Nikolaus Wolf - Easy Riders

The song is Nikolaus Wolf's first single in five years, a burning hot road trip out of the pandemic desert. A song about fire, fear & fighters. It's a departure into darker and rougher corners, a journey towards Sixties Rock'n'Roll between London, New York and the Californian desert - as if you were at a wild class reunion of Rolling Stones, the Kins & Velvet Underground.
www.nikolauswolf.de

Official Video by Ivo Thomann
https://youtu.be/u-VzgD6kHcc

ABOUT THE SONG
It's a bitterly cold night in winter 2021. Everything is quiet, and Michi Rieder sits completely scattered in the living room of his house, in the midst of dust and ashes. He is keeping a fire watch. Together with his family they were just fighting the angry flames. Now the fire is extinguished, the lungs dried up, the skin black from soot. Completely agitated and in the face of the disaster, he grabs his baby-sitar and writes "Easy Riders" within a few minutes. It will be the new single of his DIY project Nikolaus Wolf, a burning hot road trip out of the pandemic desert. A song about fire, fear & fighters.

NIKOLAUS WOLF - BIO
Even if Reeperbahnfestival announces him as "Weird Guy From Bavaria", this guy does not sound like his Bavarian homeland at all. Michi Rieder lives out his soft spot for Sixties Rock, Neo Folk & Brit Pop to the fullest under the name of his great-grandpas "Nikolaus Wolf". Accordingly, the Süddeutsche Zeitung calls him a "chameleon of pop music of the second half of the 20th century. Century", a certain sympathy for Liam Gallagher or John Lennon cannot be ignored.
 
With his first EP "Roekki Zimt" (2017), Nikolaus Wolf is already causing quite a stir, on which he "unites the spirit of the British 1960s with contemporary folk interpretations" (intro). He composes music for film and plays over 100 shows with his band in half of Europe, while the song "Human Lights" runs up and down in a commercial in the EU & USA.
 
It takes a whole five years for Nikolaus Wolf to finally be in the starting blocks with new material. He has experienced a lot and also a lot to tell - after all, he not only becomes a father for the second time during this time, he also survives a tumor disease. And there was still this fire in the winter of 2021, which spurred him into "Easy Riders". It's a departure into darker, more serious corners. While the debut EP was still more rooted in cheerful indie singer-songwriter folk, the new work is much rougher and angular, the journey goes towards Sixties Rock'n'Roll between London, New York & the California desert - as if you were at a wild class reunion of Rolling Stones, the Kinks & Velvet Underground.

LYRICS
Fire in the house of my mother, 
the burning wires in the wall of her son.
I smell the fire and the soot on my brother,
like a minor with the coals on his skin.

You’re drowned in clouds at the gates of life.

Fire and the flames getting higher, 
you’re a fighter and you’re facing the death.

You’re drowned in clouds at the gates of life. 
The things you‘ve lost aren‘t worth to die.

Easy riders, you’re riding through a desert storm. 
Easy riders, you‘re riding on a devil’s road. 
Easy riders, you fight against a burning wall. 
Take a deep breath and evil’s gone.

SONG INFOS
Lyrics: Michi Rieder
Composition: Michi Rieder, Dominik Schauer
Production: Michi Rieder, Thomas Pronai
Mix: Thomas Pronai, Container Recordings
Master: Ludwig Maier, GKG Mastering
Artwork: Michi Rieder & Ivo Thomann
© OIMO MUSIC, 2022

Easy Riders

ABOUT THE SONG

Nikolaus Wolf was astonished when James Bond villain and trainspotting cult star Robert Carlyle recently celebrated the psychedelic comeback single "Easy Riders“ (release: 28.01.) via Twitter. A great start out of the pandemic desert, accompanied by numerous hymns of praise on indie radios and international music blogs. Of course, the anticipation and excitement of his second single "Brother's Fist" increases. Lyrically, the song deals with a dangerously explosive struggle between siblings, which can degenerate - but usually the heart is stronger and "blood is thicker than wine and water." Accordingly, it also rumbles musically here, Nikolaus Wolf returns from the desert trip directly into the dirty rock'n'roll garage. "Brother's Fist" is his tribute to heroes such as The Animals, Them and especially The Everly Brothers - garnished with a Keith Richards guitar sound and a terrific wild saxophone solo by Florian Riedl (of Dreiviertelblut).

