Mysterious alt-pop aficionado NANCY has just launched his second EP, ‘Happy Oddities’. True to its title, it’s five tracks of fun and experimentation that sees the newcomer blitzing together all manner of sounds in his musical blender, whizzing from vulnerable musings on anxiety, to jaunty whistling, to a fuzzy take on the Happy Days theme in a flash. Here, he talks us through the release, track by track.
Call Me On Your Telephone
Follow the breadcrumb trail, and you will find yourself listening to Scary Monsters, Remain in Light & Freedom Of Choice. The influences here are obvious, but I don’t care, and deliberately didn’t shy away from them, I just want to have fun, and this is exactly what I did. I recorded it in a day using this really weird James Murphy drum micing technique I found in an old magazine, and it sounded great! It took me ages to figure out how to patch all the bubbling test tube noises and artefacts on my synth, but it was worth it. Lick my tears
Hangin’ On For Dear Life
A total counterpoint to what you heard previously, this song is dark, reflective and sad. It’s totally encapsulated the anxiety and worry I felt when I wrote it during lockdown. I was listening to a bit of Sebastian Tellier and some Al Green at the time, and I think that really came through here.
Orange Yellow Orange
Inspired by a picture of Orange Yellow Orange by Rothko I had in my studio, this song is me at my most restraint. I have this constant urge to put fireworks and explosions into all of my songs, but this time, I was happy to let this one motor along and just be a feeling. I’ll see you on the other side.
Try To Take Time
I wanted to strip this song back to its barest form, and I like it a lot better because of that. Recorded in one take with two mics, this is me in a room expressing myself, nothing more nothing less – except an overdubbed piano that comes out of nowhere halfway through, haha.
Happy Days
This song in the context of 2020 takes on such an intensely ironic, sarcastic, perversion I HAD to include it in the line-up, it brings the EP full circle and pulls us out of the doldrums back into jovial oddball fun. They’re yours and my happy days.
NANCY’s ‘Happy Oddities’ EP is out now.
