Photo credit: Jordana Rubenstein-Edberg
FFO# Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor, and Aimee Mann
LISTEN TO THE “KEEPIN’ EYES”
PENNSYLVANIA | Jan. 13, 2023: Alt/Indie artist Nicole Saphos releases “Keepin’ Eyes” on January 13th, the first single from a forthcoming full-length album ‘Figure Eights’ dropping in February to all streaming platforms. Inspired by her thoughts surrounding patterns and compulsive behaviors, Saphos writes this piece from the point of view of a practiced lurker, who seeks control by constantly surveying their partner’s misgivings.
The lyrical tone brings to mind the 60’s classic by The Who, “I Can See For Miles” whereas the artist took inspiration from the Netflix special “You” and even The Flamingos’ slightly offbeat hit “I Only Have Eyes For You”. Being slightly offbeat is actually the part of Nicole Saphos’ music that has brought her fans, as she is able to blend her background in jazz and love of indie rock into genre-bending music that has been compared to artists such as Fiona Apple and Regina Spektor.
The music was recorded in Nicole’s living room, right from the vintage Fender Rhodes visible in the backdrop of her album cover. Nicole performs the electric bass, Fender Rhodes, and vocals on the track alongside her long-time bandmates, Ele Rubenstein (drums) and John Lee (guitar).
ABOUT: Operating in the Fiona Apple / Dirty Projectors sphere of the alternative music spectrum, the LA-native, Philadelphia-based artist is known for her harmonically bold and rhythmically driven original music. In 2019, Nicole became the first songwriter invited to attend the prestigious residency program at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine. She has also received several prominent grant awards for her work in songwriting and performance, including 2018 & 2020 Artist & Scholars grants from the Montgomery County Arts Council, and a 2020 Regional Independent Artist Award from Maryland State Arts Council. To date, she’s released three critically acclaimed albums and has performed at venerated venues such as The Kennedy Center, Smithsonian American Art Museum, and Rockwood Music Hall.
PRESS:
Capital Bop, June 12, 2020 – Interview
“For fans of her work, the new songs on Takoma Sessions highlight a more personal, vulnerable element of Saphos’ songwriting. The album also features new arrangements of older material, where The Sweater Set’s harmonies augment the depth of sound and reinforce the messages of the lyrics.”
Jazz Sensibilities, March 6, 2017
“We are swept away throughout Tiptoe by her sense of breathless propulsion. Abandoning classical expressions of pitch Saphos allows her sense of gilded vocal glissandi to take music into unexpected places (Just One Of Those Things is a fine example of this) and her command of vocal color also tends to peek into hidden corners of songs where she always seems to turn something mundane into a vocal line that is truly extraordinary.”
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