Minimal and often wrapped by a gloomy and nostalgic aura, Vikowski‘s music features a songwriting with strong new wave influences, and thanks to his baritone voice along with recurring electronic sounds, finds clear references in artists such as Nick Cave, The National, Interpol, Depeche Mode and Radiohead.
His debut album Beyond The Skyline, released via Costello’s Records in 2017, saw him embark on a European tour, during which he opened for acts such as Public Service Broadcasting, The Pains Of Being Pure at Heart and Rachel Sermanni. More recently, Vikowski has dropped 3 new singles during the first months of 2021 in anticipation of the new album The Long Run which he’s just released on the independent Serbian label Pop Depression.
Offering some insight behind the release, he says, “At the end of 2018, after the European tour of Beyond the Skyline, I felt the need to take a break from music, during which I focused on other activities and passions. This temporary mental detachment triggered me to focus on writing new songs, as the inspiration arrived in autumn 2019, with a different approach than the one that delivered my first album, less instinctive and more rational, both for music and lyrics, bringing to light songs such as ‘The Dentist’ and ‘The Slowest Man on Earth’; the first one talks about friendship, telling the story of two people who shared teenage together and then had to part, following different life paths. When they get the chance to meet, it feels like nothing has ever changed. Each one is always there for the other.”
Adding, “The second song talks about the struggles of facing the day after a colossal hangover, and the regret one feels in having caused that pitiful state oneself. 2020, with its pandemic, threw me, like millions of people, into a condition of strong loneliness, locked in a city far away from love, family, friends, with the uncertainty of present and the future. In full lockdown, I took shelter in music, embracing that instinct to compose much closer to the songs of my first album, albeit, I believe, with a different maturity.”
His latest album offers a dream-like journey through his musical mind. Reflective and poignant, it delivers an emotive kick. The album includes a featured performance from friend and colleague Alessandro Panzeri (Old Fashioned Lover Boy) on “Our Fight Within”, a song that expresses the inner struggle that is experienced in wanting to adapt oneself to contexts that do not really belong to us, in order not to stay alone.
Listen to The Long Run below
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