A Quick Chat With N.Y.C.K

It's been a while between releases…what have you both been up to? 

Dom - Well Nick became a Dad of two, so that’s been super exciting and most likely exhausting. I’ve been cruising, working on other music projects of mine- writing, recording etc. 

Your sound has evolved since your first album. Tell us about that shift.

Nick - We had a lot more fun writing this album. It’s less serious. We cared less about the end result and allowed it to evolve. Nick, who writes most of the lyrics, was also probably in new phase of his own life - so lyrics are more conceptual, playful and prosaic. Together, Nick and Dom explored heaps of new techniques while writing and recording - always knows for music that is sparse and incredibly real and honest. This album draws on synthesisers and loops and samples - naturally driving beats harder and giving the soundscape more energy and freedom. 

Dom - Yeah, it completely has. This album was so much fun to write and explore a whole heap of different sounds and different approaches. We had Jack Grace produce the tracks and it was really nice to step away and let another person take some control and put their creative flare on it. It was a perfect match and really helped develop our sound. 

What were some of the inspirations behind the album?

Nick - It’s really closely inspired by a few records that draw heavily on samples: 

- The Streets - Original Pirate Material 
- Nick Mulvey 
- Here We Go Magic 

Records that layer sounds and build songs progressively. We’ve always had big ballads that rise and fall from noise to silence. This album is progressive in that it starts in one place and continually builds on the original idea. 

What are some of the main themes across the album?

Nick - After our first album I found myself doing a lot of walking and a lot of meditation. Smoking a lot of weed too, actually (ha!). I had been anxious for years, actually. And during this period after our first album, I got my worldview straight and things began moving again. I found a connection to the spiritual world through yoga and meditation and listening to people like Ram Das and Sam Harris. I then discovered artists who’ve taken themes from these worlds (Nick Mulvey, George Harrison, Jose Gonzales in Particular) and made them into kind of living mantras. 

I became obsessed with layers and patterns and repeated sequences. About how my own music could ground me, give me energy, repeat me. We spend so much of our time distracted in thought and ego - and I was going through this incredible change in my mind. That I was responsible for my own happiness. That I am lucky. That the world is good. I then made music that became a way for me to access it.

What were some of the weirdest places you sampled sounds for the album?

- Nick recorded his grandmother in hospital and used the beep beep of the heart monitor to make some beats. 
- We recorded conversations with taxi drivers. 
- Nick has a manufacturing business now, so he went out to the furniture makers and took samples of all sorts of workshop sounds. They’re layered everywhere.  

You worked with Jack Grace heavily across the album. Tell us about that experience…

Dom - He is such a boss. Everything he does is awesome and he is an amazing person to work with. He’s a great producer, but an incredible songwriter, so those skills went hand in hand. He had lot’s of input and took some songs in a whole new direction. 

How do you want United Places to make people feel?

Nick - if it were food, we’d say we’re going for Unami. To me, a song that resonates can make me feel many things at the same time. In such balance. We have been told by fans that our music connects to people’s sadness and melancholy - but feels good, positive, moorish.

Dom -United Places feels like it goes back to our roots- simple piano and harmonies. People will feel a sense of romance in the song and beauty. It’s quite calming and moves into an electronic beat which is unexpected. 

What’s your favourite track on the album and why?

Dom - Probably Untied Places, I really love singing this song. It reminds me a lot of Decision in a way. 

Nick - Cult is my favourite. It feels like the topic sentence for the whole album. A powerful piece of piano that sounds so completely different in different contexts. Alone, it is suspenseful and dramatic. With guitar, drums, strings - it’s uplifting and joyful. This is what our album is about. I love the way repeating sounds can create so much new emotion when new contexts are added: like our voices and stories. 

What’s next for N.Y.C.K.? 

We will chip away at another album. We love writing and singing together, always have, so there will be more coming. It just might be a bit slower than usual.