Natalie Forteza and WG Music Editor Kendolyn Walker in conversation.
As Natalie Forteza sat in her Mid-Hudson Valley office and me in my Harlem apartment, we discovered that we share a love for Sadé, Jimmy Fallon, and Ted Lasso. During our Zoom call, we exchanged laughs and her passion for music was evident as she enthusiastically spoke about the writing process, performances, and her journey as an artist.
Natalie’s latest tracks, "What Christmas Should Always Be" and "Who's She" are available on all streaming platforms. I encourage you to take them in, and while you do, continue reading below to learn more about this brilliantly authentic New York-based singer-songwriter.
WG: Tell us more about you and your background - where did you grow up and what were your interests growing up?
Natalie: I’m Texas-born but New York-raised. Around the age of 3 or 4 years old my family—my mom, dad, brother, and I moved to NY from Texas. Up until the age of 12 or 13 we moved every few years. We never lived in NYC, we lived North of the city in different towns of Westchester County, and later we migrated further North to Putnam County. When I got married, my husband & I moved to lower Dutchess County and have remained here for the past 15 years. The Hudson Valley area, and my family upbringing, are the frame in which I’ve grown into the person I am today. It’s always hard to say where I grew up because we moved around a lot the earlier part of my life, and while I have treasured memories in every place we’ve lived, home was always felt wherever my family was.
I was raised by amazing parents. My Mama, Nannette, is Venezuelan-born with some French lineage (and Spanish ancestry somewhere in there too), and my Dad, Antonio, was Puerto Rican with Spanish ancestry [Antonio was my step-dad on paper, but he was always "Dad." He’s the father that raised me to the fullest of its meaning]. My Dad and my Mom gave me my baby sister Adriana. My biological father, Omar, was Colombian, and although I never had the chance the share this world with him, he gave me my brother Anwar, and two sisters Jessika & Alejandra.
Growing up my interests were many, like nature (we often went camping), animals, really anything art! Photography, drawing, painting… I loved it all! I was in my glory when I got new art supplies and even now I still have to exercise restraint in an art supply shop! The pinnacle of my art store visits was when I got a Bob Ross painting set (I never could get those landscapes right though). While I loved it all, i I don’t think I was that great at the visual arts (although I’m thankful my Mom is so sweet to still have some of my watercolors proudly on her wall lol).
“The constant current underneath it all has always been my love for music. I have always been in love with music.”
The constant current underneath it all has always been my love for music. I have always been in love with music. My mother joined the church choir, and she played the Cuatro occasionally at home, but we weren’t necessarily a musical family in the sense that we had musicians in the family, we were just a family that deeply loved music. Music was always on. We listened to a lot of different genres of music: Pop, R&B, Jazz, Opera, Classical, Latin, New Age, and World music. I was fascinated with Opera when I was really little. I’d be held in a trance staring at the TV watching PBS specials, in awe of the spectacular sounds coming out of their mouths! I might be the only kid that wanted to invite other kids over to watch Opera (no surprise that no children came, just Mom). Other than blasting The Police in the car, the music that floods the soundtrack of my childhood the most was Brazilian jazz like that of Joao Gilberto (along with Stan Getz, Astrud Gilberto, and company), along with Venezuelan folk music like that of Serenata Guayanesa. All of these, hold a golden place in my heart.
It's so hard to explain what it does to my soul when I hear this music, it feels like home. When I hear that music, I close my eyes and reminisce on the afternoons we spent in the yard, swinging in the hammocks, playing with my little sister in the sandbox, Mama’s pitcher of iced tea, being in the kitchen while she cooked, setting the table for company, the many walks we did around the neighborhood and the smell of campfires. Like they say, music transports.
WG: Tell us more about what you do and how you empower the community of women around you.
Natalie: I'm a singer and songwriter. While I look forward to the day that writing, recording, and touring (and being on Jimmy Fallon) become my full-time vocation, I also have the honor of working part-time for a woman-owned and operated health + beauty brand, Cold Spring Apothecary.
It’s hard for me to say how I might empower the community of women around me, as they would know more than I. I’d like to think that I offer them the kind of space to be themselves, to be heard and listened to and to be seen without judgment; how I would want to be empowered and supported. We can be awfully hard on ourselves, so I do feel that it’s important we surround ourselves with people we admire, who we can be honest with, who can see who we are and who we can be even through our shortcomings, and can intervene or come to our defense when we’re not kind or true to ourselves.
WG: When did you start writing and singing?
Natalie: I always sang, I sang in the car wherever we went, I sang in the shower (for the acoustics of course), but it was always timidly in the comfort of my nuclear family. It wasn't until my mid-teens that I worked up the nerve to put myself in front of people, starting at church, then Chorus and concert productions in high school. Even though I had vivid dreams of being a singer, an artist, it felt like a faraway dream and an unlikely reality.
