Chicago Singer nicholas Releases “888-BE-BRAVE,”
Chicago singer and songwriter Nick McMillan, who releases music simply as nicholas. After releasing his lush experimental R&B album HEAT ISLAND EFFECT last fall, he’s sharing several singles over the next few months to show a different, more stripped-down and vulnerable side of his songwriting with co-songwriting and production by Marcus Darling (Wyatt Waddell, E Woods).
His new single “888-BE-BRAVE” captures this best. The song itself is an exercise in vulnerability, as Nick recorded it in one take with guitar and vocals at the same time, reflecting the direct honesty of the song. Week In Pop wrote yesterday the song “is like a self-therapy session to sing to yourself when feeling alone or overwhelmed. With backing vocals by Manasseh, nicholas’ fear of the unknown is faced with an open and wary heart.”
He brought a few friends to help flesh out the vision for his new singles, including Marcus for production and composing along with Manasseh (Johari Noelle, AMI) for background vocals and Brok Mende (KAINA, Sen Morimoto) for mixing and mastering. These new songs offer as much as his other songs despite being stripped-down, focusing instead on how vocals, guitar, and building an atmosphere can give a full experience too.
Nick will also be sharing more songs from these sessions later this summer as a series of standalone singles.