A Moment with TALK

Hidden Beats

We Are Story Tellers

Known professionally as TALK, Nicholas Durocher is an incredible talent. A booming voice, colourful personality, and deeply emotional lyrics have driven TALK to the forefront of today’s music scene. Recently, Hidden Beats had the opportunity to chat with TALK and discuss his early success, the importance of fan connections, and what is coming up next.

Early Days

Before TALK, there were previous adventures in the music industry. A brief spell as a bassist in a country band taught him a valuable lesson – that he wanted to be front and centre under the spotlight. Interestingly, the story of TALK playing in a country band has taken on a life of its own (so be sure to tell everyone that you saw TALK perform in a country band in Saskatoon ten years ago). With a belief in himself that TALK wanted to lead his own destiny, and started forging his own path. A strong backing band, a booming voice, and growing list of well-rounded original material had TALK on the verge of breaking out.

And then… the pandemic

In the early days of COVID -before even the first lockdowns took effect- Nicholas received some strong words of warning about what was coming. Taking that advice into consideration, Nicholas packed his bags and headed home to his parents, and TALK was put on hold. But then, in a moment of loneliness (and after watching a trailer for Interstellar), inspiration came. Sitting on the edge of his bed in the ‘Is it night or is it morning’ part of the day, the line “run away to Mars” wormed its way into his brain. Knowing he was on to something, he fleshed out the idea. With the help of his high school friend (and now lead guitarist) Connor, a demo was quickly made.

While listeners today might think the song was released, everyone loved it, and think, “BAM! Instant success was achieved!” TALK peeled back the curtain and let us know how “Run Away to Mars” grew to be as successful as it did.

Multi-Year Overnight Success

“The timeline of ‘Mars‘ is pretty crazy. I wrote it in April of 2020 and knew it was a special song. All the feedback was positive, and I knew I had something special… but I didn’t have the infrastructure around me.” While the TALK team built up their infrastructure, a video was shot, preparations were made, and work on his next EP started.

“When ‘Mars’ first came out, I was expecting it to do what it did the second time it went viral, but there just wasn’t enough eyes on me. It took a year to have enough momentum for it to go real viral.” After initially receiving some success, TALK was signed to a deal and got the infrastructure and support to get his music out into the world. “Then I went out and played some crazy festivals that I don’t know how I got the slot for. I went from playing Club SAW in Ottawa for two hundred people to playing sixty-five thousand in Quebec City two months later.” That success saw ‘Run Away to Mars’ REALLY take off, and TALK has been ecstatic to see it take on a life of its own.

Social Connection

During this time, as the popularity of “Run Away to Mars” as well as TALK was growing, there was an organically growing online fanbase. On Facebook, TALK can even be found interacting personally with fans. In the early days, this was a fantastic way for fans and TALK to connect and share stories. As the group -and TALK’s popularity- grew, so did the demands on his time. Speaking on trying to find a balance maintaining that personal connection with looking after your self, TALK had this to say: “The first time I released ‘Mars’ I would get a lot of DMs, and at that point, I had time to respond to everyone. The second time it came out, I was doing the same thing and responding to hundreds of messages a day.”

Even with his growing popularity, TALK took several hours of his day to respond directly to fans’ messages. “The thing that that taught me is the people I interact with love me, for seeing and hearing them, and I love them for listening to my music. And you can make someone feel seen.” Today, TALK still makes a point to spend time reaching to his fanbase.

Coming Up

Looking towards what is next for TALK, his debut full-length album “Lord of the Flies & Birds & Bees” is available now on all major streaming platforms, as well as for sale on CD and vinyl! TALK is currently on tour, so check out iamtalkmusic.com to see if they are coming to a town near you. As well, keep your eyes peeled for some more exciting TALK news in the new year!

A Moment With TALK has come and gone but it was great taking the time to chat

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