I chickened out auditioning for a music school, so I studied Communications in college, got a job, and tried to ignore those vivid dreams to be “more realistic.”
Before I got the chance to reconsider, in 2001 my Dad, Antonio, passed tragically in the American Airlines flight 587 crash. Needless to say, the only thing I could focus on then was my family.
I ran into a high school classmate years later, and he was surprised I hadn’t “ended up in music,” because he remembered me singing, and loving music so much in school. What he said stayed with me, and with my Dad’s passing, it was a reminder of how life can change so suddenly, so I thought I should do something about it.
I started to look for opportunities to perform, I joined a local jazz group for a short while before I felt I needed to start my own thing. There’s a long list of people I’m grateful for that led me to that decision, and that ultimately led me to who I am today. Some I had short conversations with, and others I have known for years. Having collected words of support, kindness, and encouragement from various sources led me to believe that if I was going to pave my own way, I had to find my own voice, and learn to write my own songs. I NEVER thought I’d be a songwriter. I didn’t have the chops, I didn’t come from a family of musicians, I didn’t go to school for music, I didn’t play an instrument. All these reasons were stacked up in my head. However, through the beautiful degrees of separation that is the music community, I found my musical “hermanos,” my friends and bandmates. I’ve had a blast performing and writing with my writing cohorts: Akie Bermiss (keys) and Anthony Candullo (bass) for the past 10 years.
WG: Who inspires you and why?
Natalie: Oof. I could write endless paragraphs to answer this question. I’ll try to be as concise as possible [cracks knuckles]. Musically, there are quite a few I could mention.
My foremost and steadfast muse has been and will forever be, Sade. I still pray for the day that I might have the chance to meet her and the band. Every artist/musician has a moment when they say, “That’s it! That’s what I want!” Sade (she herself, as well as the band) did it for me. Sade created a space for me. Sade helped me to find my voice. Sade broke molds. While their music had a signature sound, it blurred genre lines (in a time when hard labels were king). Their music felt organic, not trend-driven, and as a vocalist, she delivered velvety melodies without the acrobatics, and the vibe?! C’mon! She’s the Queen. Watching her was like seeing manifestations of my own dreams—the visuals, the drama, the simplicity, the depth, the stage production, the lighting, the fabric, the instrumentation, the recording production, and on and on. In a time, when labels notoriously dictated what, when and how, she seemed to defy that and live her art on her terms, and sell out huge shows. What I can say is for the young, timid, alto singer I was at the time, who didn't have the mega voice of the chart- topping legends of the time, she released me, she gave me permission to be myself, to find my own voice, and OWN it. I never wanted to emulate her, no one can, but she was living proof of the things I had only dreamed of in my head, and proof that you could be true to yourself and your craft AND still be successful.
I’m always gaining new inspiration from artists I discover, but a couple that have been with me for some time would also be Sting—a songwriter who, in my opinion, can look at a stone and write an amazing song about it! Emily King, a native New Yorker, has also carved out a space for herself and her art. Her authenticity feels so organic it seems like you could call her up to meet for coffee. She has the sweetest voice, and just writes superb, superb songs.
“My mom has had tremendous triumphs and devastating trials throughout her life and has met them both with humility, grace, humanity, authenticity, hope, perseverance, and sacrifice.”
In life, there are also many people who inspire me, but this person is the “Sade” of my personal life. My Mama. My mom has had tremendous triumphs and devastating trials throughout her life and has met them both with humility, grace, humanity, authenticity, hope, perseverance, and sacrifice. She’d never say she “lost” anything, she’ll only tell you what she gained. She truly “sees” people, her compassion is boundless, even if she disagrees with you or you’ve crossed her, she’ll tell you like it is, in her sassy-Latina-like way, but also in the nicest way. We have had some dark times, and even in the middle of it, we could find a way to laugh—like stomach-cramps-level laughing, just extraordinary. She pushes us to be our best, and always accepts us as we are. My mother has loved us at our best and at our worst. She gave us our sense of home and our sense of adventure. She’s both couture and good-ol'-classic-jeans. She’s champagne and beer. She’s whimsical and worldly, and through all of it always solidly on the ground.
WG: What are you most proud of in the work that you do?
Natalie: I keep trying and I keep learning. While I can be pretty hard on myself, I can say that I'm not afraid to work, to keep learning, to keep getting better in as much as I can. Whether it's vocal growth, performance, songwriting, time management, social media, production, or playing an instrument.
WG: What has been your biggest struggle as an artist/ creative?
Natalie: I was just about to list a few things right off the bat I struggle with, but after taking a second to think about it, it all comes down to one thing really--staying out of my own way, and more importantly, staying out of God's way is the hardest struggle. It rears its head the most often in two areas:
1. Vulnerability - mostly when it comes to live performances. I put a lot of pressure on myself, and I get in my own way to take risks, to make mistakes—I know it’s how you grow—but letting go is hard to do, and often the what I need to pray about before performing.