ABOUT NIKOLAUS WOLF

Even if Reeperbahnfestival announces him as "Weird Guy From Bavaria", this guy does not sound Bavarian at all. Michi Rieder lives out his soft spot for Sixties Rock, Neo Folk & Brit Pop to the fullest under the name of his great-grandpas "Nikolaus Wolf". Accordingly, the Süddeutsche Zeitung calls him a "chameleon of pop music of the second half of the 20th century. Century“. Well, a certain sympathy for Liam Gallagher or John Lennon cannot be ignored.

With his first EP "Roekki Zimt" (2017), Nikolaus Wolf has already caused some stir, since he "unites the spirit of the British 1960s with contemporary folk interpretations" (intro). He composes music for film and plays over 100 shows with his band in half of Europe, while the song "Human Lights" runs up and down in a commercial in the EU & USA.

It has taken a period of five years for Nikolaus Wolf to finally be in the starting blocks with new material. He has experienced a lot and also has a lot to tell - after all, he has become father for the second time and recently survived a tumor. And there was still this terrible fire in the winter of 2021, which gave birth to his
comeback single "Easy Riders". It's a departure into darker, more serious corners. While the debut EP was rooted in cheerful indie singer-songwriter folk, the new work is a lot rougher and angular, the journey embraces the Sixties Rock'n'Roll between London, New York & the California desert - as if it were at a wild class reunion of Rolling Stones, the Kinks & Velvet Underground. 

LYRICS

A Sunday Night, some shakin’ walls  
My brother’s tongue is hardly crawlin’ out  
It struggles hard against his mind 
He got to shout, he got to cry  
 
The Weekend’s final is on replay
A silent witch whining at the gates 
The demons rumble, the demons growl 
The demons wait behind the door

I’m a shiny man with a shiny life 
And I try to ease this shattering nights 
But something’s sticky in my veins 
A little peace of my heart has fade 
Some love has fade away

Now how to deal with this escalation
A deep connection got ripped apart
The load of Sundays has grabbed the scissors 
I’m a shiny man staggerin’ in the dark

I got to soothe the situation
I got to fight at the fire line
I got my brother drilled in the corner 
I got his fist like a cobra bite 
Some love has fade away

I’m a shiny man in a shiny life 
With a shiny brother on a shivering ride 
Blood is thicker than wine and water 
And shaky times are passing by 
Some love has fade away
Love has fade away.
credits
releases March 18, 2022 

CREDITS

Text: Michi Rieder 
Composition: Michi Rieder, Dominik Schauer 
Production: Michi Rieder, Thomas Pronai 
Mix: Thomas Pronai, Container Recordings
Master: Ludwig Maier, GKG Mastering 
Video: Michi Rieder
Artwork: Michi Rieder, Andreas Rieder (Photography
Copyright: OIMO MUSIC, 2022

Brother's Fist

This is a guy who seems to love Folk, Britpop and generally the 60s. That ́s probably why he sometimes sounds as sad as Elliott Smith, as cool as Liam Gallagher and as beautiful as John Lennon. By choosing his artist name NIKOLAUS WOLF, Michi Rieder has simply used the citizen name of his great-grandfather. The name sounds exciting, unorthodox and a bit peculiar. The Bavarian musician creates urban sounds and has already composed for films. About his debut EP Roekki Zimt Nikolaus Wolf says: "We have tried a lot and endeavored to create an authentic, independent and rather cinematic sound, without falling into bombast and kitsch. "The compositions with guitar and voice were expanded with great sensitivity, also exploiting the potential of violins, xylophones, pianos, old vintage synths and even a Mellotron.“ The analogue style of the Sixties have given his music a melancholic warmth. It greets and meets neo-folk with lo-fi charm. Very subtle, the sound collages and great moments blend perfectly into the singer- songwriter style, and Nikolaus Wolf's striking voice towers freshly and sincerely above everything. Listeners can clearly feel the memorable mood. With rumbling beats, catchy melodies of a piano and surprising twists, Nikolaus Wolf has bred four folk songs that fit seamlessly into the tradition of British and American sounds of the 1960s. Yet, they still reflect the contemporary Zeitgeist. The unique world of his first record Roekki Zimt evolves from puristic Folksong into a pulsating, psychedelic sound wall where new spheres are to be discovered. It is Nikolaus Wolf ́s love for the little details that turn his whole creation into something special. It really is a charming piece of art with lots of personality.

Nikolaus Wolf

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