Young & Sick Releases New Single 'Jet Black Heart'

Today, musician and visual artist known as Young & Sick (real name Nick van Hofwegen) has released new single "Jet Black Heart." The song is taken from Young & Sick's new EP scheduled for a spring 2019 release via Neon Gold Records / B3SCI Records. Stream "Jet Black Heart" everywhere now here.

On the new track, Nick describes, "JET BLACK HEART is a song about all consuming love. The kind who's intensity paralyses you. The sort that makes you lose it completely. It's the LOVE I feel for making music and art."

Young & Sick is currently on a N. American tour with The Knocks as direct support. Full upcoming date listing below. Tickets on sale now here.

Feb 8 // Dallas, TX @ Dada Dallas
Feb 9 // Austin, TX @ Historic Scoot Inn
Feb 10 // Houston, TX @ Bronze Peacock Room
Feb 12 // St. Louis, MO @ The Ready Room
Feb 14 // Chicago, IL @ Concord Music Hall
Feb 15 // Columbus, OH @ A&R Music Bar
Feb 16 // Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
Feb 17 // Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Feb 20 // Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts
Feb 21 // Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
Feb 23 // Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel

"Jet Black Heart" follows previous EP singles "No Good" and "Bitter End," which have seen critical love and a Spotify 'New Music Friday' playlist add for "Bitter End." The track has also been receiving spins by KCRW's Jason Bentley on Morning Becomes Eclectic.

Young & Sick is coming off a whirlwind 2018 that started with the January release of comeback EP, Ojai, which you can purchase on limited edition 7" vinyl here. His first body of work since his 2014 debut album, the EP was a reintroduction to Young & Sick's music and visual artistry, which NYLON detailed in an in-depth profile here. Single "Ojai" was also featured in an Apple Watch ad here. Nick followed Ojai with the summer release of his new No Static EP, which saw coverage from outlets like The FADER and Varietyand further solidified Young & Sick's return to the spotlight.

Last fall, Young & Sick was chosen to cover Passion Pit's "Sleepyhead" for the Neon Gold Records 10-Year Anniversary compilation. The track debuted with Stereogum here who described, "It's still a fully electronic endeavor, but something about Nick van Hofwegen's gentle treatment of the song reminds me of early Iron & Wine. Let me know if you hear where I'm coming from with that."

On the live side, Young & Sick played a run of shows at SXSW 2018 including a knockout set at Neon Gold Records' annual 'Neon Golden' event, and also made his first U.S. headline performances in 4 years in a pair of Los Angeles & NYC dates that immersed fans in a multi-faceted experience pairing his music performance with an interactive art exhibition. Young & Sick also debuted his first-ever fine art gallery show this August in Los Angeles, which featured a series of original visual and sculptural pieces made by Young & Sick.

Born in southern Holland, Nick attempted the traditional route of art through design school. Its cookie-cutter leanings led him to drop out in his first year and, at 20, he quit his 9-5 at a car parts factory in rural Holland and moved to London where, by a crux of fate, comedian Andy Dick came across a piece of his art. Nick's friend Mark had introduced them about a week prior. Suddenly, Nick had his first client. Shortly after, Mark's own band-a then little-known outfit by the name of Foster the People-asked Nick to do the artwork for their debut album Torches in 2011.

Nick has gone on to designing for others including covers for Maroon 5's Overexposed and Mikky Ekko's "Kids," as well as designing his own single/album artwork.