Niko May of Free Zorba The Hooligan Releases Two Singles Back To Back
This month, Niko May, lead singer of the noise rock band Free Zorba The Hooligan, has released two singles just a week apart from each other. Starting with INK (I Never Know) on October 12, the song experiments with glitchy guitar and vocals. He followed with Dream Killer on the 22nd, a more structured song with clearer lyrics and a smooth synth melody. His first solo music to be released, the songs clearly show his influence and exercises what he can to do musically. I was able to ask him a few questions about the songs.
NOIZE: How long was the process of making each of the songs?
NIKO: Dream killer, I worked on sporadically over the course of a year. I wasn’t too accustomed to the synth-heavy formula, so I took my time to experiment before settling on anything
INK I wrote and produced in an hour, touched it up the next day, and it was done, it’s almost like a computer jam ahah
NOIZE: How do you describe the songs to people who haven’t heard them yet?
NIKO: The music is spacey and chill but still heavy. It has a rock quality in the tones and anger it carries, as well as R&B-inspired rhythms. The lyrics are honest and vulnerable, revealing inner battles
NOIZE: How do you feel about the way that they turned out? Is there one song that you like better?
NIKO: They’re opposite approaches, so it’d be hard to compare them. I’d even say they’re complementary in the sense that now that I’ve had an experimentation phase and I found a sound I like, I will be able to ride with it for a bit and work faster, which I’m excited about
NOIZE: What are your main sonic inspirations for these songs?
NIKO: I was listening to a lot of boundary-less stuff like Slauson Malone, Aphex Twin, Frank Ocean, as well as the very dramatic old school Italian tunes my mother raised me on ahah So interesting juxtapositions of tones and good storytelling
Niko May by Sixtine Cail
NOIZE: Do you have any other experience releasing solo projects?
NIKO: I’ve been writing songs since I was ten, so it was about letting the music and stories mature as well as gathering up the courage to be publicly vulnerable I think
NOIZE: What are some things you got to play around with technique/sound wise in these new songs?
NIKO: When I wrote Dream Killer I had just undergone surgery on my wrist, so I only had one hand for a few weeks, and naturally turned to the only instrument I could play then, which was my keyboard. So the song originally happened with me messing around with synth sounds; it was more of a sound design approach, which was new to me, relying on textures and tones instead of chord progressions
I wrote and produced INK with very little equipment and in a short amount of time. like the bass I recorded with my guitar and I literally kept the first vocal take I did, when I didn’t even have any lyrics or melody. I kept the first thing that came to mind. I found it interesting to keep this vocal and have the track be as real as possible.
NOIZE: How do you find the difference between working with a band and working on solo music?
NIKO:When I work on my own, everything is faster, obviously because you don’t have to combine everybody’s different views and ideas, so I suppose that I can let it flow more naturally without overthinking it, and I love switching between instruments and seeing the track come to life bit by bit. I then reach some kind of flow state, I suppose.
NOIZE: What’s something you want to try for music you want to release in the future?
NIKO: Having an actual release plan ahah
NOIZE: is Dream Killer about a certain person or type of person you've encountered
NIKO:It comes from a personal feeling, but battling with an inner voice telling you you can’t do something, let’s call it self-sabotage, is a universal experience, I think.
Niko May By Sixtine Cail
These new songs mark the beginning of Niko’s solo career. Overall, these genre-bending and experimental songs bring something to the table that hasn’t been heard before. I look forward to seeing what else Niko comes out with.
