Unreleased “American Dreams” demo and acoustic tracks from the rising electronic artist.
Every record is just that: an audiovisual artifact, sound and image, memory and history. It is always more than music that gets stuck in our heads. Nick Van Hofwegen’s project Young & Sick explores the blurred lines between songcraft and design; building an animated world around ethereal, shimmering electronic sound.
The project started out anonymous, on Tor. A debut album, critical acclaim, Coachella, and a fall tour with Chance The Rapper followed. Today, Young & Sick stands out as a band to watch: in part, because Van Hofwegen makes music that needs to be seen and felt; more than just heard.
Download the American Dreams Bundle to unlock an exclusive demo, music mixes, and art journals. Enter your email to grab acoustic tapes, posters, and two bonus mystery tracks.
We caught up with Young & Sick earlier this week to talk velvet guitar straps, visual storytelling, and mountain men. Herewith, a few words and field notes.
How did Young & Sick start?
One too many bottles of Cabernet Franc, a velvet guitar strap, and a collection of harmonies.
It seems like recording is becoming a more visual art form. Vinyl is back. Music videos are back. Do you think the experience of music is changing?
It’s definitely all changing. Listeners are looking for visual experiences to accompany their music. If they can’t find them out there, they create their own. This is evident by all the fan-made music videos out there. Music, visuals, performance, storytelling: it’s all part of the stew. Beyonce gets it. Chance The Rapper gets it. Pee-Wee gets it.
Your BitTorrent Bundle spans music, art, and spoken word interviews. How did you approach building this project? Why’d you decide to release your material this way?
This project gives us the opportunity to show all sides of Young & Sick, at once. We wanted to use Bundle as a way to introduce people to a wider range of material, and build more of a personal connection between us and the fans.
You just got off the road with Chance The Rapper. Best thing from the tour?
One of the best moments of the tour with Chance was the “oh my god” starstruck moment that everyone experiences when they meet someone so admired and well known – although the West Virginia University Mountain Man was MUCH shorter in person.
Instant Download
01 American Dreams (Demo) [Audio]
02 American Dreams (Demo) [Art]
03 Songs to Shave To (Original Young & Sick Mixtape) [Audio]
04 Songs to Shave To [Art]
05 Telepopmusik: Breathe (Young & Sick Cover) [Audio]
06 Art Originals [Art]
07 Young & Sick Tour Book [Art]
Email Unlock
01 Continuum (Acoustic) [Audio]
02 House of Spirits (Acoustic) [Audio]
03 Young & Sick Posters [Art]
04 Bonus Tracks [Audio]
BitTorrent Bundle is a publishing project made with and for the world’s creative community. Our mission is to help artists connect directly with fans, inside the content they share. Each BitTorrent Bundle allows artists to distribute content directly to the Internet. And each Bundle comes with a key.
Fans can unlock artist content with an email address, or a direct payment to the artist. The idea is to make each song a storefront, and each file more valuable, every time it’s shared. Got ideas for the next BitTorrent Bundle? Hit us up.
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