Nik Phillips

THE NIK PHILLIPS LINERS

There’s a new solo vision abroad in the Brisbane music space these days.
I, for one, welcome it with open arms.
It seems like all of a sudden we’re listening to single voices emerging from a region which traditionally danced to a group format.
A solo slant to a productive scene so long dominated by bands and aggregations of every persuasion and conviction.
Of course the Pete Murray presence is writ large and prominently. But there are others – artists of similar vintage and with shared experience journeying alongside Pete Murray – persevering souls such as Nik Phillips.
Why even Bernie Fanning, the energetic lead singer of Brisbane’s most popular band of the past dozen years Powderfinger – is putting out a solo album called Tea and Sympathy.
And so, the solo experience is in vogue again.
A seasoned performer on many Brisbane stages, Nik Phillips would appear to have finally found his time and place with a new album entitled Songs from the Fourth Floor.
This is an album with depth and conviction, the product of a creative life well-lived and craftily occupied. It’s a collection of songs which will surely resonate, around the state and around the nation. And ultimately beyond.
Nik has produced other albums over the course of the past decade, yet Songs from the Fourth Floor sounds as if it encapsulates his first true set of fully-formed original tunes.
There are odes on here which speak to you from the mirror of their surfaces. Others twist and entwine around deeper motifs and explore the more profound meanings and moral ambiguities of life in the 21st Century.
But it’s not entirely deep and meaningful.
As much as he’s perplexed by some of the finer lines one needs to draw in the modern world, Nik also sees and embraces the lighter side of the dark side of the moon.
Like seeds of the prodigious local Moreton Bay fig trees, these songs will germinate and grow. And maybe take over a special place in a corner of your mind.
All you have to do is let them.

RITCHIE YORKE
Rock Music Author & Journalist
Senior Music Writer, The Sunday Mail - Press Release

以下是NIK PHILLIPS的介绍:

澳州歌手尼科•菲利普斯的《明信片》

尼科•菲利普斯（Nik Phillips） 的演艺生涯始于其在澳大利亚电视台主持一个名叫“周六点唱台”的音乐秀。在这期间他发行了他首支个人单曲“关于你的一些事（Something About You）”，该歌曲在昆士兰音乐排行榜上排到了第十。

在搬到洛杉矶后不久，他录制了他的第一张专辑《诗与啤酒（Poetry and Beer）》。该张专辑是由美国著名的制作公司Robb兄弟制作完成的，并且被尼科的粉丝们供奉为崇拜的经典。

他的第二张专辑《四个诗人的步伐（“Four Poet Steps”）》由BMG发行，其中的主打单曲《流血的情人节（Bleeding Valentine）》被许多评论家称为当年最温馨的电台单曲。其他的歌曲诸如《永远的昆士兰（Forever Queensland）》则奠定了尼科的生涯，该首歌曲被选为澳大利亚最大的体育盛事——橄榄球联盟……的主题歌曲。他同时也给昆士兰州的一流运动队——昆士兰红色（the Queensland Reds. ）谱写和录制正式的主题歌曲。他经常被邀请在该队参与的大型比赛中表演。

2001年，尼科于澳大利亚军队远赴东帝汶岛执行联合国维和任务之际创作了《快回来（Come Back Soon）》一曲，为他们送上祝福。该首歌曲获得了昆士兰总理Peter Beattie先生的公开赞许。并且凭借该歌曲为2个东帝汶岛的孤儿募集了7万多澳元的善款。在这期间，尼科还是唯一的一个在主要电台的排行榜上拥有3首歌曲的独立艺术家。

在搬到洛杉矶后不久，他录制了他的第一张专辑《诗与啤酒（Poetry and Beer）》。该张专辑是由美国著名的制作公司Robb兄弟制作完成的，并且被尼科的粉丝们供奉为崇拜的经典。

