“Australia will still be home to me, I’ll be coming back eventually,” she said.
“I love where I live now and I can’t really see myself anywhere else.
“I really love being in Geelong… for me, it’s like if you’re an artist, a painter, you need some form of inspiration to help you do that, like a beautiful scene.
“It’s a little bit the same with songwriting. I feel like having picturesque views and being close to the countryside, growing veggies in my own garden… that way of life just inspires me to write more.”
While her career seemingly has the potential to explode, Nardia maintained fame has never been the point.
“I don’t perform because I want to be a diva and be in the spotlight,” she said.
“I do it because I love the art of it – I love making people feel good and I like making a difference in people’s lives. I think that’s really what I stand for with music.”
