PREMIERE: NYNNO - 'Defeat'

The Music is very happy to share the latest single from rising R&B artist NYNNO before its official release tomorrow.

If the name is new to you, the multi-disciplinary artist entered the music scene in 2016 doing live guest vocals for The Outside Inn hip hop collective. Since then she has performed at events like Melbourne Music Week and Laneway Festival, appeared on RRR's Highly Melanated and been longlisted for Music Victoria’s longlist for Best Hip Hop Artist, all the while developing an atmospheric neo-soul sound with shades from Sade to Solange.

Defeat is a shimmering addition to that sound, co-producers HDSNJMSJR and Nightwrk layering a gossamer electronic bed for lyrics about the bitter realities of walking away from a failed relationship.

"My music is often musing or recounting. Defeat ponders the idea of wanting to be open and free-spirited, but also needing to respect your true feelings and values.”

“I wrote the song quite some time ago, so it's been an interesting experience revisiting the headspace I was in back then. My writing was a lot more raw back then, so being able to take that gritty sentiment and refining it, reworking the production and adding the bridge and some harmonies was a fun process. Not just for me lyrically and vocally, but for HDSN (JMSJR) and Nightwrk in terms of co-production too.”

It's also the fifth and final track in a singles series that NYNNO started with last year's Download and Classic Overloader, bringing her first major solo project to a triumphant close - despite the giant curveball that is 2020.

“The choice to release my music from this project as singles, rather than an EP or other sort of compilation, was deliberate," says NYNNO. 

"Isolation has changed the way I present my music to people, being that the live music scene (especially in Melbourne) is in hibernation and we're not performing at live gigs. But ultimately if I can continue to reach people and communicate meaningfully through my music, then that's always a win.”

The year also saw the Melbourne singer selected for the APRA's Women in Music Mentorship, which pairs up-and-coming women in music with established industry figures like Ella Hooper and The Preatures' Isabella Manfredi - NYNNO has been working with Sydney artist Milan Ring.

“Being selected for APRA's Women in Music Mentorship initiative was really exciting," shares NYNNO. "I chronically never get picked for anything, so to hear that Milan heard my music and selected me as a mentee was humbling. 

"It also gives you confidence that your peers and industry are seeing you and believe in your ability to take it to the next step. As a super talented musician with great technical ability and stage presence, being able to bounce ideas off Milan and ask questions has been invaluable.”

Give Defeat a listen above!