Description
NiCKY - by EP
‘by’ is the debut EP of poignant solo piano torch songs by composer, pianist & singer Nicky Harris aka NiCKY. Inspired by the aesthetics of the circus as well as East London’s queer performance scene, NiCKY inhabits an artistic identity that echoes the tender-hearted songcraft of Anohni and Perfume Genius coupled with the dramatic costume design of Leigh Bowery and Pierrot (the sad clown, famously depicted by Ashes to Ashes era Bowie).
With ‘by’, NiCKY moves into the spotlight, evoking a dive bar cabaret with a solitary headliner. Across seven exquisitely executed songs of intimacy and irreverence, NiCKY explores myriad ideas and experiences, encompassing themes of isolation, escapism, love, devotion and community.
From idyllic confessionals to impressionistic instrumentals, through queer reimaginings of long-haul odysseys and Glen Campbell, to a soaring real-time rendition of Sandy Denny’s ‘Who Knows Where The Time Goes?’, ‘by’ is a profuse and beautiful constellation of songwriting and selfhood, chronicling road journeys, love stories, surreal encounters, lost connections, and more.
Conceived during a Covid / post-Covid timespan, and recorded earlier this year on an analogue tape machine and vintage Barrett and Robinson piano with producer Euan Hinshelwood (Cate Le Bon, Meilyr Jones, Wesley Gonzalez), ‘by’ distils the lush warmth of rarefied 70s production into a moving song cycle that memorably traces currents of emotion and narrative. Acknowledging the chronology of these songs, and the instructive sounds of The Carpenters and early Sylvester, NiCKY describes ‘by’ as an attempt to envisage a cohesive form of theatricality:
“The songs on by were mostly conceived during the Covid months or immediately after, reflecting on moments I thought would translate well as song[s]. Jump forward to late January 2023, I’d been listening to lots of Carpenters recordings, early Sylvester tracks and other 70s work and wanted to absorb some of the warm, glowy-lushness of that era into by. I came into Euan Hinshelwood’s studio in Greenwich and explained how all the songs are stories to me, asking how we could achieve the ‘curtain opens / curtain closes’ quality of a theatre show…”
With ‘by’, NiCKY moves into the spotlight, evoking a dive bar cabaret with a solitary headliner. Across seven exquisitely executed songs of intimacy and irreverence, NiCKY explores myriad ideas and experiences, encompassing themes of isolation, escapism, love, devotion and community.
From idyllic confessionals to impressionistic instrumentals, through queer reimaginings of long-haul odysseys and Glen Campbell, to a soaring real-time rendition of Sandy Denny’s ‘Who Knows Where The Time Goes?’, ‘by’ is a profuse and beautiful constellation of songwriting and selfhood, chronicling road journeys, love stories, surreal encounters, lost connections, and more.
Conceived during a Covid / post-Covid timespan, and recorded earlier this year on an analogue tape machine and vintage Barrett and Robinson piano with producer Euan Hinshelwood (Cate Le Bon, Meilyr Jones, Wesley Gonzalez), ‘by’ distils the lush warmth of rarefied 70s production into a moving song cycle that memorably traces currents of emotion and narrative. Acknowledging the chronology of these songs, and the instructive sounds of The Carpenters and early Sylvester, NiCKY describes ‘by’ as an attempt to envisage a cohesive form of theatricality:
“The songs on by were mostly conceived during the Covid months or immediately after, reflecting on moments I thought would translate well as song[s]. Jump forward to late January 2023, I’d been listening to lots of Carpenters recordings, early Sylvester tracks and other 70s work and wanted to absorb some of the warm, glowy-lushness of that era into by. I came into Euan Hinshelwood’s studio in Greenwich and explained how all the songs are stories to me, asking how we could achieve the ‘curtain opens / curtain closes’ quality of a theatre show…”