NIK:11 releases new single

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeKCXAVm52c

Detroit, Michigan is home to one of the most competitive music scenes in the entire world. Complete with a history of producing some of the most formidable characters in all of rock, soul, pop, R&B, hip-hop and electronic music, Detroit isn’t a city that any musician or music critic overlooks when it comes to scouting out new talent. And while there is virtually a limitless supply of exciting acts constantly emerging from its scene, lately the biggest name being thrown around in the state of Michigan and the Great Lakes region as a whole has got to NIK:11, the indie techno star responsible for “4Play,” which has arguably been the most discussed club song of the summer.

There’s an exotic, almost international feel to “4Play” that immediately makes it recognizable as being different than anything else coming out of the Detroit scene, and for that matter the United States at large currently. NIK:11’s music has never felt like it held an allegiance to one particular school of electronica over another, but this track is a particularly transcendent work for her and might be her most accessible single yet. She’s wowed hordes of people at the Lollapalooza festival and at a number of much hyped performances in Europe and Asia, and you can tell that her travels have had a big impact on her sound. This is music for a generation of listeners who are citizens of the world, and it’s release couldn’t have come at a better moment in history.

This current generation of musicians of which NIK:11 is a part of is far more ambitious and open-minded to new ideas about recording and performing than any other than has come before them. Where once artists looked at recording as a limiting exercise compared to the effectiveness of going out on stage and connecting directly with their listeners, now thanks to technology the studio has become a more sacred place where any and every dream can be realized completely without having to make any changes or compress any concepts. I never thought I would say this, but I think we’ve got a generation on our hands that has the ability to make music that is more powerful and intimate than it was ever intended to be. It’s an intrepid notion, but these are intrepid artists.
NIK:11’s sound is pretty eclectic, and while its overall format could be polished and refined a bit further than it is now, we overwhelmingly get the idea of what her artistry is really all about when listening to “4Play.” Great music doesn’t need a lot of frills or additional cosmetic bits to make it relatable and tangible to a variety of listeners. It just has to have good bones and an artist capable of performing it out to its full potential, which is precisely the case with this single. Get out and secure a copy of “4Play” for yourself and you’ll see what I mean. NIK:11 is ready for primetime, the real question is whether or not primetime is ready for her.

BEATPORT: https://www.beatport.com/track/4play-original-mix/10906988

Michael Rand