2. Letting go of the pressure of always being “on.” There's a lot of problem-solving involved in trying to achieve big dreams; financial constrictions, limited contacts, not having enough time, not having enough help, not having enough exposure. "how do I get to this point?” There's a lot of pressure to constantly be “on," doing something all the time to solve or work through these challenges. I believe in being a good custodian to the gifts & passions I've been given, by growing, being disciplined, and being driven. If I'm not mindful, I'll get in my own way and in God's way, stealing peace and rest from myself, keeping myself from just living life! In doing so I get in the way of relying on Him. So I need to do a better job of inviting Him, including Him in the process, in the challenges, in the failures, and in the victories. Way easier said than done of course, but it's something I'm trying to be more heedful of.
“If I'm not mindful, I'll get in my own way and in God's way, stealing peace and rest from myself, keeping myself from just living life!”
WG: Is there a verse, quote, or life mantra that you live by? If so, what is it?
Natalie: I've had some wonderful, life-changing vocal coaches, one of which was Sharon Bryant. During our sessions, she'd give me an exercise and she'd see me thinking and calculating before anything would come out of my mouth, so she'd put her hands on my shoulders, look me in the eye and say to me, "Natalie, just sing!" Those words help me to get out of my head. Creators often strive for perfection, but it really gets in the way of just doing whatever it is we need to do, including the need to make mistakes. Something I really don't like! I know it's a necessary part of the process, so I have to tell myself, "don't think, just sing." This translates into other areas too. Her words have turned into somewhat of a Nike-like slogan for other things, "don't think, just write," "just trust," "just rest." I've started to write "Just Sing" on my setlists to give myself permission to let go, and give myself over to whatever comes. Thank you for this Sharon.
WG: What does faith mean to you? How do you live it out practically? Natalie: A question that's hard to answer in just a few words. A basic definition of faith is, "a belief and trust in and loyalty to God." But it's more than that, isn’t it? To me, it's a trust-fall into God's hands. It's believing before I can see versus seeing and then believing. It's trusting God's promises. It’s an invitation, a relationship with God, through Christ.
I live it out practically knowing that I'm not perfect, my faith isn't perfect, but He is. I miss having a dad, and it helps me to understand faith, by seeing Him as a parent, my heavenly Father; He wants to provide. He wants to be invited into my life, and He wants me to trust Him even if I don't understand. And when I fall, He's there, every time. There's no question my mother loves her children; she loves all of who we are, the good and the ugly. So if I can believe that, then how much more does God love us?
WG: What has God shown you as you continue to grow in your craft/career?
Natalie: He constantly surprises me. I've thought of or prayed for something, and ever so gently or suddenly He answers it. He's given me strength-physical and mental-when I've asked for it. He's given me creative clarity and inspiration when I've asked for it. Having spent so much time by myself the last couple of years during the pandemic, when I had been so accustomed to working with others, I had to ask for His help to give me the ability, the mental bandwidth, and patience, and He answered all of it overabundantly.
Ephesians 3:20, "Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think."
He's also showed me to trust the "no's." Another area I struggle with, but so important to be cognizant of. Abner Ramirez and Amanda Sudano, known as the duo, Johnnyswim, said it best in their book Home Sweet Road, "...When God closes the door sometimes, walk away from the damn door. [Abner] You're at the wrong door [Amanda]...You're at the wrong house. On the wrong block. You know what I mean?! Keep walking, keep moving [Abner]."
WG: What has brought your happiness while dealing with the pandemic (since March 2020)?
Natalie: So much. At the height of the pandemic when we couldn't really go anywhere, picnics on a blanket in the yard made us feel like we were away, we created little seating nooks in our house, so when we made cortados and cappuccinos it made us feel like we were in a cafe somewhere. The first food we got to-go was a bacon-egg-and-cheese from a local spot in Beacon, NY [Beacon Daily]. We would drive an hour just to get out of the house to our favorite town of Hudson to buy coffee and croissants to-go from one of our favorite spots [Le Perche]. Sitting on the front stoop, watching live stream concerts over several weeks of one of our favorite artists, Amos Lee.
One of my absolute favorite things was (and still is) reading my Ian Fleming, James Bond books! They offered blissful escapism and inspired me so much that I wrote my own "Bond song," called "Love is a Gun." The thrill writing it made me so happy you would've thought Barbara Broccoli had asked me to write it for the last Bond film. We made cocktails to celebrate the song's premiere (aka uploading it to SoundCloud lol) at our favorite lounge (aka, our living room). Above all else, what not only kept us afloat through it all but helped us to find happiness amongst the chaos was, gratefulness. Grateful to be healthy, grateful to have everything we needed; work, food, a home, a peaceful home, and each other, having a partner, the best companion, my hubby by my side through it all was everything.
