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drum + voice

by Nicholas

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1.
Taj Mahal 03:08
I don’t need somebody’s version of the Taj Mahal just to know that you love me The simple things are what matter most, so just do those to show that you love me You don’t have to force it at all; if you’ve got the love, trust it will flow The simple things are what matter most, so just do those to show that you love me If you love me, babe If you love me… I don’t need somebody’s version of the Taj Mahal just to know that you love me The simple things are what matter most, so just do those to show that you love me You don’t have to force it at all; if you’ve got the love, trust it will flow The simple things are what matter most, so just do those to show that you love me If you love me, babe If you love me…
2.
Small 04:27
I was riding my bike down Clinton street He turned right, didn’t see me We collide, couldn’t breathe I don’t want to let you make me feel small I don’t want to give you all the control But I don’t have anyone else I can call right now I just got hit by a car and you were the first thing on my mind I don’t want to give up if it’s true love But I think that I’ve been hurt enough Can it ever be the way that it was? I just got hit by car and you were the first thing on my mind I was riding my bike down Clinton street He turned right, didn’t see me We collide, I couldn’t breathe Flash of my life It must be fake All I saw were the golden rays of a perfect Thanksgiving day I don’t want to let you make me feel small I don’t want to give you all the control But I don’t have anyone else I can call right now I just got hit by a car and you were the first thing on my mind I don’t want to give up if it’s true love But I think that I’ve been hurt enough Can it ever be the way that it was? I just got hit by car and you were the first thing on my mind I don’t want let you make me feel small I don’t know if we should be talking at all It feels impossible to fill the space you left Im sorry if I’m not making any sense I just hit my head I don’t want to let you make me feel small I don’t want to give you all the control But I don’t have anyone else I can call right now I just got hit by a car and you were the first thing on my mind I don’t want to give up if it’s true love (True love!) But I think that I’ve been hurt enough (Enough!) Can it ever be the way that it was? (All I know is that I, all I know, all I know is that I loved you and that I miss you and now I’m crying in the middle of East Village) I just got hit by car and you were the first thing on my mind And I don’t know why this is the worst week of my fucking life and I don’t know why I feel the way I do But at the end of my life, that almost just happened, you were there and I was there inside my mind Inside… I just got hit by a car
3.
Numb 03:06
Paris in Autumn, Paris in June Time tries to uproot me, but I’m sticking with you Touch and go, baby; if you love me, then say that you do I got higher than I meant to be I see your hazel eyes on a screen A heavy mood of nostalgia and sadness comes over me Oxycodone and aspartame were supposed to take the feelings away, But I can’t go numb to you I can’t go numb I can’t go numb I can’t go numb I can’t go numb Paris in Autumn, Paris in June It’s sick how you treat me, what you put me through I’m searching desperately for a way to untangle myself from you I got higher than I meant to be I see your hazel eyes on a screen A heavy mood of nostalgia and sadness comes over me Oxycodone and aspartame were supposed to take the feelings away, But I can’t go numb to you I can’t go numb I can’t go numb I can’t go numb I can’t go numb
4.
Deeper 03:50
I was hanging with some girls from Gainesville last weekend We got some free shit from the weed man and then got way too high for no reason I blacked out that evening, but that’s just the way that glory goes Crossed as fuck and stumbling home, Brooklyn really looks like Rome You don’t believe me? Guess what you don’t have to When I woke up went straight to the bathroom and started yacking all over that loo And all I could think was how on my own, it really don’t feel like home and how much better it would be if you were scratching my back right now And the way we’ll build our love together is deeper, deeper than ever And the way we’ll build our love together is deeper, deeper than ever And the way we’ll build our love together is deeper, deeper than ever And the way we’ll build our love together is deeper, deeper than ever You know I got a new girlfriend and she has a house in the Hamptons and she has a car and she lives in Harlem, and her dad is gonna give me a job, so You know I’ve got the lush life now, so you can’t complain about my cheap towels because even though I’ve got the best in the world, you’re not coming over my house Not unless some things change, like she went back from whence she came, and you realize that things ain't the same and really you're missing all the old things Because summer is over, winter is coming, and soon we’ll both be in need of cuddle serotonin And the way we’ll build our love together is deeper, deeper than ever And the way we’ll build our love together is deeper, deeper than ever And the way we’ll build our love together is deeper, deeper than ever And the way we’ll build our love together is deeper, deeper than ever And the way we’ll build our love together is deeper, deeper than ever I’m folding paper into pyramids, I’m riding across the Brooklyn Bridge at 2 a.m., 3 a.m. (And the way we’ll build our love together is deeper, deeper than ever) Plums and peppers and fried plantains, to me, you are the sweetest thing, sweetest thing (And the way we’ll build our love together is deeper, deeper than ever) Cha cha real smooth to the beat of it, I want to get lost in the heat of it at 2 a.m., 3 a.m. (And the way we’ll build our love together is deeper, deeper than ever) And the way we’ll build our love together is deeper, deeper than ever I’m folding paper into pyramids, I’m riding across the Brooklyn Bridge at 2 a.m., 3 a.m. (And the way we’ll build our love together is deeper, deeper than ever) Plums and peppers and fried plantains, to me, you are the sweetest thing, sweetest thing (And the way we’ll build our love together is deeper, deeper than ever) Cha cha real smooth to the beat of it, I want to get lost in the heat of it at 2 a.m., 3 a.m. (And the way we’ll build our love together is deeper, deeper than ever)
5.
Somewhere East of Eden, I’m waiting for you Out where it’s waist deep, I’m wading toward you Don’t be afraid of things that you can’t control When you walk in circles, you don’t look behind you What if we were weightless and nothing defined you? We could be safer, we could be far from here Come out into the water, tsunami stones be damned Shapeshifter in the darkness, you know who I am Small things can last forever like footsteps on the moon You’re back where you belong, I’m still here with you Come out into the water, tsunami stones be damned Shapeshifter in the darkness, you know who I am Small things can last forever like footsteps on the moon You’re back where you belong, I’m still here with you
6.
Lately, I feel like I’ve been walking on a tightrope Lately, I feel like I’ve been holding up the sky on my back Lately, I feel like I’ve been disappointing everyone I remember when it didn’t use to feel like that And I don’t want to talk about it I don’t want to talk about it I just want to take this feeling out to the woods And leave it there to die, but it keeps following me, I can’t take it This heavy storm cloud of impotence and guilt So I put on a song to cry to A movie to cry through I’ve seen it a thousand times, but it just feels good to pretend That it all works out in the end and that everything is going to be fine A song to cry to
7.
The Garland 05:04
Hey babe, When I’m in LA I’m staying at the Garland I don’t want you to think I’m heartless I love you the most when I’m the farthest I won’t be the one that says you have to change I won’t be the one that takes your freedom away But my heart is a magnet not a video game So we can’t be together if you’re pulling away… I kissed your iliac crest Then you shaved my head Then we watched a movie I rode my bike to your house I spent the night in your bed When I woke up you were looking right through me 21 1/2, reading Sylvia Plath wondering why would you choose me I made it bigger than what it was That’s what an artist does We don’t have so much history do we? Hey babe, When I’m in LA I’m staying at the Garland I don’t want you to think I’m heartless I love you the most when I’m the farthest I won’t be the one that says you have to change I won’t be the one that takes your freedom away But my heart is a magnet not a video game So we can’t be together if you’re pulling away… The person I love is not the full person you are It’s the piece of you that’s sweet to animals in the park It’s the piece of you that’s holding on to me in the dark I know distance is what I need for the healing to start But I keep looking to you because you’re just like a star Hey babe, When I’m in LA I’m staying at the Garland I don’t want you to think I’m heartless I love you the most when I’m the farthest I won’t be the one that says you have to change I won’t be the one that takes your freedom away But my heart is a magnet not a video game So we can’t be together if you’re pulling away… Hey babe, When I’m in LA I’m staying at the Garland I don’t want you to think I’m heartless I love you the most when I’m the farthest I won’t be the one that says you have to change I won’t be the one that takes your freedom away But my heart is a magnet not a video game So we can’t be together if you’re pulling away…
8.
Jupiter 04:19
9.
Green Point 04:12
I wasn’t born rich so I have to work I wasn’t born a God, so I have to die I don’t think I will ever feel safe again, but I want to be next to you if I have to suffer in this life I could be in Alaska deep-sea fishing, offshore deep sea drilling But all I want to be is with you in Green Point Having a coffee just chilling, not talking about anything serious A quiet afternoon in Green Point And I’m sober now if that makes a difference I thought you would be happy to hear it I’m sorry the haze I was in made it hard to say the truth, that I love you Even more now than I did then and if I could do it all again I would find a way to be with you in Green Point Blonde and beige and black and blue Every color looks good on you and everything you touch turns to gold Every word you write is perfect and every photo you take has an angel floating in an orb I hate that we don’t talk anymore I could be in Alaska deep-sea fishing, offshore deep sea drilling But all I want to be is with you in Green Point Having a coffee just chilling, not talking about anything serious A quiet afternoon in Green Point And I’m sober now if that makes a difference I thought you would be happy to hear it I’m sorry the haze I was in made it hard to say the truth, that I love you Even more now than I did then and if I could do it all again I would find a way to be with you in Green Point I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry In Green Point In Green Point In Green Point In Green Point

