By: Staff
Courtney Nord releases her highly anticipated single "Cold" showcasing a fierce blend of neo-grunge and alternative rock
Courtney Nord’s new single "Cold" is a wild ride from start to finish. The track opens with a slow, harrowing bassline that immediately pulls you into a sense of foreboding danger. Then, Courtney’s voice enters, exasperated and raw, carrying the weight of every lyric with emotion that you feel in your bones. This isn’t just a song; it’s a performance. She’s not just singing—she’s delivering the essence, the energy, and the emotional punch behind every word. The buildup is intense, and as she repeats the lines, "Is it ever enough, has it ever been enough? I think I’ve had enough," you can feel the mounting frustration. You’ve been there, circling around that same question, desperate for an answer. Then it hits—the moment she drops the lyric "Cold," it’s game over. You won’t be able to unhear it. The emotional weight, the delivery, it’s all so unique to her style that trying to cover this song would be near impossible. And just when you think you’ve settled into the track, everything erupts—guitars thrash, drums explode, and Courtney lets out a blistering "Fuck you!" The sheer force of it knocks you back. The engineering on this track is mind-blowing; it’s so loud, yet so perfectly clear. Not since Evanescence has an explosion been so unexpected and absolute fire. Dare I say this song is as amazing and more unexpected a force of vocal and musical accompaniment? Courtney Nord is a powerhouse, and "Cold" is an absolute must-listen. Massive kudos to the entire team—from the musicians to the producer, mixing and mastering engineers, and everyone involved, and of course, the incredible Courtney Nord.
Courtney Nord is an LA-based singer-songwriter with a raw, emotive style that’s making waves. "Cold," dropped on September 13, 2024, is a heart-wrenching breakup anthem blending neo-grunge vibes with alternative rock influences like Nirvana and Royal & the Serpent. Recorded in a gritty Santa Ana basement studio with producer Avalon Adam, the track is a journey through apathy, rage, and resilience. With her fierce vocal delivery and haunting lyrics, Courtney is carving out a space in the music world, and "Cold" is a testament to her powerful, no-holds-barred artistry.
You can find this release on any major platform, see below for links to take you straight to some of the profiles. Make sure to playlist, stream, and share "Cold" BY Courtney Nord
Wait… there's more!
We had the chance to catch up with this exciting artist for an exclusive interview in "The Cage" Music Blog, where we discussed their music and got to know them better.
Here’s how it went:
Begin Interview:
Hello Courtney Nord, we’re thrilled to have you for this interview! We've thoroughly enjoyed diving into your music and exploring your work, and now we’re even more eager to discover more about you, both personally and professionally.
What personal experiences led to the raw emotion behind your single "Cold"?
I have been dating my producer for about 2 years now and realized I make good break up songs. We had a fight, and one thing led to another. The song was the product of my own raw reflections in that moment. We started the song a year before we finished it, it lingered a long time until I was confident on how to proceed with it- I could not have been happier with the outcome. Cold is about the tribulations of relationships and feeling absent or cold, this can happen over time or due to prolonged unaddressed issues. We were at a boiling point during the writing of the latter half of this song. The day I went into the studio to tell him I finished the writing I gave him a disclaimer that it was awfully personal. I wrote the song about him and there was no metaphorical mask I could hide the lyrics behind. I was angry and done. I blamed him. I did not care.
How did the collaboration between you and Avalon Adam (Adam Teller) first begin, and what makes this partnership creatively fulfilling?
He was producing music for another female artist I had found online, ex-girlfriend. I went to her show to meet Adam and try and work with him as a producer. We met at the Mint in Los Angeles and started working shortly after. We created our first song “like rainbows” pretty seamlessly and got along with each other very quickly. Our routine of creation has changed and leaned into one another with each different song. Sometimes I bring in things that are half produced and tuned up a bit for us to finish other times Adam creates an instrumental from scratch on the spot and I will write to it as he produces, finishing a song in 8 hours roughly. He works with a lot of rappers in the Southern California/ OC area and is used to the type of beats I like behind the instruments. He also has experience with rock bands from when he lived in Arizona so blending influences from the two with a touch of indie pop has been our thing. I would not have made the last two EP’s or Cold without our creative flow. He fosters a good space for me to zone out and write in the corner of the studio.
How do you balance your personal relationship with Avalon Adam while collaborating professionally on projects like "Cold"?
We have workdays and date days. Sometimes we will plan something fun after 8–10-hour studio days. I know I personally try to keep serious or brooding work talk away from our dinners or day adventures. I feel like we are equally obsessed with music and that ties us together in ways outside of the studio. He has his own artist project, and I have my own then we have one together. Keeping things in their own boxes helps shift the power dynamic and help us find healthy balance. I think we are both receptive to each other’s suggestions and perspectives for the art. However, I wouldn’t recommend dating your business partner to anyone we are both pretty business-headed in different ways and the similarities can drive us to heated arguments. But the best kind of arguments create songs like cold where both people can express their feelings about a issue.