WG: What are you listening to right now? Who's on your music playlist?
Natalie: Ooooh ok, here goes! RY X has been on repeat for close to 2 years now! His album "Live from the Royal Albert Hall" and various classical music playlists were what got me through some of the toughest parts of the pandemic. Amos Lee is always on heavy rotation. Emily King has a permanent address in my playlists, and artists like Lianne La Havas, London Grammar, Yola, Lauren Daigle, Johnnyswim, Max Richter live in the playlist neighborhood too. Can we talk about Adele's new album, 30?! I couldn't be more thrilled for her. Most recently, I listened to Yebba's "Live at Electric Lady." wow. It's been a while since I've wanted to get lost in headphones listening to a record. She's incredible, I find myself hanging on every note that comes out of her, and what I would've given to be a fly on the wall for that session.
WG: What has been your favorite venue to perform in at this point and why?
Natalie: I have a couple of favorite venues like Daryl's House, owned by Daryl Hall, for its first-class hospitality and tremendous sound design--Pete Moshay is the best. The Falcon, also for its heartwarming hospitality, and community is its heartbeat. Tony Falco, a legend and its founder, was a champion of artists and musicians local and worldwide, and while he's no longer with us, his spirit has stayed with us all. But one of the most recent venues I had the honor of playing was the historic Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, NY, the sound was crystalline and getting the chance to play a historic stage like that in my backyard per se, left me pretty inspired.
WG: What do you do to rest and pour into yourself?
Natalie: Movies. Books. Croissants. And coffee. I love me some movies and a bag of Bjorn Qorn popcorn (I'm terrible at sharing popcorn though). I loved books all my life, but I feel like, for a long time, I couldn't finish them, or I didn't make enough space for them. But over the past few years, I've been able to renew my book love, and really enjoy diving into a book, so much so that I try to carve out 30 minutes at least three times a week to read. Especially if it's a Bond book, James Bond, 007. If I didn’t emphasize this point before, I am a Bond fanatic! My hubby gave me the first book of the series a few years ago, and since then I've been gobbling up the subsequent books, just loving the escapism in them. But the best is when the hubby & I can find a new or favorite spot to grab a coffee and a croissant, those moments are precious and really renew me.
WG: What was your most recent TV show binge? Why did you like it, or why didn't you like it?
Natalie: Ted Lasso! oh, man. Easily one of the best, and favorite shows ever. It was unexpected, I fell so fast in love with his character, rooting for him, and ended up rooting for so many more characters as the episodes unfolded. The character arcs were brilliantly written and executed. I belly laughed, and full-on cried. Touching on so many relatable subjects it was easy to latch onto the emotions (here comes the deep stuff). Honestly, I kinda feel like Ted sometimes, like I'm the new kid trying to convince people why I'm here. I'm often the obnoxious optimist trying to be the hypeman for myself and others (if I could walk around with a "Believe" sign I would), and I think people assume that because I'm an optimist or positive I must not have any trauma or grievances of my own. But like we learn in Ted Lasso, don't judge a book by its cover. Ted Lasso did a great job of punching through expectations and assumptions, with a full range of emotions and did it in a way that when you finished an episode you couldn't resist a smile on your face.
WG: Which of your songs is your favorite to perform?
Natalie: As of late, "Love is a Gun (a tribute to James Bond, 007)”
WG: Tell me about the top 3 people in your life who cheer the loudest for you.
Natalie: Yikes. This feels like the Hunger Games trying to narrow it down to 3 spots: #1. My husband, Saverio. That's easy. Spots #2 and #3 I'm gonna have to give to my whole family (to avoid a chancleta (a flip flop in Spanish) getting thrown at me. My mother, my siblings, my Abuela (my grandmother), and the whole family tree is shaking, cheering for me, I can feel it.
WG: Lastly, where can people find you or your work?
Natalie: www.NATALIEFORTEZA.com. My music is available on all major platforms and social media via Instagram: @natalie_forteza and Facebook: @nataliefortezamusic.
WG: Anything else that you want to share about your passions or that you want our readers to know about you?
Natalie: Random trivia? Hmm... I have a serious popcorn problem, I loooooove Popcorn. I LOVE shoes. I'm not an excessive person, but I can never have too many shoes. Maybe it's a hidden talent, maybe not, I don't know, but I have this thing, a game really, "Who's voice is that?" When watching commercials, I can usually figure out who the celebrity is in the voiceover—it’s not a superpower I know, but could be a fun talent for a skit on Jimmy Fallon one day.
Kendolyn Walker is a creative based in Harlem who serves as producer and founder of The City Love Collective: City Love on the Radio, City Love NYC and the City Love Picnic.