Most artists stick to something once they know it works, but NYK isn’t like most artists. For his upcoming album, Yeah I’m Manic, What About It?, the Malaysian singer-songwriter is doing a full 180. In BURO Malaysia’s June cover story, NYK lets us in on the journey to his musical rebirth and his most arduous sonic experimentation yet.

“It’s going to be a sound that you’ve never heard from me before,” NYK confidently grins as he talks about his upcoming full-length album. For the past few hours, the 31-year-old was the very picture of sleepy nonchalance and effortless cool, striking one photogenic pose after another. But it doesn’t take long for his eyes to light up when broaching the subject of his record, Yeah I’m Manic, What About It?

His excitement is palpable for many reasons. For one, it marks a clear sonic shift away from his usual brand of R&B sensibilities. And on a much deeper level, the record represents NYK’s personal journey to loving music again during a time when it was easy to shut everything off.

A CALLING FOR THE STAGE

“I wasn’t a cool kid,” NYK bashfully laughs into his hand. Recounting his awkward prepubescent years, the singer constantly felt out of place, like he never quite fit in. Many high school teens join sports teams or social clubs, but NYK gravitated to the choir group, where he quickly found solace and a love for the stage.

It’s hard to imagine the tattoo-laden emo-punk star as a theatre kid, but NYK is a man of many surprises. His team competed on a national level and even performed various musicals such as Mamma Mia, West Side Story, and Footloose. “When I played Ren McCormack, that was the moment I realised I loved performing,” he shares.

In fact, he had dreams of becoming an actor first. You can easily see NYK’s affecting performance in any one of his cinematic music videos, with the latest being ‘Camera’, the first single released off his upcoming album. The UK Garage track, featuring a gritty bass, an ambient synth-led production and syncopated rhythms, comes with an equally audacious music video.

Running around in a tipsy haze in a club, NYK ends up in a scuffle with a group of men after he gets too close to one of the girls. It isn’t until he’s maniacally laughing with blood dripping out of his mouth that the group finally walks away; nothing they do can hurt NYK more than he has already hurt himself.

It’s the perfect first track to debut the singer’s sonic shift and total transformation. “‘Camera’ embodies everything I want to convey for this album, and I can’t wait for people to hear the rest of what’s in store,” NYK shares.

NYK made his debut in 2017 with the pop single ‘FWB’, but it wasn’t until 2020 that he would find viral success in his collaborative track, ‘AAA’, with local artist Shelhiel. The English-Mando hip-hop funk track exploded on Douyin, garnering over 100 million streams.

“That moment not only legitimised my career but it also finally convinced my parents I could do this singing thing,” he laughs. With a certified hit under his belt, NYK’s career was due for take off. He continued to put out EPs along the same hip-hop and R&B vein, and opened for international stars such as HONNE, Bruno Major, and Ruel, further cementing his name as one of Malaysia’s emerging pop artists. But while the streams and numbers online spoke of success, the singer grew more restless and unfulfilled.

THE SOARING HIGHS AND CRASHING LOWS

“You would be surprised to know I wasn’t too happy with most of the music that I wrote,” he reveals. “I was under a tremendous amount of pressure from my record label to write a certain type of music, even though I have been wanting to pivot towards a different style for quite a while.”

Apart from musical challenges, NYK was also going through personal hardships that took a toll on his mental health. “I was at rock bottom in 2023 and completely stopped making music for an entire year. To the point I was even thinking of quitting entirely,” he shares.

Sometimes, you need to let go of something to realise how important it is. For NYK, time away allowed him to see exactly what was missing. It wasn’t until April 2024 that he slowly made his way back to the studio room. “The contrasting change in direction and genre made me rediscover my love for music again,” the singer explains. “That was the biggest revelation throughout this whole process for me.”

“I’m steering far away from R&B and hip hop and going fully into electronic,” NYK shares excitedly. “You just know when you’re ready. The type of ideas that came to me this time round were so different, and for the first time in a long time, I felt excited again to dive back in.”

NYK recalls the success of ‘AAA’ and why it was a pivotal moment for him as an artist. “It was a fun, satirical song about influencer culture, and I wrote it when I wasn’t taking myself too seriously—that is the direction I want to go back to in my new album.”

