Danish artist Nille Nyc first came to our attention late last year when we included her single Wiser in our round up of the best seasonal songs. She promised more to come and now, a few months later, we have Nille’s debut EP, PowerPainPillsPercussion. A collection of catchy, dark and edgy electronic songs, each represents one of the four p’s of the title: power (‘Safe Island’) ,pain (‘Land of Hope’) ,pills ‘((Not) Okay’) and percussion (‘Birds of Prey’).
Starting with ‘Land of Hope’, the EP embraces the concept of pain – how complicated and hurtful life can be. Yet, at the same time, the human spirit continually looks forward with hope. Nille sings “…trouble is I can’t be in your life and still pay the price…take me to the land of hope.” This simple line encapsulates every experience we have as humans, the need to connect despite the potential for pain. Nille’s beautiful, breathy vocals are allowed to shine through at the beginning of this track before building up towards the land of hope.
Moving into the second song, ‘(Not) Okay’, here we find Nille describing feelings associated with mental illness and the often used support of anti depressant medication. The soft opening bars take the listener through the song as if in a fog of emotion; one moment, joyful and the next, falling. The lyric “emotion slowly dying” and “coming out of a nightmare” both eloquently express the sometimes opaque world of suffering with mental ill health. Throughout, the refrain of “I’m okay” serves as a reassurance but of course, we know that it’s not really ok.
The EP ends with the track relating to power, ‘Safe Island’ – and it seems appropriate to end with this, having come through the pain and the pills. Although the arrangement sounds musically darker that the three tracks before, the song itself sounds positive and in control. The percussive elements of the EP as a whole, having wound their way along the four tracks, mix beguilingly with the distinctive arrangements and the clear, melodious vocals to present a harmonious finish.
Nille’s advice for aspiring musicians is combines the practical with the pragmatic –
Hard work, don’t take no for an answer and hire good people to do what you cannot do by yourself.
She could have added learn to do as much as you can yourself – Nille produces as much of her work as she can herself, as well as writing all her own material.
PowerPainPillsPercussion was released on 12 May. Get your copy here.
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