NYC producer indie music veteran Charlie Nieland presents ‘Redshift’, a welcome dream-pop track that delves into the profound experience of creating your own chosen family, viewed through the lens of cosmic expansion and astrophysical wonder.
This is the second taste of his forthcoming ‘The Ocean Understands’ EP (out June 20).
Nieland’s musical backstory is extensive, having played dream pop with Her Vanished Grace for over 20 years before establishing himself as a solo artist with a mix of nuanced songwriting and sonic exploration, initially releasing ‘Ice Age’(2014) and ‘Hopeful Monsters’(2016). He is currently half of the literature-inspired songwriting and performing duo Lusterlit with Susan Hwang and produces and participates in the podcast ‘An Embarrassment of Prog’.
Along the way, Charlie wrote and produced material with such notable artists as Debbie Harry, Rufus Wainwright, Dead Leaf Echo, Blondie and Scissor Sisters. He scored the feature film ‘The Safety of Objects’ (starring Glenn Close), the pilot episode of ‘The L Word’ on Showtime and the VH-1documentary ‘NY77: The Coolest Year in Hell’. Charlie was awarded a Gold record (UK) for his production work on Blondie’s ‘Greatest Hits Sight & Sound’ and achieved a Top 10 Billboard Dance Chart Position with Debbie Harry’s single ‘Two Times Blue’, which he co-wrote and produced.
“Redshift is a slice of dream pop about growing up – as viewed from space. The book STRAY, by Tanya Marquardt, got me thinking about how we choose new families when we’re alienated from our birth ones. This coincided with another thing I was reading about Steven Hawking and astrophysics. The song became a little field guide on how to put your own story into a cosmic context,” says Charlie Nieland.
“There’s an eerie freedom to embracing life when the universe is pulling apart. While in lockdown, I’d made up a modal exercise for the guitar and it was a perfect shimmering fit for this, with Billy Loose’s symphonic drums bringing it all down to earth. More gorgeous art and video clips by Hypnodoll™.
It’s been four years since Nieland released his acclaimed ‘Divisions’ album with its sweeping melodies and restless rhythms. Tastefully blending post punk, dream pop and prog rock, he has been writing, playing and producing music for decades, focused on the atmospheric and the imaginative.
Earlier, Charlie Nieland released the stunning reverb-laced lead track,‘Drown’, the video for which was directed by multi-faceted artist Hypnodoll. Inspired by a dystopian vision, this mythical, psychedelic siren song celebrates destruction, exploring a dark, authoritarian past through the jumbled stories of the future. Sifting through present wreckage, ‘Drown’ searches for grace amidst violent, oceanic forces.
Charlie Nieland says, “With its mind-melting imagery, the video for ‘Drown’, created by NYC multimedia artist Hypnodoll, is beautiful and deranged. She conjures storytelling just out or rational reach, playing tag with the ancient and futuristic in a way that perfectly compliments the song. Collaborating with her is such a thrill”.
As of May 27, ‘RedShift’ is available from fine digital music platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp. ‘The Ocean Understands’ EP, now available for pre-order directly from the artist, will be released on June 2
EP TRACK LIST
1. Drown
2. Redshift
3. Shame
4. Elegy
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Soundcloud | Apple Music | Spotify
CREDITS
Music & Lyrics written by Charlie Nieland
Recorded at Saturation Point Studios (Brooklyn, NY)
from January 2023 to April 2025
‘Elegy’ recorded live at KGB Bar, NYC, October 3rd, 2021
Charlie Nieland – vocals, guitars, basses, piano, keyboards, percussion, G-Force M-TRON Pro IV
Billy Loose – drums
Dan McAssey – guitar on ‘Shame’
Produced, recorded, mixed & mastered by Charlie Nieland
Cover Art by Hypnodoll
© 2025 Athame Music
‘Drown’ video directed By Hypnodoll™
Photography by Alice Teeple
Publicity by Shameless Promotion PR