Nishy “Memories From A Vinyl”
Memories From A Vinyl feels like a 16-minute sonic film that makes you forget about time and space. In between time and space, Nishy’s pulsing lo-fi aesthetic evokes nostalgia, while the hazy, floral soundscapes in the EP spiral disillusion and awakening with a touch of melancholia. Brewing an intimate, illusive late-night ambiance, her sexy, multi-lingual dialogues allure you with hushy whispers, late-night phone calls, and unapologetic confessions that dissolve into the airy, romantic atmosphere that is both smoothly luscious and rough-edged at the same time.
The melodies in the songs are deliciously addictive. As a debut release, Nishy certainly leaves a memorable impression, but Memories From A Vinyl is more than just a collection of songs. Nishy builds a world in Memories From A Vinyle with non-linear storytelling.
It feels so surreal, yet at the same time, disillusioned. Memories From A Vinyl revolves around a journey into a woman’s inner world—her sensuality and innocence, her strength and determination are all intertwined together. The EP is no doubt intimate, not just the raw-edged intricacy in its production, but the honesty and depth of the character. From the perspective of pain and struggle, Nishy explores the topic of self-worth, which makes listeners feel every slice of her heart pulse when the woman in Memories From A Vinyl share her voice.
Read our interview with the artist below where we talk about all things Memories From A Vinyl.
Punk Head: I love the intimate yet immersive atmosphere that you draw listeners into in Memories From A Vinyl. When did you first have the idea for the EP and how has this idea evolved through time?
Nishy: As far as I can remember, I think the first idea of Memories From A Vinyl came to me just before the lockdown in March 2020. I was inspired by the people around me and what they were going through at the time. Then one night, I felt a strange energy in the air and I couldn’t sleep at all. So, I put on some sweet Lofi-type beats and ASMR to sleep. Then I heard the sound of a vinyl scratching and in a flash, it came to me. I had like a vision in my head. It was the story of a woman remembering her own worth thanks to a romantic disillusionment. Then I could hear the melody of “MMT” in my head with the lyrics. I already had other melodies for other songs before but I didn’t know they would fit this project. So, when I finished assembling all my ideas, Memories From A Vinyl was born.
Through time, I replaced some songs with new ones because this project evolved a lot. I’ve been working with my co-creator Aryh Love Baker. He allowed me to dive deeper into the artistic aspects of Memories From A Vinyl and worked on all the technical aspects. It took some time to develop this project because I was going through a hard time in my personal life. And because of the global situation we were living in, we had to work from home for the creative process. Sometimes it wasn’t very easy but it gave me the last narrative aspects to nurture my debut EP.
PH: What are you most proud of about this EP?
Nishy: Oh, I love the immersive atmosphere of the project. I wanted my music to sound cinematic. The feedback I've had confirm this, so I'm very happy with it. A lot of people who listened to Memories From A Vinyl told me that they love the sound of the spinning vinyl. So do I, because I think it’s a very soothing sound and it is also the main element of the Lofi Aesthetic which creates the immersive ambiance. Also, I believe that the way I added spoken verses, whether it is in “Hello? It’s me...,” “MMT” or “Phase,” reinforces the intimate atmosphere. So, I’m very proud that I was able to do that.
PH: Can you tell us more about you as an artist?
Nishy: Well, I was born in France but my parents are from Mauritius. So I grew up listening to various genres of music ranging from French Chanson to Bollywood music. Also during my teenage years, I listened to a lot of American music including Pop, Hip Hop, and R&b. But one day as I came home from school, I discovered Nina Simone and I felt a deep connection with Soul music and Jazz. From this day, I knew that music would be a great part of my life. So, I started writing poems around the age of 15 then my very first songs at the age of 18. I have always been inspired by everything around me including the people who crossed my path. Their stories would inspire me with songs in which I could explore their emotions. In the beginning, I would compose melodies on the guitar or the piano. Then later, I discovered Logic Pro X and I understood that I could take my compositions to another level thanks to music production. Which is great because it allows me to give a cinematic atmosphere to my songs. I love to turn human experiences into musical creations. When it comes to music, my favorite part is the creative process. This is why I consider myself a music creator.
