Nick Vyner's "Flood" Is a Deluge of Catharsis
When you learn that Nick Vyner's "Flood" is a song about loneliness and loss, you might instantly think of a mournful, slow tempo track - the kind you might put on your "nite cry" playlist, if you have such a thing (don't lie to us and say you don't). But, Vyner's most recent release proves writing about sadness can be atmospheric, momentous and, in a weird way, feel happy.
Happiness wasn't necessarily the state of mind Vyner was in when he wrote “Flood" (he claims he hasn't written a happy song until this year). After moving to Los Angeles upon graduating high school, he quickly learned he had to grapple with the dual burdens of missing his vibrant social circle at home and having few established friendships in a new city.
"I was really going through it and trying to figure out who I was, or who I thought I was," Vyner shares. "I was in a manic week, bouncing off the walls," he adds. Then he decided, "Why don't we see if this is something we can write about?"
The result was "Flood," a track he has tinkered with for the three years since. The song channels loneliness and isolation with the reckless energy of a flash flood, providing a metaphoric cleansing as all the old gets washed away to make space for the new. It's a storm surge of catharsis.
"Sometimes we did too much to it and had to scale it back a bit, but this December I finally reached a place where I think we're good," says Vyner.
Vyner's indie, alt-pop inclinations belie the fact that he's a classically trained musician. "I've put in enough hours to operate on instinct when I'm working," he shares. This ingrained knowledge of the shape of music allows him to be free when he's writing.
"It doesn't feel like I'm searching for meaning in my music, anymore," he says. "Every time I work on music is a new opportunity to be present, look what's happening around me, and make something out of that."
"Flood" comes from that place, a track that follows the swells of big emotions with the freedom of a massive release of tension, a groundswell of intensity that's made for living in the moment.
Watch the "Flood" video below:
