Like most creations, lots of experimentation is required to achieve the artist’s desired effect. A messy easel beside a beautiful canvas. Hundreds of intertwined cables strewn around the record button and a bubbling test tube splashing about on a laboratory floor. A true master hides the mess so all the attention is focused on the end result. A beautiful painting, a keen melody or a perfectly crafted concoction. This is Nico Rivers.

Born and raised in Marshfield, a small oceanside town in Massachusetts, Nico’s experiments have taken him across the country and world into labs of all shapes and sizes. A true multifaceted musical artist, he draws influence from artists as diverse as he his. Artists such as Neil Young, Radiohead and Bright Eyes. His writing leaves room for the intensity of metal, for the beauty of folk, for the technicality of prog and for all things in between. An experiment boiled down to one finely crafted singer/songwriter.

His most recent release, “Tiny Death,” finds the addition of band members The Black Grass. A challenging release filled with a Pandora's box of influence and tone, Nico demonstrates that he is at the top of his game. An experiment with so many different elements can be messy; Nico has cleaned up every drop. The listener, allowed to focus one thing, the beautiful and intriguing music which is in front of them. Perhaps the biggest challenge of any artist is not to master the art, but to master themselves. This is Nico Rivers.