Setting the vibe with a moody immersive synth with bright melodic details and rippling drums played by hand, Nikki Manos opens his recent single, Roses & Tumbleweeds with the introspective lyrics, “Long days with short years, time losing sleep here, dust settles these streets, with or without me…”

Delivering a cinematic sound with deep vocals comparable to Leonard Cohen or Buck 65, we are hypnotized by Nikki Manos‘s frequency and sonic landscape.

Roses & Tumbleweeds goes on to tell a conceptual story featuring our protagonist Nikki Manos, the alter ego of an L.A.-based producer Ironfist. The rising artist describes the track as “the song on this album with the most swagger and bravado.” He says, “I picture it as the big shootout scene between Nikki and the Antagonist. It absolutely has an outlaw feel.”

We love the hyperreality adventure of Nikki Manos that we have been immersed into, speaking on the aim of the track, Nikki says, “The ethos was to make a post-modern western soundtrack that sounds lo-fi and futuristic. Throughout the entire project, there are many homages to classic American and Euro Westerns.”

The universe that Nikki Manos is creating is high concept and transcends time as we know it with high end production fused with a sound that is reminiscent of some of the greatest artists in history. Nikki’s EP, due out in May which features Roses & Tumbleweeds, was recorded in the mountains of Southern New Mexico and mixed and Mastered in Los Angeles.

Speaking on his influences, Nikki Manos cites “Spaghetti Western Elements like Ennio Morricone, Outlaw Country of the 1970s like Waylon Jennings, Riff Based Blues Rock like Black Sabbath and Techno and Electronic textures like Dubspeeka”, although it is clear that the artist is creating a universe of his own.

Going deeper into the concept of his hyperreality creation, Ironfirst aka Nikki Manos says, “Nikki Manos is more than a figment of my imagination. It is a slightly distorted mirror image of myself and the small border town where I grew up. The entire project is my love letter to Westerns.”

We have added Roses & Tumbleweeds to our New Music Spotlight playlist and have been exploring Nikki’s wider discography including the recent release of Violence (Big Iron Dub).

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