Nel Releases Debut EP ‘Half a Decade’
Kiwi singer-songwriter Nel releases her debut EP Half a Decade, out 13 March 2026 on all major streaming platforms. A five-track collection spanning five years of her life, the EP moves through heartbreak, grief, and growth – arriving at a place of hard-won hope.
“These five songs paint what has happened over the last five years of my life,” Nel shares. “I ended a long-term relationship, lost people I loved, and have grown into the woman I am today.”
The EP opens with Is This Real? and moves into Goodbye. – a folk-tinged, deeply emotional track that asks one of life’s hardest questions: if you could do it all over again, would you? For Nel, the answer is yes. “That season of my life brought a lot of pain,” she reflects, “but it triggered something in me – it’s the reason I never judge someone’s story, and it’s the reason I started making music. It’s a song about accepting that goodbyes are never easy – but that the person you become on the other side makes it worth it.” The previously released singles What WAS. and No Contact. follow, with the EP closing on No Matter, a hopeful, life-affirming track that looks toward the future.
“Goodbye. took a lot out of me,” Nel says. “It was saying goodbye to a chapter of my life that formed me the most and put me through the most hell.”
Produced by Aaron Clarke (Mountain Boy), Half a Decade. was recorded with a full band featuring Angus Grainger on drums, Joash Varghese on bass, Isaac Aish on keys, Jonathan Ashfield on guitar, and James Fistonich on electric guitar.
“This EP feels like the closing of a chapter,” Nel says. “It’s been a lot of hard work, and I’m excited for the new music I’m working on now – music that is very hopeful and full of life and love.”
“I hope people are encouraged to make what they love,” she adds. “And that it doesn’t have to be perfect or right.”
Half a Decade is available now on all major streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.