PH: Who are your biggest inspirations?
Nishy: As I mentioned in the previous question, Nina Simone is definitely one of my biggest inspirations. I would also listen to a lot of Alicia Keys in my teenage years. But at the moment, I’d say British singer and her eponymous band Sade. I love their musical universe, the arrangements, the soft vocals, and the ambiance... For Memories From A Vinyl, Sade remained one of my biggest inspirations. I was also musically inspired by Selena Gomez and Sabrina Claudio. Because before the creation of this project, I used to listen to the album Rare from Selena Gomez and I discovered Sabrina Claudio with her song “Stand Still” and her album Truth Is. Also, I discovered the Lofi Aesthetic and listened to a lot of Lofi beats on YouTube. So, I have many inspirations and the artists I’ve named are the ones who musically accompanied me during the creative process for Memories From A Vinyl.
PH: What is the one thing that you’d like your fans to know about you?
Nishy: Well… the one thing I’d like you to know is that it's been almost 3 years since I've heard the silence because I have tinnitus. This is the consequence of a noise trauma. I was working on the production of Phase which is the 4th track of my EP and I accidentally got hurt. I almost lost my hearing. But luckily, I got medical treatment in time and was able to fully recover my abilities after taking a break from my musical projects. It was a bit hard not to make music anymore because I felt like I was being deprived of what I loved doing the most: creating. But thankfully, all this was just a phase because now I can make music again while being careful. And I was finally able to release my EP Memories From A Vinyl last February. So today, I feel very grateful for everything because this experience allowed me to grow and evolve. This phase of my life taught me that no matter what is going on in life there is always hope. Always…
Remus Rujinschi “Tears In The Club - No Tears Mix”
Like a sonic shower that immerses your entire existence, filling your eyes with awe, “Tears in the Club - No Tears Version” finds a booming drone that fades and swirls, stirring a cinematic, sensuous, sultry atmosphere. It’s soundscapes are refreshing. Epic, heartfelt and intricate, with every layer and sound addition tuned to perfection. Remus Rujinschi is an artist. He creates an immersive listening experience with wonder and intrigues, placing you under a night-infused canvas.
“Tears in the Club - No Tears Version” doesn’t sweep your feet off of the ground, but it pulls your heartstring and stirs butterflies in your blood and soul. Sensuous, smooth vocal rise and sink in the evershifting, swirling storm of shimmering sounds, flirtatious and visually vivid. Then it transitions into a fluttering, fuzz-edged gentle blow up. The contrast is there, but the sensibility and intricacy remain.
Compare to the original version, the remake is heartfelt, sonically complex and multi-dimensional. Rujinschi explains that the original song was designed as an opening for live show, while the remix calls for a vibrant studio retouch. “No Tears Version” scales effective and imaginative world-building.
Read our interview with Rujinschi below and learn all things music composition and production!
Punk Head: I love how you experimented with the original “Tears in the Club” in the “No Tears Version.” It certain breaks free from the original format. Can you tell us a little about your experience doing the remix of this song?
Remus Rujinschi: I have started a new project and at one point I urgently needed an opening song to have a structure which should fit my needs for my future shows, so the original song is not structured for the online audience nor for the radios. It is meant to reach a younger and larger audience, but not a clear genre, so I was looking for EDM sounds which could fuse with trap high hats or other percussion elements. This version leaves the impression it has been made simply in very few chords and some elements, but in reality it is not, the harmony has been intentionally open for live additions and the theme response has been moved to percussion samples for more space, despite the voice sounds commercial, or the song is underground and experimental.
