Interview with Nico Davis at The Fire
Nico Davis photographed by Brian Spagna @non.photo.blew
When looking at the local music scene, we often surround ourselves with rock-adjacent music only. Don’t get me wrong, I love that music and covering that scene, but there is a wide range of local music out there. Nico Davis is an alternative R&B artist from the South Jersey area, honing a signature melancholic sound. His lyrics and instrumentals feel very vulnerable and emotionally exposed. Whether he is writing about a relationship or a missed job opportunity, the music is atmospheric and carries a moodiness with it. Outside of his own music, Davis never fails to bring attention to the up-and-coming R&B and hip-hop artists of the South Jersey/Philly area. Most recently, he curated a show at The Fire in Philadelphia with a range of underground artists from this scene. I had the fortune of speaking with him after the show to further discuss his music and plans for the new year.
This interview took place on December 19, 2024
I know your first release was about a year ago, but when did you start creating your own music?
[Nico] So, pretty much as long as I can remember, I've been doing music or some sort of creative thing. I've been singing and playing piano for about 10 years. I taught myself guitar when I was a senior in high school, so like five or six years ago. I learned how to play bass like a year ago, and I've been teaching myself production since I was like 15 or 16.
When I was in high school, like 2018, I did a summer camp for songwriting. I wrote the world's worst song and stayed for a week in New York. It was like a Manhattan summer camp at Pace University, I think. I got a copy of, I don't even know if they make it anymore, but it's called Propellerhead Reason. Weirdest setup in the world for a DAW, but it had some pretty good sounds. I got logic like six months later because I just got frustrated. I just switched to Ableton a couple months ago, and I’ve been making music pretty much on my own for like the last six years or so. For my capstone project at Rowan, I had to put out an EP. I had to make and produce an EP and then promote it. So, I’ve been putting out music ever since then, because people seem to like it.
You have had very consistent releases this entire year. How much planning went into that?
[Nico] A little bit more planning now, but pretty much just riding by the seat of my pants. I'm always recording, and my philosophy around recording is if it's not my favorite song, I'm not going to finish it. So, for example like “cherry,” I had that in the works since like January of [2024]. That was recorded at the Rowan little studio, not the big one, but like the little one that's kind of like just for recording vocals. I had that in the works, finished recording it in my friend's basement in May, and then put it out a couple weeks later.
You performed a cover of “Last Christmas” by Wham! during your set, and your latest release was “not another christmas song (alone for christmas)”. What is your favorite Christmas song?
[Nico] I feel like anytime you work retail, your opinion of Christmas music goes through an entire spectrum of opinions. I don't necessarily have one favorite Christmas song, but I have a couple.
Okay, let's hear them.
[Nico] Number one, of course, Donny Hathaway’s, “This Christmas.” Number two, Wham, “Last Christmas.” Three, I don't even know if it's a Christmas song, but “Celebrate Me Home” by Kenny Loggins. Shout out to Kenny Loggins.
Do you know the video of Patti LaBelle and she's singing and she's like, “Where's my cue cards? Where's my cue cards?” That is what I think of every time I hear, “This Christmas.”
[Nico] Shout out to Patti LaBelle. What are some other ones? I feel like any Frank Sinatra Christmas cover.
I'm a big fan of Carpenters’ Christmas album.
[Nico] I love “Merry Christmas Darling.” “Merry Christmas Darling” is number five. Love Carpenters.
Nico Davis photographed by Brian Spagna @non.photo.blew
Your songs are very emotional and vulnerable. How does the songwriting process work for you?
[Nico] I kind of base it on experiences that I have and then apply it in a way, so my songs are like stories. It's like kind of telling a story to someone about something that happened to me. Like I said during the show, my song “fake the funk,” I wrote that after I got declined from a job application. Shout out to whichever AI auto-generated decline letter inspired that song. “margarita” for example, I wrote that about somebody that I used to be friends with. “light your fire,” I wrote about some experience I had with producing with somebody.
There was a piece of advice that I learned at that songwriting camp: we have enough experiences in our life that we could write a million songs about it. Like I could write a song about stubbing my toe or something. That's kind of the way I see it. I kind of see albums as movies, like musical movies where each song is a scene. That's like the cheesiest answer. Or even like where I take influence from particularly in my visual choices, like with “light your fire” the cover was kind of inspired by “Narcos.”
What were some of your influences when making “light your fire?”
[Nico] With that one, I kind of wanted to make something that was a little bit different. A lot of my stuff was really boom bap inspired like J Dilla, Madlib, A Tribe Called Quest, and then D'Angelo, artists like that. On [light your fire], I kind of wanted it to be a little bit more spacey and to have a little bit more of a bounce to it. Around that time, I was really listening to a lot of Doja Cat, James Blake, and people like that. They have that kind of feel where it’s more upbeat, even if it's still my sad kind of instrumentation over top of it. In terms of the vocals, I was really influenced by how Mk.gee records his vocals. It's really doubled, like I doubled the crap out of it.
You can definitely hear the Mk.gee influence.
[Nico] Mk.gee without guitars.
Who is a dream collaborator for you musically?
[Nico] I have an entire Google Doc of artists that are my dream to work with. First of all, I'd love to work with Frank Ocean and have him actually get music out. James Blake is a huge one. A lot of my top collaborators are pop artists just because I really want to hear what they would sound like with a different sound. Probably Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande, and The Weeknd. I feel like The Weeknd.
You have to take him out of whatever he's in right now. His last two albums were not for me.
[Nico] Really? I like the 80s thing. I don't know how I feel about “Popular” with Playboi Carti, though.
“The Idol” is where he really lost me. He's a little too corny.
[Nico] This is probably going to torch whatever opportunity I have to work with him. I only watched one episode of “The Idol,” and I literally turned it off halfway through because I couldn't hear anything. The sound mixing, I don't know what they were cooking. At least with movies if you have issues hearing with them *cough* “Oppenheimer” *cough* you could at least make the excuse that they're mixing it for big theaters. I don't know what they were thinking when it comes to how “The Idol” was mixed. Sam Levinson is kind of like the ultimate example of a director who can't write as a cinematographer.
I know you have an album coming out soon, how much can you share? Will any of the singles that you've released already be a part of that album?
[Nico] So, “light your fire” is going to be on it. I performed two songs from the album tonight as well, “meant to be” and “dream of us” that are here. “meant to be” has a lot of guitar on it. A little change of pace from what I usually do.
A little more Mk.gee.
[Nico] Yeah. Nic.dee. And we're both from Jersey.
Do you have an album name already?
[Nico] It is going to be called Death of the Author. When it's coming out, I have no idea.
But it will be out next year for sure? 2025 for sure?
[Nico] Absolutely.
Support Nico Davis by pre-saving his first single of 2025, “meant to be,” which releases January 10. You can also show support through Instagram, all streaming platforms, and by heading to any of his shows.