27-year-old Nick Jaeckel is a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who’s sharing his unique indie pop sound under the ringgold moniker. With a childhood soundtrack influenced by the sounds of ABBA and bluegrass, ringgold navigates the sphere of indie pop, crafting a unique sonic identity that blends his diverse musical inspirations.
His journey into the world of songwriting began in his freshman-year dorm room, and since then, he’s refined a lyrical style that’s personal, raw and deeply relatable. Making his entrance in 2020, he unveiled his original sonic vision with the debut single “Keeping My Distance,” quickly followed up by the sophomore track “In The Morning.”
With his third single, “love me or let me go,” he earned recognition from American Songwriter by landing a spot on their Song Contest shortlist. Now with his debut EP titled Pragma on the horizon, ringgold is making a return to releasing music after a brief hiatus. The upcoming promises to traverse the spectrum between fact and fiction, drawing inspiration from his diverse musical upbringing and personal experiences with love and heartbreak.
Collaborating with producer Jim White, known for his work with The Misters and SMILEMORE, ringgold unveils the lead single from Pragma with “I’m Not Yours.” The track stands as a distillation of his narrative-centric approach, merging ambitious production, stunning vocals and instantly relatable lyrics into a sonic fabric that captivates from the first note to the last.
Opened by his bright vocal leads, elegantly floating over soft piano notes, “I’m Not Yours” sets an instantly moving tone an intimate aesthetic. With gentle sonic textures in the distance, his voice gracefully dances with subtly lively melodic movement while carrying his meaningful storytelling lyricism.
As the piano dips out to make way for the delicate plucks of clean guitar tones, ringgold builds up the anticipation for the track to shift to a laid back dance-focused vibe. Soft kicks drive the pulsing swell of synth textures as his voice takes flight to reflect the emotionally-charged lyrics that raises the song before launching into an epic crescendo. With the punch of a full drum kit, he crafts a rousing energy that slips into a powerful finale of crunching drums and gritty guitars to leave a memorable final moment of his superb new song.
Commenting on the single, he shares, “I was in the studio after a session, and we got to talking about this friend archetype that kept popping up in our lives; someone with a magnetic personality and an ability to make you feel like the most important person in a room. You have this intense emotional relationship with them that moves hard and fast, until one day they get bored and move on to someone new without any real explanation.”
Adding, “All of a sudden you’re left feeling confused and disposable and like you can’t trust your intuition. “I’m not yours” was written in the aftermath of that conversation, and it was one of those songs that fell out of me once I started writing it. Jim did such a fantastic job translating that vulnerability, confusion, and eventual anger into the production of the song to make it feel like 3 cohesive acts that take you through the grieving process.”
Listen to I’m Not Yours below
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