AUGUST 18, 2021 (New York, NY) — “You can’t bullshit a bullshitter and I’m the greatest of them all. Are you gonna be corrupt or are you gonna be honest? You can’t be both at the same time, though many people would like to be one and have you believe they are the other,” says NYC-based indie electronic funk artist Nick Vivid about his new single “Hush Money (Straight to the Bribe)”, out today from his upcoming LP No More Secrets (release date: November 12, 2021 via MegaPlatinum Records). The record release party for No More Secrets will take place at Brooklyn’s All Night Skate (54 Rockaway Ave Brooklyn, NY 11233) on November 13.
As the new single is about choices, Nick has learned much from observing people making decisions based on self-serving fear and greed. He adds, “I have to make choices about who I am gonna be and what I’m gonna be about… and live with the consequence of those choices. The ‘bribe’ in the song is the alluring ‘shortcut’ to the fake ‘easier’ solution. But for me, that doesn’t work. I’ve tried.”
While Nick is a front man/solo musician/song and dance man, he is also a multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass, drums, keys) as well as an engineer and producer – an all-encompassing artist. He explains, “I wrote the first half of the main riff of ‘Hush Money (Straight to the Bribe)’ on the Fender Rhodes on a Monday, the second half of the riff the next day, and two days after that had the chorus riff. They fit together just right.”
A near collision with a bicyclist informed the “Hush Money (Straight to the Bribe)” vocals (“apparently he didn’t like how close my van was to the bike lane”). Nick recorded the vocals the day after the incident and explained, “I don’t like being in an angry headspace, but it was probably necessary for this song in retrospect.”
About laying the “Hush Money” lyrics over the video of his younger self playing drums, Nick reflects, “It seemed like my future self was giving my six-year-old self an ominous warning about my future. ‘Hey kid, you have no idea what you are in for.’ It had a power and weight that I didn’t think it would have until I saw the finished product, which is nice. I’m glad that happened.”
Introduced to soul and blues music that bleeds through his music, Vivid was raised in Buffalo, NY to a radio DJ father and a glam rock-loving mother whose musical tastes shaped his musical output. Eventually moving to NYC to work with Bill Aucoin (original manager of KISS and Billy Idol), Nick released a handful of earlier albums but based his new album No More Secrets on themes revolving around the loss of both of his parents in recent years and the life lessons he’s learned from what he calls “intensive meditative pandemic soul searching.” The melodic soulful “I Wanna Reign Again” was a commentary on the pandemic in time to a killer wah wah beat. The dance funk track “Trainers” was the first song Nick wrote for the new LP that he knew would make the final cut. “It was that lightbulb moment. OK, this is gonna be the vibe of the album,” he said of the track upon completion. The lo-fi synth vibe of “Blackmail” sets the atmosphere for threats never becoming true. Nick adds, “Take what you want from me, you’ll never get my soul and my spirit. Good luck to ya.”
Not beholden to any trends, Nick states, “I think I’ve found a way to fuse everything I love about ‘60s psychedelic funk, ‘70s glam rock, ‘80s new wave, and ‘90s hip hop into my own voice. I’ve had friends tell me this is my best album, and others tell me they don’t get it at all, but that it definitely sounds like me. I can appreciate that.”
Nick’s live concerts are a visual extension of his sonic palette, style and vibe, incorporating synchronized video and light effects working in time with his edgy dance moves and falsetto vocals reminiscent of Prince and Pharrell.
No More Secrets by Nick Vivid will be released on November 12viaMegaPlatinumRecords. “Hush Money (Straight to the Bribe)” is released today, August 18. The No More Secrets record release party will take place at All Night Skate in Brooklyn, NY on November 13. Nick Vivid is available for interviews.
1 – Trainers
2 – We Can Ride
3 – Hush Money (Straight to the Bribe)
4 – Blackmail
5 – No More Secrets
6 – I Wanna Reign Again
7 – Ain’t Enough
8 – The Sky is Falling
9 – Blank Slate
