Nandi Bushell has released her debut single, The Shadows, which was written to honour her dad who battled serious health issues earlier this year.
The track was written and performed solely by the 12-year-old, and features her playing on every instrument, including piano, bass, drums and guitar, as well as vocals.
The video for The Shadows - which is set to appear on her newly-announced currently-untitled solo EP - is introduced by sweet home movie footage of Nandi playing alongside her dad at two and a half years of age. As a delicate piano melody opens the song, the video displays the words "I wrote this song for my Dad after he fell into a depression. It helped him come back from The Shadows. Love is the light." Around the minute-and-a-half mark, the track explodes into distortion-soaked alt-rock, with Muse-inspired electric guitar riffs.
Speaking of the song and how her dad inspired her to write it, Bushell says: "Early in 2022 my Dad fell into a depression as his autoimmune disease worsened. It was a difficult time for our family.
“I wanted to help cheer my Dad up by writing a song for him. He would describe his feelings to me and I would put them into lyrics letting him know, I would be there for him.
“My Dad is now doing much better" she adds, "he is on medication that is helping with his autoimmune disease and has recovered from his depression.
“If you are suffering from mental health issues, please reach out for help. YOU ARE LOVED. THERE IS HOPE.”
While speaking to BBC News, Bushell’s father John spoke of his health battle and revealed how the track helped him feel better. “I was having flare-ups all over my body and I was feeling really, really terrible" he began.
"Nandi was asking me questions and I was describing how I felt trapped in the bed and in my room, and she said how she wanted to do something to cheer me up. I said all my rainbows felt like they were turning to black.
“She said, ‘Let me put these words into the song,’ and finished it by saying, ‘I’ll be there for you’. I thought this is incredible, [it was] such a beautiful moment.”
Watch the video for The Shadows below:
