How Musician Nathanial Young Is Reclaiming LA’s ‘Liminal Spaces’

I think a result of the POV perspective is that people are put into my shoes right off the bat. If I put my phone down and just filmed myself recording the saxophone at all the places that I do, it would not have the same effect at all. I think something about the POV perspective gets people rooting for me. It gets people kind of on my side in a way that would be really, really hard otherwise.

So, liminal spaces on TikTok. Do these words mean anything to you?

Barely.

Okay. Interesting.

I’m not really, like, on that.

A lot of people consider what you post “liminal space” content. When did you first hear that phrase?

Well, I’m chronically online. I know what that is. I know the genre. I feel like it’s very video game-esque, like the feeling of being an empty map and it’s supposed to be a transient space, but you’re sort of inhabiting it. Maybe you’re supposed to be uncomfortable because you’re there, but it’s overall supposed to be relaxing and lo-fi. I think it’s more of an aesthetic than anything. It’s this ambient aesthetic that people find relaxing compared to the shock value of the rest of social media.

When I asked meme researcher Aidan Walker about your TikToks and why they hit, he said that you sit at the intersection, or liminal space, between jazz and the internet.

That’s a pretty spot-on description. I kinda fuck with it. I mean, I am playing in empty spaces. A part of what I really like about playing free music in these spaces with an open invitation to the public is that there’s this feeling of reclaiming underutilized public space. And I think that comes from the liminality of something like a parking lot where you’re not supposed to sit down. You’re supposed to get in, leave your car, and you’re supposed to get out. That’s not a space that you’re supposed to feel comfortable in. But the inclusion of a saxophone and using that space as a reverb chamber, you can have peace in this place that is supposed to be liminal. It’s supposed to be transient and you’re probably trespassing, and if anyone knows that you’re there, it’s going to be a problem. Especially in Los Angeles, overdevelopment and underutilization of public space is a massive issue. And to be able to address that head-on, if only for an hour, I think it’s totally worth doing.

I actually think what makes your content liminal space TikTok is the comment section.

Where they’ll post just like, the GIFs?

Yeah. I think it’s so funny, but in a weird way, that comment section is also the most peaceful comment section I’ve ever seen.

I totally agree. I think part of that also is that I don’t post my face. There isn’t really someone to make fun of. It has nothing to do with my music or my message, like making it identity-based or putting my face on it, it doesn’t help to communicate what I want. It literally has nothing to do with me.

Has anyone come out to say that they love your work, that you were like “Whoa?”

When SZA likes my videos that’s a big thing for me. She’s chronically online. I love her.

Have you ever thought about DMing?

No, I’m terrified.

Pretty close, but it is pretty nerve-wracking to take that step. I’m just waiting for a sign that I’ll be secure outside of a regular income. I haven’t gotten that sign yet, but I feel like I’m getting it. I just think that it does take a lot of time working and I would like to spend that time, of course, making music instead. But I’m lucky to not have to live with my parents, and I have a good income, and I can pay rent and I have a good job. So I’ll know when an opportunity is there and reliable.