Si Nicol produces a special alchemy of soul-true, texture-rich, genre-bent songs.

Not coming from a creative family, Si found music as an escape from a blue-collar upbringing—learning drums, guitar, and enough piano to write his own songs, and multitracking by swapping cassette tapes so he could play all the parts.

Moving to the UK at 18 was a rebirth; new artistic influences fundamentally transformed his creative DNA. When he got back to the States, friends introduced him to his city’s underground club scene in the early 2000s, and a close-knit community of producers, inspiring him to crack versions of Fruity Loops and Reason—opening up a whole new world he could play in, filling files with thousands of songs, experiments, and ideas unheard.

His first brush with the music industry came on the West Coast, working as a studio rat out of several studios in Seattle, producing and engineering records for several Seattle and LA artists. His unpredictable styles, work ethic, and sheer volume of output earned him the respect of prominent voices at The Stereo Wire, KEXP, Seattle Music Insider, and 107.7 The End. To him, this was a time of soaking up as much knowledge and music industry wit as possible—knowing he’d use it for a new project in the future.

In 2020, itching for an entirely fresh start—and with the added nudge of the pandemic shutting down the industry—he removed his internet presence, stopped collaborations, and leaned into his reclusive tendencies for a time, writing, reinventing, and planning. He began making plans to relocate to Chicago, where he now lives and creates.