The remix version started with a new ProTools session opened ad-hoc where I have removed few elements from the previous song—elements which I have considered unfit for the large audience, like for example, the high-pitched voice on refrain and the mix. I have re-processed and mixed the previous sounds and created a list with the results of the mixing and mastering workflow and then sent it with a few guidelines to Metropolis Studios—practically it was my first experience with Metropolis.
PH: What do you like the best about this track?
Rujinschi: What I really like is the voice and the execeptionally touch of this track which belongs to the mastering engineer Andy 'Hippy' Baldwin. Andy has worked with a number of his musical influences including The Who, Blur, The Orb and UB40 and an impressive number of other artists. You can listen online the High resolution and the CD version of this song which sounds better than the streaming version at remusrujinschi.com.
PH: What do you aim to accomplish in the near future?
Rujinschi: I really feel like I need to close the gap of this new project which turned out to be a never-ending chain of a plethora of components which are anything but music composition and production. Most of them are related to project management and specific label activities. I would like to focus on my music in a way that can mean something special to the others.
PH: Who are your biggest influences?
Rujinschi: I have been performing during the years across various genres, but the next 3 songs will include elements of style with a sound inspired by electronic music producers and artists like Ninski, Oliver, Avaion, Illangelo, KSHMR, Rob Late, and Chainsmokers.
My next 3 songs can be described as Pop with guitars and a uniquely fun and funky sound, but in the essence they will contain EDM soundscapes and addressed to live performance.
PH: What is the one thing that you’d like your fans to know about you?
Rujinschi: They should know that I really work hard, and I'm constantly learning and improving my abilitie to provide them quality sounding songs—not the first versions of the songs but professional, experienced releases possible for theirs satisfaction.
Ann Marie Nacchio ‘it's been a day, a week, a month, a year’
Unconventional, inspired, and rebellious—Ann Marie Nacchio’s it’s been a day, a week, a month, a year features thrilling sonics and honest storytelling. The album sees the breaking and rebuilding of structure and form in dynamic, confrontational manners. Continuity and departure creates friction in between songs. “Kismet” journeys to the deep ocean of truth through a filmic lens, opening in the massive, ground-shaking sound of a grand piano. Clashing, explosive, bizarre and dark-entranced, Nacchio’s stunningly smooth vocal in contrast with that is simply breathtaking.
“Loose-Lipped Love” is simply impressive. Its industrial grunge soundscape creates such a drastic vibe, while the airy background vocals spiral and swirl through an awe-infused trance. Even though it’s ginormous in its world-building scale, the track doesn’t lack intimacy and emotional vulnerability. Nacchio’s expressive vocal pulls your heart strings. “Maybe” highlights a Phoebe Bridger dairy style storytelling with emotive, orchestral soundscapes. The dynamic “Dead Flowers” then travels back to cinematic, heartfelt piano, while “Manic” induces a hypnotic, mesmerizing experience. What channeled through her is just incredible. it’s been a day, a week, a month, a year is inspired and eclectic.
In our interview, Nacchio revealed that the whole album poured out of her a few years ago in one set. Read the full clip below:
Punk Head: I like your cinematic style of storytelling. It’s very refreshing! How was the writing process for It’s been a day, a week, a month, a year?
Ann Marie Nacchio: The songs just poured out of me a couple years back—I was feeling particularly inspired at the time. All the songs are about the same subject, and all were written within a year of each other. I teamed up with producer Adam Tilzer to bring these songs to life in early 2022, and it was almost as if it was still being written—many of the songs moved in completely unexpected directions.
PH: Since your debut album, Little Dangers, you have released two EP. That’s very prolific compare to most musicians. Where do you usually find your inspirations?
Ann Marie Nacchio: From life experience. These songs are very dear to me, and very personal. I was defintiely a little nervous to put these songs out in the world, like I was being "seen." it's been a day, a week, a month, a year is a phrase I would often say, especially at that time in my life, so I felt like it encapsulated the entire EP. This EP is actually part 1 of a larger whole called The Outward Spiral, which was just released this March 3. Both have been written for some time, it just took a little while to actually record them.