about

Nicholas started recording 'drum + voice' towards the end of 2020 and the album largely took shape on the road. Like many young people during the pandemic, Nicholas became suddenly mobile after being unmoored from the traditional anchors of school, friends and employment. During his travels he would often pause to express what he was feeling through song: "In a way I think this album really sounds like a diary. The recording circumstances were always in flux, from bedrooms to trailers to basement apartments, though usually always with the same baby bottle mic or my iPhone." The result is a deeply personal work concerned with feelings of regret, insecurity and love.

The album's songwriting is deceptively simple with most lyrics appearing as causal observations before giving way to layers of interconnected meaning and imagery. Artists Priscilla Renea, Hillary Lindsay and Lana Del Rey were key inspirations in this area with Nicholas saying that "Their style of pop-songwriting, which is almost literary, is something that I try to reach in my work too." In contrast to the album's writing, its production has little in the way of outside influence, seven of the nine songs were produced by Nicholas alone and his goal with each was to get at the distinct sounds he was hearing in his head rather than any specific reference work. *drum + voice* achieves an open, airy and resonant aura reminiscent of The Postal Service's sparse and empty electro-pop meshed with Blood Orange's off-balance 80s soul pastiche.

credits

released June 30, 2023

Performed by Nicholas

Written by Nicholas Holden
Co-writing on track 5 by Evan Jacobson

Produced by Nicholas Holden
Co-production on track 5 by Evan Jacobson
Co-production on track 6 by Arthiom Dos Reis Furtado

Mixed by Greg Tock
Mastered by Zoltán Sindhu

Cover art designed by Nicholas DeMasi
Cover photo shot by Alison Dias

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about

Nicholas Los Angeles, California

folk-pop artist and producer working in southern california. writing songs feels like flying and it is the purpose of my life. i am inspired by artists like feist, lana del rey, and ryan beatty. My music can be described in three verbs:
- yearning
- dreaming
- swimming
... more

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