Vince Leigh’s Review: Up and Coming by Nicholas Brown
By Vince Leigh (ex Drummer of Pseudo Echo, John Farnham, Tina Arena) of Australian Radio Promotion.
The new track by Australian music artist Nicholas Brown will sound familiar, but that won’t stop you from appreciating the song’s underlying focus. With Up And Coming, the musician offers a shimmering homage to the 80s era, adroitly interweaving the pulsating dynamics of Italo Disco and Hi-NRG dance music. This inviting amalgamation evokes a sense of nostalgia, enrapturing listeners with its synthesis of divergent styles that sculpted the musical landscape of a generation. The multi-talented musician, actor, and singer-songwriter astutely channels the essence of iconic bands like Dead or Alive and Bananarama, and simultaneously embraces the eccentricity of Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
Concurrently, Brown captures the spirit of Wham, Giorgio Moroder, and Kylie Minogue’s renowned Stock/Aitken/Waterman collaborations, transporting audiences to a bygone era. As Brown eloquently phrases it, ‘Up And Coming is a song for frustrated ambitious people. It’s about striving for something greater than yourself and celebrating that journey rather than being overwhelmed by it.’ Co-created with bandmate Justin Gagnon amid career strife in North Hollywood, Brown’s journey found him in roles from a Bollywood villain starring opposite Indian sensation Hrithik Roshan to a Wesley Snipes action vehicle that faltered due to Snipes’ arrest.
Conflicting advice from his manager, focused on body image and achieving a ‘Hollywood-ready’ appearance, only intensified Brown’s dissatisfaction, ultimately leading to the creation of Up And Coming. Rooted in the 80s but transcending its origins,
Up And Coming addresses modern-day concerns with insight and acuity. Brown seeks to evoke a profound connection between his listeners and the lyrics, engendering a transformative shift in their emotional state that prompts them to dance first and reflect upon the deeper meaning thereafter. As he notes about his own experiences, ‘My encounters with racism are always channelled into my writing. Being queer is something that’s infused into my work as well. I’ve had to fight for visibility in my life and career, being part of several minority groups, and I’d like to think that the message of empowerment is in all of my music.’
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