Nick van Hofwegen takes his art seriously, no matter which medium. He is more widely known as Young & Sick, a local (by way of Holland then London) musician and visual artist with quite a lot planned for the next few weeks. This Wednesday, July 25th, he plays live for the first time in four years at the Moroccan Lounge and the following weekend his illustrations and sculptures will be on display at FF-1051 Gallery in Little Ethiopia; all this to build anticipation for his new EP, due out August 17th.
There is only clarity on Young & Sick’s single, “No Static.” The title is found in the chorus, seemingly inspired by the clip of his friend Elvis Freshly that is featured at the end. The song has happy, hiccupping production that one may find in the rest of his work, but this track feels fresh. Perhaps because it is. It’s the title track of a forthcoming EP, the second he’ll have released this year, which itself follows a three-year silence (under that moniker—he worked with JD Samson as SHARER in 2015, and as Mr Sanka with Mustafa and James in 2016.) It seems like he’s making up for lost time, especially now with so many important dates coming up.
van Hofwegen has always done all his own album art including the art for his side projects, and even released a flip-book alongside his January EP, Ojai. In fact, he began his career creating art for other albums, such as Torches by Foster the People, Overexposed by Maroon 5, and Kids by Mikky Ekko. His work is best described as polished doodles, with fine lines running parallel in every direction and myriad details to focus on. Now he has an opportunity to show in a fine art gallery, and it promises to be a memorable exhibition.
Find more info about the Moroccan Lounge performance this Wednesday here. The exhibition will take place at FF-1051 Gallery on August 6th; more info. Pre-order No Static EP via B3SCI Records. Follow Young & Sick on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
by: Zoë Elaine
