Artists such as Velvet Negroni are emblematic of the disintegration of distinct genres in the streaming age. Real name Jeremy Nutzman, under his current moniker he makes gorgeously expansive sounds that meld and melt the lines between everything from lush synthpop, experimental electronic and choppy rap to reggae and dub.
Born in Minneapolis, Nutzman was adopted by a white evangelical Christian family and boxed in by stringent rules. From the age of five he would play classical piano for at least an hour a day; secular music was forbidden. In an interview with the Fader, he described discovering a pile of abandoned CDs on his neighbour’s lawn, though all his attempts to hoard such treasures – even hiding them in air vents – were found out.
Going to college (and eventually dropping out) allowed Nutzman to spread his wings and start writing. Since then, his music has inspired Kanye West (the hook for Feel the Love with Kid Cudi nodded to Velvet Negroni’s Waves), and he features on Bon Iver’s recent i,i.
Nutzman’s debut album, Neon Brown, is about to land on 4AD (home to Grimes and Deerhunter), and is informed by recreating those teen years without pop music; in Nutzman’s words: “the time when music is supposed to be the most impactful and exciting is when I was getting the least of it — which lends its way to how I write and interpret things”.
Velvet Negroni’s Neon Brown is released on 4AD on 30 August
