Nick Marks finds his happy place somewhere between jazz, hip-hop, and cinematic soul
Very happy to receive the latest single from our favorite New York-based Australian composer, producer and pianist Nick Marks. He has released a new five-track EP called happy place, and it’s a beautifully loose meeting point between contemporary jazz, instrumental hip-hop, and lo-fi cinematic soul.
The project began during a month of early morning sessions at Marks’ upright Yamaha U3. With fatherhood eating into studio time and his Cinematic Chromatics trilogy wrapping up, Marks stripped the process back. The rule was simple: follow whatever felt undeniable.
That instinctive approach runs through the whole EP. Piano-led grooves sit deep in the pocket before opening out into strings, horns, synths, guitar and hazy vocal textures. There are shades of Kiefer, Mndsgn, Carrtoons and Butcher Brown in there, alongside the swung rhythmic influence of J Dilla and Karriem Riggins, but Marks keeps everything rooted in his own cinematic language.
Previous single “the less i think, the more i do“ showed off the project’s more expansive, string-heavy side and landed a Jazz FM Feature Track spot from Simon Phillips, while his track “champagne flowers“ leaned further into its smooth hip-hop pulse.
Closing track “happy place“ brings the whole thing together, with Dave Levy on trumpet, vocals from longtime collaborator Arta Jēkabsone, and strings from Lavinia Pavlish.
Warm, playful, and deliberately unpolished around the edges, the title track “happy place” sounds like Marks trusting the groove and getting out of its way.
Nick Marks – Happy Place