他的第二张专辑《四个诗人的步伐（“Four Poet Steps”）》由BMG发行，其中的主打单曲《流血的情人节（Bleeding Valentine）》被许多评论家称为当年最温馨的电台单曲。其他的歌曲诸如《永远的昆士兰（Forever Queensland）》则奠定了尼科的职业生涯，该首歌曲被选为澳大利亚最大的体育盛事——橄榄球联盟……的主题歌曲。他同时也给昆士兰州的一流运动队——昆士兰红色（the Queensland Reds. ）谱写和录制正式的主题歌曲。他经常被邀请在该队参与的大型比赛中表演。

2001年，尼科于澳大利亚军队远赴东帝汶岛执行联合国维和任务之际创作了《快回来（Come Back Soon）》一曲，为他们送上祝福。该首歌曲获得了昆士兰总理Peter Beattie先生的公开赞许。并且凭借该歌曲为2个东帝汶岛的孤儿募集了7万多澳元的善款。在这期间，尼科还是唯一的一个在主要电台的排行榜上拥有3首歌曲的独立艺术家。

2006年，尼科凭借《不在今生（Not In This Life）》这首歌获得了澳大利亚乡村音乐奖中的“金吉他”奖的提名。他的歌曲《明信片（Postcard）》 获得了2006年……独立乡村音乐奖的最高奖的提名。尼科演艺生涯中最成功之处在于其是一位独立艺术家，自行录制并发行自己的唱片。尼科是首位在中国内地发行专辑的澳大利亚艺术家。 - Chinese

A WINDING STAIRCASE

By Mike Smith

Brisbane singer/songwriter NIK PHILLIPS takes an interesting musical route with the occasional side door as he wends his way upwards on his new album Songs From The 4th Floor.

The new album is the sixth from this enormously talented craftsman who has built a large and cult-like following with previous releases including Northern Rivers Child and Six Pack.
Nik is another of the ever-burgeoning roster of artists who cross the tracks into country – singer/songwriters whose work transcends the boundaries – and it’s a roster that has had a formidable history over the past decades. From Nik’s self-professed influences like JAMES TAYLOR, JIM CROCE and JACKSON BROWNE to PAUL KELLY and RYAN ADAMS, it encapsulates great music without categorisation.
Nik’s own career has been one of shift and change – a strong presence in South East Queensland interspersed with a few years in the U.S.
His ability to perform over 250 shows a year has enabled him to build a solid and supportive grass roots fan base, which has even grown from one generation to the next.
And the gigs have been many and varied. From the local legend status nights, to the Pier at Santa Monica California (through the Soccer World Cup), Rugby League State of Origin performances and regular appearances at Queensland Rugby Union’s cathedral, Ballymore Stadium. (Nik wrote both the Queensland State of Origin song and the official Queensland Reds song)
Nik also performed at welcome home events for troops returning from East Timor deployment, the invitation originating through Nik’s song Come Back Soon which was used extensively during the East Timor operation. The song was involved with projects which raised over $70000 for two orphanages in East Timor.
In live performance, Nik, his songs, and an acoustic guitar can hold an audience enthralled – it’s an artisan at work.
"I couldn't imagine life without a stage," relates Nik, "There's a certain addiction involved with trying to improve your craft night after night. Constantly searching for that something which may take your audience to somewhere they haven't been before. Or perhaps somewhere they long to be again."
But it’s his albums that really plumb the depths of this gifted social commentator. Songs From The 4th Floor is undoubtedly Nik’s best work – personal and compelling – and a revealing window into the Nik Phillips psyche
"A singer/songwriter is an actor who never gets the chance to remove his make-up,” explains Nik. “You live your craft from morning to night, then dream about it in your sleep."
Take the reality of Nik’s latest radio single Not In This Life.
“Life doesn't always run to plan and perhaps by the time we reach the next life, we may have a glimmer of understanding of the art of love,” Nick elaborates. “Perhaps we may find true fulfillment in the discovery that we are equal parts in this universe, not the centre of it.”
Amidst the pathos of lost love and unfulfilled dreams there is an undercurrent of hope – it’s like the recognition of the fragility of life and the rickety steps that are part of a building that needs a bit of TLC, but certainly not to the condemned stage.
On the surface, cynicism and world-weary observations may seem to be the core of Nik’s songs, but on closer inspection, it’s the open reality that sets the scene in some wonderfully crafted pieces. - Mike Smith