While commendable, it’s never easy for an artist to completely shift away from a sound that is proven to work for them, especially from a mainstream genre like R&B to the more indie subculture of electronic rave music. You risk alienating your listeners, which NYK is all too aware of. But to the singer, this experimental risk was necessary to avoid another creative existential crisis. “I used to want to keep this whole mysterious vibe going, which I’m so tired of doing,” he says with an exasperated huff.

“I just want to go back to the time I took everything lightly and make an absolute fool of myself,” he states. “I’m very happy with the music I’m making right now, it feels like it’s truly me.”

As an artist who is used to pouring his feelings into crafting gut-wrenchingly introspective lyrics, NYK has a new approach to honesty in his forthcoming album. Namely, laughing your pain away. In it, he completely sheds his sad boy persona to become a fully-fledged party fiend. “I used to take myself so seriously like I was some sort of tortured artist going ‘this is painful, this is suffering’, but this time round, it’s almost like I’m purposely closed up.”

Think Female Rage’s unhinged cousin, Male Dissociation. “The whole album has a this-guy-is-going-through-something-but-he’s-not-talking-about-it kind of vibe that feels both sad and funny at the same time,” NYK muses. Rather than trying to unpack those emotions, the tracks function like shots of serotonin that invite you into a world where ecstasy is the currency and ‘party now, think never’ is a way of life.

A TRAGEDY OR A COMEDY?

But this direction, in itself, is an honest and relatable take on how real people deal with trauma. After all, there is a notion that the loudest and happiest people mask the deepest wounds. “I’m literally showing everyone my trauma response: I’m going to have fun, party, and not think about anything at all. So there is a dark undertone to it.”

At the end of the day, it’s an album that is up to listeners to interpret: dissect it as a piece of art or take it for what it is on the surface—a dance-party album of pure dopamine.

When asked about how the title of the album came to be, NYK recounts a conversation with a friend when he was at his lowest in 2023. Rather than sinking into depression, he recalls feeling invincible and being far too happy for how he was supposed to feel. “My friend described it as a manic episode, which I didn’t understand at the time. But after they explained it, everything made so much more sense.”

To reflect the constant mood switches, NYK saw electronic music as the perfect medium, but it came with its own baggage. “It was hard to transition. Electronic music is very difficult to produce, it’s not as easy as slapping samples together.”

To say the album is a labour of love is an understatement. During the year-long preparation, NYK and his team spent months learning from icons in the UK rave and EDM scene, such as A.G. Cook, Skrillex, George Daniel, Gorillaz, and Charli XCX. “We really had to study the genre before starting on the album. It was completely foreign and we had to unlearn and relearn a lot of things, for sure, but it was a really rewarding journey.”

If there’s one thing NYK trusts and thrives in, it’s the creative process. With his producer friend, Kuszanagi, the two work in tandem to translate ideas and build as they go. “I believe creating should always be fluid.”

With the album slated for an October release, NYK is already in full-throttle mode for the Deluxe edition, which will have 15 tracks altogether and is set to drop early next year. When asked what songs he can share, his eyes shimmer with excitement. “Oh, which ones do I pick? They’re all so good, and I really don’t say this about my previous stuff,” he laughs.

There’s the intro track, ‘Welcome to the Club’, an absolute head-banger where NYK goes “nuts”; ‘Falling’, one of his favourite songs lyrically; and ‘So Tired, I Wanna Die’, which NYK foresees as the relatable anthem of the album.

At the end of our conversation, I ask NYK what he’s most anxious about with the launch. “I’m happy with the music, but I’m concerned about the selling part,” the singer answers with sobering self-awareness. As an independent project, NYK is self-funding the album to get it off the ground.

“We’re all aware of how Malaysia’s local music industry is—the cancellations, restrictions, lack of consumer spending…There are a lot of barriers to entry to doing music here.”

Whatever the case may be, NYK doesn’t spend too much time dwelling on those anxieties. Instead, he intends to tune out all the noise and put his music on full blast. “I’ve never been more sure of anything, and I’m going to make it work.”

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