From the Archives: An Intimate Interview with Indie Artist/NYC Busker, Nicola

With the general flotsam of ‘summer music’ dissipating in the wake, we embark upon fall; a season that demands of us a certain level of introspection, of reflection, of soul searching and contemplation. It’s not that the music of summer is all necessarily bad, but it does have a certain ‘feeling’; it feels sweet and innocuous, poppy and pedestrian, family fare that asks little of us, except to plumb the depths of a saccharine saturated marketplace that is replete with gimmicks and sadly amiss of substance. The music demands little, gives us little and most often fades away like sideburns and boy bands, possibly one day being resurrected for the sake of nostalgia, so you can share a laugh with your kids and grandkids. But fall feels different; and no one gives voice to this difference, this change in seasons than Nicola; one of the most self empowered women on the indie scene today. In her latest release, Canyons and Cathedrals, she creates a strong, sweeping atmospheric affect that is epic in intent, focused in direction, dauntless in nature and cinematic in actualization.

If you're looking for rock music that refuses to indulge in clichés, soften its edges or resort to hackneyed stereotypes, this album is for you. With Canyons and Cathedrals, the lion voiced Nicola, delivers music that is compelling, designed to stand the test of time; an album not to be listened to, but to steal from the Hendrix mantra, to be experienced. And what that experience captures is a soundtrack of life in 14 tracks; incorporating rock, soul, blues, pop, ballad, jazz, even instrumental. “I am not sure if I have ever consciously set about to choose any specific type of music to write, perform or record ever,” explains Nicola. “I grew up with so many musical influences and styles and my music has always been a fusion or a hybrid pop/rock/soul. I think as artists we are always evolving and there are times when your life or your experiences steer you in one direction or another, and what happens is inevitably your music reflects that.” To cover such a large canvas is no easy task, but her lyrics and delivery are what define the album, rendering it a complete and cohesive masterpiece at the end of the 55 minute journey.

The music itself is powerful; the lyrics pure poetry; Nicola’s voice passionately executing crystal clear highs and lows, with perfection; much like the canyons and cathedrals that the album is titled. “The inspiration or idea behind Canyons and Cathedrals came to me as I have always been fascinated by the fact that those two places are two of the most spiritual, expansive and yet desolate places I can think of. One is man-made, and the other is part of nature and yet they are both so incredibly magical and mystical in their own right,” she says.

Nicola is a Native New Yorker, born and bred of a city that is known for its grit and grime, Jimmy Choo wearing-Latte drinking Type A personalities that never sleep and home to countless dreams; some that soar, some that crash and burn on the pavement. New York is not an easy city, but she’s not a hard city. She is a city that is inscribed with flavors of all things, a city where the world continually arrives and departs. Raised in the projects of the Lower East Side, a once predominantly Jewish neighborhood, filled with the aromas of ethnic foods and music of other tongues; home to the infamous Rivington Street and Alphabet City. Nicola grew up in a typical middle class family; her father a mechanic, her mother a nurse; the sounds of Stevie Wonder and Nina Simone filling their home. Today, both the Lower East Side and the middle class are rapidly disappearing; but from these humble beginnings, Nicola laid claim to solid roots in the world of the arts. At the age of seven, a guitar was firmly in her hand; at age eleven, piano would be added. She would go on to attend The Fiorello High School of the Arts, well known as the backdrop for the 1980 hit film Fame. Later she would study dance and acting, training at the Manhattan School of Music and Queens College and eventually land on the critically acclaimed Broadway and National Road Companies of Les Miserables.

In her heart and soul, Nicola is an indie artist. Indie is not a genre; it is a state of mind, a work ethic; an artist is someone who actively practices their craft, who is committed to continued growth and consistently puts that craft into the world. Together the combination creates a force to be reckoned with. “As an indie artist you have 100% complete control over your music, production, copyrights, publishing and virtually how you do everything from performance to recording, style, image, you name it,” says Nicola. “On the other side of the coin, you have to run your entire business by yourself which includes marketing, publicity, booking without the help of a major label or a team behind you and it can be exhausting at times - almost like having several full-time jobs.” And for the past ten+ years, Nicola has been doing exactly that; everything! From booking to touring, performing in clubs and on the streets of New York City, recording and garnering friends and lifelong fans along the way.

On Nicola’s fifth album, “Canyons and Cathedrals”, we find an artist whose life experiences and journey, successfully inform the music and convey a depth of emotion that are raw and pure in style and articulation. It is, above all else, an artist returning to herself, to her calling, to her inspiration, to her life, which in the interim has had challenges and rewards; highs and lows. “The songs on this album were conceived at a particularly contemplative time in my life,” she explains, “not in a religious way, but rather in a more spiritually poetic way. There were some tough moments I was going through at the time and somehow I just started writing poetry to get me through it.”

The volume is loud, without being deafening. The sonics are full-bodied, without being overpowering and the tracks soar and swoop, without leaving the listener behind. The fun, sexy little ditty, Talk Is Cheap, provides rip roaring power chords, along with tongue in cheek humor that will delight male and female fans. A Thousand Tears, delivers a poetry infused rock and roll hybrid tune, with tinges of Bonnie Raitt rasp and KT Tunstall strength of delivery. It’s a frisky rock gem, with heartfelt traces of pop. The title track, Canyons and Cathedrals, appears as #13 on the album, and opens with a restrained, yet bombastic guitar solo. Nicola does what many female musicians do not, or cannot. She forges ahead with a trademark nonconformist attitude, playing guitar with balls and belting out lyrics with gravitas. The combination makes for a gut wrenchingly, beautifully intense album.

Fall Away, which concludes the album, is a winner, and is one of the rare times, when the first and final songs are as strong as one another. Her bluesy-jazzy sound blends with strong, sensitive vocals, providing for a soul-baring project, one song upon the next. “I have always said...you don't choose music...it chooses you...and I can't imagine doing anything else.” We can’t imagine it either.

#buskers