"Cold" explores both apathy and rage—how did you balance these contrasting emotions in the songwriting process?
The first half of the song before the drop was written a year before the latter half. I was feeling sultry and self-deprecating that day. It was very sonically different than any drop we tried to tie to the end of it. It took Adam a few different renditions before I was happy and felt comfortable with where the instrumental of the song was going. After he wrote the drop, I liked the most I wrote the rest of the song on my 2 hour drive to OC from Northern LA county. I do my best writing my repeating a instrumental while driving and memorizing the lyrics and changing it as I like. The song naturally had two polar sonic emotions it was expressing so I expanded on the feelings I felt and things we were going through to tie the song to a close. The apathy and rage came in that latter half of the song after the drop where I felt in my ego, careless, reckless, and in disregard for anyone else’s feelings. I did things that I should have felt guilty about but that “bad” felt good in the moment so I put that into the song.
You’ve mentioned that "Cold" takes a direct approach rather than using metaphors. How did this affect the overall sound and mood of the track compared to your other songs?
I tend to write cryptically metaphors. There are real life inspirations behind things that get grandiose. Songs like “Daughter of the Water” or “Stranger” explore themes of things in my life I didn’t feel comfortable saying overtly. Being vague has been my safeguard and my mask to expressing without saying exactly what it is I want to say. Cold was saying exactly what I wanted to say in the most vulgar and vulnerable way. I called myself out for being apathetic and domineering. There really was no other way to finish the song because the first half of the song asked a question I had yet to find an answer to. That answer was raw honesty and the tower moment of a relationship that needed to be dissected before being bonded back together. It was really a culmination of many things I hid from myself, about myself. My other songs like “stranger” are soft and feminine and they lean on missing someone from the past who is now a stranger. Everything about that song and many of my other songs lean into fantasy and the same etheric bounds. As I said I mask my true words behind metaphors, Cold did none of that and it was very new for me. It helped me lean into the grit of alt rock that the song sonically presents.
Can you tell us more about the unique Santa Ana basement studio where "Cold" was recorded? How did the atmosphere influence the song's production?
I love the basement. It’s gross, it’s a studio, it’s everything I would have dreamed of years ago to be able to create. I am endlessly grateful for the space and the fondness I have for its grossness. I say this lovingly, the building itself is not very well kept, roaches and all. It’s unfortunate but because I am an artist I find it absolutely perfect for my writing and development. I am inspired by it and feel like a rockstar walking down the hallway to the bathrooms. The building itself used to be a department store in the 1920’s but the studio is in the basement I imagine it was a storage space at some point before It was renovated. I think I fit the space as an underground artist quite literally underground. It has spacious enough for me to crawl into a dark corner of the drum room while Adam produces and whisper toplines and potential lyrics to the beats he makes. It has become such a routine I could not imagine creating anywhere else except maybe at my home studio.
How has performing at iconic venues like The Viper Room impacted your live presence, and how does performing live influence your studio recordings?
It took me a few shows to realize that I am indeed a good live performer and that it comes very naturally. I tend to deliver better vocal performances live than in studio because I already have the energy stirred before starting the show. Whereas in the studio I might have to physically warm up and stretch before recording just to get the energy and push that the songs need. When I record in studio, I get the best performance when I pretend that I am live. When I am live, I get a good performance when I pretend that I am in the intimate of the studio. The viper room show was the smallest venue I have ever played, and it was also in a basement I had no itch of nervousness and thinking about it now makes me want to do more shows.
You’ve won an indie film award for best music video—how has working in visual media affected your approach to music?
When I was a little girl I got a hand held video recorder at the same time that I got my first instruments. The journey with photography and videography started young and when I write or feel songs out I am overwhelmed with visuals and other synesthetic sensations. Because I do not write lyrics first my words are influenced by the scenery, the taste, and the colors of the instrumentals. I co-create my words and stories with the sounds I feel. I always have such interesting imagery when creating and wish I had the confidence and ability to make music video’s at a professional level again. I tend to be reclusive to be quite honest and it has simply become the brand. I did a hard launch of my music with my first album and created 3 unique music video’s for the songs that fit nearly what I felt in the songs themselves. I did make the cover art for cold and the eventual EP. The photoshoot was planned, and blue printed, then executed. It felt good to get back into visual media in that way.
What instrument do you use as the foundation to start your musical creations?
