The son of northern California hippies, Nico Yaryan had a quintessentially west coast upbringing in the 1980s. He spent his childhood skateboarding, working retail jobs, and digging in the dollar crates for records that could be used as sample material for his own hip-hop beats inspired by his then-idols J Dilla and DJ Premier. A soulful indie crooner with a lot of life experience to draw from, Yaryan's debut full-length album, 2016's What a Tease, was inspired by the great soul and blues storytellers such as Bill Withers and Al Green, as well as the solo output of John Lennon and Neil Young. The songs are honest reflections on the themes of hope, perseverance, and, ultimately, heartbreak. ~ Simon Spreyer