4frida, the stirring new piano ballad from NiCKY, features on the tracklist of the composer’s imminent debut EP.
London composer and pianist NiCKY’s has released 4frida, the latest single to be lifted from their upcoming debut EP, by. The evocative solo piano single sees NiCKY deliver an ode to a time of isolation, and is dedicated to their close friends’ newborn baby.
At once brooding and optimistic, the stirring piece features moments of both sonic peace and playful catharsis, and was conceived during lockdown.
“It was such a surreal time of separation, confinement, joy, hedonism, claustrophobia,” NiCKY — known offstage as Nicky Harris — explained in a press statement.
“Songwriting became an escape and something I could make sense of in an abstract time.” The track takes its name from Frida, the new daughter of NiCKY’s friends who was born during lockdown.
4frida is the third taste of NiCKY’s imminent debut EP, by, which is set for release on February 2. It follows previous singles Turbo Tracey and a cover of Sandy Denny’s Who Knows Where The Time Goes?, comprising a broader tracklist inspired by the aesthetics of the circus as well as East London’s queer performance scene.
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Spanning seven tracks, by is said to include moments of intimacy and irreverence, as well as tales of selfhood, road journeys, love stories and surreal encounters.
The project takes sonic inspiration from the likes of Anhoni, Elton John and Perfume Genius, as well as The Carpenters and Sylvester — all while playing into circus and theatrical aesthetics.
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“[I] wanted to absorb some of the warm, glowy-lushness of that era into by,” NiCKY explained in a press statement. “All the songs are stories to me, asking how we could achieve the ‘curtain opens / curtain closes’ quality of a theatre show”.
With 4frida as evidence, by is set to usher in what feels like a breakout moment for NiCKY. Listen to NiCKY’s new single 4frida below, and keep an eye out for their debut EP by set for release on February 2.