The guitar, by far. I picked up midi and production myself in the last 5-ish years and it has helped me express the sounds more fluidly through sound design in Ableton, but the guitar is my home. Most foundations of my favorite songs I have written start on a clean electric guitar sound. I have 8 or 9 guitars and I wish I played them more but I am simultaneously in school in a pre-law program heading my way up to law school where I hope to study music law. Some things have gotten sacrificed in the process but that peeling away makes the come back to things like production and guitar playing that much sweeter. I lean heavily on my co-writer and partner Adam. He helps me create songs when I am otherwise busy with life outside of music. Being a student and mother.
Which of your already released songs, including "Cold," is the most important to you, or had the most impact on your life or career, and can you tell us why?
The most important songs to me are either “Nostalgia in wonderland”, “12:15am” or “Daughter of the water” off my first album. All of these songs represent the same bold step towards finding myself and going against my fears of being seen. They represent coming into music again, and in a public way. It felt like a spirit of myself was brought to myself and I finally met myself. There is nothing out there that feels as natural and divine as writing music feels to me. Occasionally, I get a song with incredible depth, and it blows me away. A song I am working on right now with this same feeling is called “Homecoming” and in every way all the songs I just mentioned have gotten me closer to fulfillment, purpose, meaning and I feel like I am my best me when I write these types of songs. All these songs also started with a demo production of something I created at my home studio. To be so honest, it feels like I get to be what I was meant to be. I find these story lines like in homecoming that just pull me by the soul. Like I have done this for lifetimes. It really is magical, and I like to think that that magic is reflected in the final product to the listeners.
Where do you see your sound and artistry heading in the future? Are there any exciting new directions you're exploring?
I am still in the realm of cinematic pop where I make songs that are a bit more epic like “Homecoming”, however, songs like “Cold” are becoming as prevalent in my creation process and I have learned to love my voice in that emo millennial alt rock genre. It is where I found my darkest days as a teenager, and I get to create the light out of that feeling now in my adult age. I was a very depressing teenager and in every sense of the word “emo”. Now it’s my badge to be an “emo night” artist at the venue line ups. I realize the value of emotional music, it helps us express things alone when we might not have someone to talk to. I remember listening to bands like My Chemical Romance, tool, and Paramore and it saved me the pain of addressing things that would never change. I coped with these songs, and I hope that my music can help people feel less alone. Even my more lighthearted songs ring the same message of mental health awareness. I have always been a very emotional person and have come to realize that it makes me a great artist.
Was there ever a time when you emotionally felt, “I can’t do this anymore”? Can you tell us why this happened and how you found the strength to continue?
When I get writers block or feel like I am going nowhere in my writing it’s the worst. I feel sluggish and the days drag on. There are many songs I wrote that lack what I would consider to be substance in these times of my life. That is when I want to give up because I really want to press on and I physically can’t. There is a feeling I get when I can write a song that is perfect to me and even more bliss when I can sit and finish a whole song in one session. Sometimes these dry spells of no “good” writing last weeks and it feels like I am done, toast. Beyond music, I also work in the industry in the sect of sync which is very discouraging. I have had opportunity handed to me then snatched right back plenty of times. I have been so close to big breaks just to be rugged pulled. I have had meetings with major label A&R’s that appraise my music just to add a “but” at the end of the appraisal. It is an incredibly tough world, but I have stood my ground. I have signed to over 10 different companies and reps for different songs, but the upkeep is grueling and most artists in sync go 3 years without seeing their first license. I was no exception it took me 3 years and that is insane.
What is the most inspirational thing a fan, or anyone, has told or shown you about your music?
Seeing people come to my shows wearing my merch, seeing people buy my music, seeing anyone leave a good comment or DM is always heartwarming. They share the same feeling I had when I created the song, and the creation of a small community has made me feel like I have done something for people. I have had people send me paintings, sketches, letters and it feels like they are just friends. I had someone recently say that a rough demo I released was a song they would listen to for the rest of their life. That specific song “stuck in the 90’s” meant a lot to me to write too. It is very somber and nostalgic. Briefly, I had set up a band with the intention of doing shows, I asked online in my following if anyone was interested and immediately had a handful of people reach out. It was awesome to hear other people connected with my songs and covers. Seeing the look of familiarity in their eyes as we jammed was otherworldly and flattering. I never know who is on the other end of the numbers I see for streaming or views, until I do.
What advice would you give your younger self?
The advice I would tell her is to write more, write it down, play more guitar and record it all. I was already recording my music as a young teen, but I had my doubts. I would tell my younger self that she kept making music. I would tell her that she has gotten paid for her music, signed deals, and gotten licenses for her work. I would let her know that there is value in what she does and that it isn’t escapism or a useless talent. I would tell her that she is a songwriter and a good one, that her voice eventually did sound “grown up”.
End Interview
We’re thrilled to have shared this artist’s exciting journey with you and uncovered such inspiring insights about their creative process.
Now, click the links below to experience their incredible work firsthand!
Check out this latest release and listen to more of Courtney Nord on Spotify & YouTube.
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