Project Description
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Interview with
NIEKO
(25th August 2022)
Interview by Dave Bruce
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Have you always wanted to be a musician? When did you get the song writing bug?
I got given a guitar when I was 10 and that kind of coincided with the time that my older brother introduced me to Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, ACDC etc etc. Prior to that I was pretty into Tiffany, so it opened me up to a whole world of music beyond the top 40 of the time. Anyway I quickly fell in love with making sounds and apart from spending hours learning other bands music, I was constantly making my own songs from an early age. It’s a feeling that never get’s old, when i have a new idea that I’m into. I’m always chasing that next song, trying to write a better one.
How would you describe your sound? Why do you think people resonate with your music?
Seaside Sifters, road trip music rinsed in Indie ethos and nostalgia.
I hope they resonate with my music because it makes them feel something and they connect with the intention behind it.
Which artist’s music and/or performance, past or present, inspires you today?
I’m really digging Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and drummer Tom Skinners project the Smile at the moment. Apart from being a Radiohead fan, I’m a big fan of drummers in general and Tom Skinner has a jazz, Afro beat background that really brings this project something else. It’s also produced by Nigel Godrich who I really admire as a producer and musician. Also Loving new Waax, Ryan Adams, Thornhill, Blake Scott to name a few.
Your new single’The Longest Tube’ has just been released! Describe its origin and evolution.
I’ve just released a new single called The Longest Tube. It’s a song about facing your fears and the idea that time is relative. I had the main progression and the first lyric “well I sat through the longest tube” around for ages but couldn’t seem to finish it. I felt there was something there, so I put the work in and really tried to structure it so it built and went somewhere. I’m happy with how it came out and people seem to be connecting with it. I worked on a bunch of songs through Covid with my friend Singer/Songwriter/Producer Jamie Lyndsay.
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Is there an EP or Album on the drawing board?
I have a couple more singles then an EP coming out later this year.
Any tours or events coming up soon? What are you looking forward to, and what can the fans expect?
I’m Playing Old Bar Festival the Oct Long weekend and working on an east coast tour later this year to support the EP release. There’s a few things locked in and there will be more gigs. I’m looking forward to more festivals. I love the diversity in the crowd at festivals and genuine music lovers. There’s a real comradery and shared respect I feel.
How has COVID affected you to date? What have you introduced to balance the losses from missed events?
It was obviously a pretty heavy time, however I kind of just surrendered to it and excepted it pretty quickly. To be honest the break from gigging was kind of nice, it’s the first time in like ever that I have actually been able to hang out with my wife and family on weekends, so that was nice. It also meant that everyone else was at home too, so I had access to some amazing musicians that would normally have been on tour – such as Evan Mannell (drums – Tim Minchin, Teskey Brothers, Phil Jameson), Zoe Hauptman (Bass – Missy Higgins, Ian Moss), Shannon Stitt (Keys – The Beautiful Girls, The Strides).
I also started my own garden maintenance business to balance the losses, which has actually worked out well.
If you could perform with any music artist, Alive or Dead, who would you choose? And why?
That’s a hard one but I would probably say Roger Waters. I’m a massive Pink Floyd fan and he’s still writing, releasing and touring and he still has something to say and he’s not afraid to say it even if it polarises people. That is rare in this day. Also his band is killer. He’s got Jonathon Wilson on Guitar and doing all the David Gilmour Vocals. Jonathan is an amazing writer and producer in his own right. Joey Waronker on drums, another legend drummer. The whole band is just amazing.
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Do you have any long-term aspirations as a music artist?
Yeah sure, I just want to keep writing and releasing, connecting with new people and playing. I’d like to play more festivals and keep building it up. Ultimately, the dream would just be to have a room full of people singing my songs back to me.
What is the best thing about performing to a live audience? What’s been the career highlight so far?
It’s just that cycle of energy. It’s the unspoken connection, it’s like a mass group meditation when it clicks, everyone is sharing a space, an energy, It doesn’t matter what you do for a job or where you’re from, it’s in the moment.
We toured Brasil a couple times with my old band Costa Rae and we were interviewed on Triple J’s Roots n all. We had been up all night and we were down on the beach in Brasil, speaking to live radio back in Australia. It was pretty surreal.
Finally, a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVOURITE:
Album – Presence – Led Zeppelin
Artist – Thom Yorke
Movie – Grease
Place to visit – Greece
Venue to play – Beach Hotel Byron
Food – Chips
Drink – Spiced Rum
Person in History – Nanna
Tattoo – (If you don’t have one, what would you get?) Don’t have any but I thought about getting a Nieko Tatt once to remind me that I was an artist always but then I remembered.
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Follow NIEKO
Facebook – Instagram
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AMNPLIFY – DB
Press Release 26th July 2022 (below)
NIEKO
shares new single
‘THE LONGEST TUBE’
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Central coast singer-songwriter Nieko releases new single ‘The Longest Tube’ that serves to be your new alternative folk anthem.
The Longest Tube is the second single off a new body of work that despite being written pre-covid & recorded through covid, the message of the track is perhaps more relevant now than ever.
The single contrasts the EPs opening single stripping back to Nieko’s folk singer-songwriter roots. The Longest Tube gradually builds, opening with a simple guitar riff and vocals drawing the listener to focus intently on the lyrics while gradually rising to arguably the strongest chorus of Nieko’s career to date, before gently settling back down to its opening simplicity. This rise & fall in dynamics pairs with the nature of the wave in surfing.
The track’s title draws from Nieko’s background in surfing growing up on the coast. The tube is the ultimate goal in surfing, it can also be the scariest but it’s often the safest place to be once you get in. You have to really commit and charge to get inside the wave but by doing so run the risk of wiping out, a metaphor Nieko finds parallels within many aspects of life, which is paired with the rise and fall in dynamics the song plays out.
Commenting on the track Nieko said “It’s about facing your fears and going for it. The metaphor of the tube (barrel in surfing)) relates to the risk vs reward. the time slows down and it’s the ultimate feeling. So it also touches on how time slows down and bends when you are in the zone”
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