PH: What’s your favorite song on It’s been a day, a week, a month, a year? Can you tell us more about the song?
Ann Marie Nacchio: It is really hard to pick a favorite; it's like trying to pick a favorite child! If I did have to pick though, I probably have two, both which I love for different reasons. “Friend” is among my favorites because I think it is a prime example of my writing style, both lyrically and harmonically. I consider it to be the best song I've ever written (though some may disagree). I am proud of how densely packed the lyrical content is-- every line comes fully loaded with information, from the way they are said to the adjectives used. It's all very deliberate. It is also a complete and accurate retelling of the experiences that led to the writing of the entire EP. My other favorite would be “Loose-Lipped Love,” mostly because of the epic transformation it underwent. It began as a finger-picked acoustic song and Adam turned it into a grungy, almost industrial groove, which is right up my alley. It's also a fan favorite.
PH: Is there a pivotal moment in your creative journey?
Ann Marie Nacchio: I've been performing my whole life, as well as been writing songs my entire life, so neither performing nor writing anything would have been particularly pivotal for me. I would say, however, that my debut release was really important in my creative journey. All debut releases are important, but Little Dangers is a sort of greatest hits of all the songs I've written since college. I recorded and engineered everything myself for the most part. It took years to finish, because of life getting in the way, but that release sort of opened the floodgates, as I had this entire EP written before it even was able to come out. I was completely ready to go once it was released.
PH: What’s coming up next for Ann Marie Nacchio?
Ann Marie Nacchio: I'm working on some new music, doing some co-writes as well, but I haven't entered the recording stage just yet. I think my focus will be more on singles for now, and I'm hoping to have a single out before the end of the year!
Street Legal “Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow”
“Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow” dives into the subject of nostalgia and reflect on people recalling the good old days through rose-colored glasses. Change evokes nostalgia. In the neon-infused, retro-enriched sonic storytelling, “Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow,” just like its piercing title, spares no more words and tackles the highly relatable feeling of nostalgia with Street Legal’s impressionistic, minimalistic execution.
The track opens with a retro groove humbly laced with hazy psychedelic. The blend of synth and rock creates an illusive, alluring soundscape that breathes and shifts along the lyrics. The drums lead the hearts, tuning to the beating and rhythm of a lost decade. There’s a reawakening of feelings covered in dust, traveling across time into your ears.
“Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow” feels like a poetry in the sonic form with words that act the same way our memory does—like a snapshot, the recall of sense, subject, change, and taste. Like when you close your eyes, part of you travels back. But just like the body that stands in the present, its sonic palette is also fresh and exciting.
“Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow” is the debut release from Street Legal. The band teases more new music coming the way and an Australia tour, which will kick off in October. Check out our interview with the band and stay tuned!
Punk Head: I love the groove and the unique sonic palette of “Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow.” Can you tell us a bit more about the song?
Street Legal: Thank you! It’s a song about growing older and perhaps getting caught up too much in nostalgia—e.g the end of the millennium being the perfect decade to grow up in many people’s minds, when really there were probably things that people were just as anxious or fucked up about back then.
PH: What was your favourite moment in making the music video?
Street Legal: I really enjoyed working with Kris and Harry on bringing their vision to life—the only inspiration or cue I gave them was from a Protomartyr video I really liked and they went from there. I like how the film clip slowly descends into madness.
PH: What do you aim to accomplish in the near future?
Street Legal: The band have been working with engineer Colby Robertson who has worked with a variety of Adelaide bands on a new single which will come out with a film clip later in the year. Then hopefully an interstate tour. Australia is a very big place!
PH: Who are your biggest inspirations?
Street Legal: LCD Soundsystem, Icehouse, Kirin J Callinan. Lately we’ve been listening to Weyes Blood, Coldwave and Ice Spice.
PH: What is the one thing that you’d like your fans to know about you?
Street Legal: There will be no refunds available from the concession stand.