London Queer Performance Artist NiCKY Shares New Single ‘The Fall’ ft. Hermine

London songwriter and queer performance artist NiCKY shares video for new single ‘The Fall’, taken from new EP “with“, an ode to queer resilience with a poignant, lo-fi visual shot at Zippos Circus, featuring and starring French underground icon Hermine Demoriane, who has worked with Derek Jarman, COUM Transmissions, John Maybury & Crammed Discs.

NiCKY is a songwriter from London’s queer performance scene who pens heartfelt, unique songs that reflect love, identity and contemporary experience. After releasing “by” in 2024 – their poignant debut EP of piano-led torch songs – the artist returns with their new EP “with“, a collection of songs that sees the artist embellish their intimate solo artistry with rich, resplendent instrumentation and broader collaboration.

NiCKY describes “with” as a display of “queer vulnerability”, as the outcome of “unmasking”, where the regalia of their persona as “the tragicomic love child of London’s queer scene and Zippos Circus” is stripped away. Revealing an uninhibited artist, “with” is the sound of NiCKY in after hours mode, singing of private passions after the lights have dimmed.

After sharing the EP’s lead single ‘Private Glance’, NiCKY presents the video for their new single ‘The Fall’. Shot at Zippos Circus and starring NiCKY alongside French singer, writer and former tightrope walker Hermine Demoriane – a restless underground figure who has worked with everyone from COUM Transmissions and Crammed Discs to Derek Jarman and John Maybury – the video captures a poignant performance in an empty circus tent, like a lost lo-fi curio from a hallowed era.

The song is a wistful, elegant ode to queer resilience; an intricate, moving anthem that contends with existential precarity yet celebrates the courage of queer communities in the face of continued repression:

“Though it can sometimes feel as if we are stepping into the void, there’s usually someone on the other side, or something to catch you if you slip. The piano motifs arrived as I waited for my friend after their facial feminisation surgery. I’m constantly in awe of the strength and resilience that shines through our community in the face of erasure and censorship.”

As emotionally eloquent as ever yet newly elaborated and expanded, NiCKY’s music blossoms on “with“. Described as a “distinct departure” from the solitary songcraft of “by“, the artist defines “with” as “a leap of faith, incorporating more layers, components and contributors”.

Encompassing songs about “cruising, transformation, road trips, heartbreak and the feelings that arise in liminality”, “with” is a candid, beautiful evolution in NiCKY’s output, featuring the likes of Cate Le Bon collaborator Euan Hinshelwood (production, saxophone, bass), alt-jazz luminary & Alabaster DePlume affiliate Donna Thompson (drums), countercultural icon Hermine Demoriane (vocals), CJ Calderwood of Good Sad Happy Bad (saxophone) and Leeds dance music prodigy Billy Jack (production).

On the EP’s recently released first single ‘Private Glance’, NiCKY struts into a masquerade of playful avant-pop, offbeat ballroom disco and outré no wave sax. Arguably their most outlandish turn to date, ‘Private Glance’ embraces everything from Bob Fosse to Grace Jones in a song that skewers art world performativity from the perspective of an insightful outsider:

“‘Private Glance’ imagines a Bob Fosse musical about a private view, seen from the eyes of two queens working the bar…everything’s a bit smoke and mirrors; what’s underneath everyone’s public mask? [It’s a song that] makes me smile every time! It feels like a Lizzy Mercier Descloux / Grace Jones mash up.”

NiCKY changes the scene completely on ‘Fool’s Convention’, an affecting, ethereal ballad that they describe as a “haunting, dreamlike” fusion of “Kylie [Minogue]’s ‘I Believe In You’ and Nat King Cole’s ‘Nature Boy’”. Highlighted by the artist as one of their potential favourites on the EP, it’s a starry-eyed, heartfelt song about self-discovery and authenticity; an introspective, shimmering hymn of selfhood.

‘I Saw You’, the EP opener and perhaps one of its most defining moments, is another sterling variation on this overarching theme of queer solidarity, love and communion. A stunning standout of stirring piano, steady drums and sprechgesang vocals evoking Anohni and Lou Reed, ‘I Saw You’ grew out of a special project that reimagines the work of pioneering predecessors:

“My interpretation of ‘I Saw You’ is a love song about cruising. I was invited to rework lyrics originally conceived by the queer Irish playwright Colm Ó Clúbhán and the theatre group the Brixton Faeries. This was for a re-staging of Ó Clúbhán’s play Reasons For Staying, produced by the Aids Plays Project. The original version of ‘I Saw You’ was featured in GENTS, an agit-prop play about cottaging.”

NiCKY explores the depths of identity, radical love and queer experience on “with”, presenting songs of irreverent leftfield pop, otherworldly piano ballads and profoundly powerful love songs. Although NiCKY’s costume and staging has changed, their inimitable songcraft retains its playful, tender romanticism.

If “by” was an introduction to NiCKY, then “with” is a compelling invitation to stay with them a little while, holding their songs and company close.

“with” by NiCKY is out digitally on 28th October 2025 via PRAH Recordings.

Follow NiCKY on:
Instagram | Spotify | Bandcamp | Website