How Supalung, Big Special, and Broken Bells Speak to an Ancient Soul
From bands that deserve the world to albums worth falling for all over again, Nikolai's picks reflect a listener who never really gets a moment's peace from music, and wouldn't want one.
Nikolai (@wuzy_bambussy) moves through the March 21 to 23 prompts like someone who never really clocks out from music. Strong convictions, a soft spot for the real thing, and picks that back it up: a band he'd go to bat for, a lyric about guilt and grace, and an album that still gets to him years later.
The prompts land well with him. One asks which artist deserves more recognition right now, and for Nikolai that's not a hard question, it just means finding the one that earns it through craft and feel, not volume. Another goes after the song that doesn't quite fit the rest of the catalogue but somehow hits more than the others. The last one goes somewhere more personal, an album he'd give anything to hear with fresh ears, not out of nostalgia exactly, just wanting that first hit of it back.
Nikolai approaches all of it like someone for whom music is less of a hobby and more of a haunting. The ancient soul he mentions is real. You can feel it in the way he gravitates toward timeless production, poetic lyrics, artists that fly just under the radar. But it goes deeper than taste, this is someone music genuinely won't leave alone. Nikolai Jones is the songwriter and producer behind Wuzy Bambussy. Their single Late Libation is out March 26, with debut LP The Ghost & The Rhythm arriving April 15.
Which artist deserves more recognition right now?
I do sleep on a lot of new music as I have an ancient soul and I’m always digging in the past for my sonic fix. But I think Supalung deserve more attention. Although Sam Brookes & Pete Josef aren’t exactly lacking for listeners in their individual musical endeavours, the Supalung project merits the love of the Earth. They master & capture a timeless easiness and simplicity, making it all sound effortless. They utilise brass and strings in key areas which lift their songs exactly as needed. There’s elements of Motown soul, ‘80s synth pop but all wrapped up in a modern production. I’d recommend ‘Mocking Bird’ and ‘Little Light’ as stand out tracks from ‘I’m Alive’ - which is their sole LP to date.
Which song feels like a departure in an artist’s catalogue?
There’s such a soul and spirituality to it. Black Country gospel. I could listen to an entire LP in the vein of this song to be honest. I love the atmospheric minimalism in the production and the lyrics are as wonderfully poetic as ever. Singer Joe Hicklin said of the lyrics, it’s about trying to reach out when feelings of guilt and shame take hold. I love the chorus lyrics and the iconography they conjure.
Which album do you wish you could hear again for the first time?
This is tough! As I’ve rolled with inspirational duos throughout, I’m going for a duo again, with Broken Bells and their eponymous debut. Just so I can fall in love with it all over. Indie sensibility with the magic of the Danger Mouse production. Killer songs and grooves throughout. Stand out tracks for me is ‘The Ghost Inside’ which lyrically talks about the loss of soul in the hunt for materialistic trappings. And also ‘Vaporize’ which to me, it speaks again of a disconnect and discontent with modern life, of how we’re sold vacuous aspirations as unquestioning consumers, then before we realise it, the best part of our lives has been spent chasing a hollow status.
Nikolai's picks keep circling back to something. An artist that deserves more. A song about guilt and grace. An album that speaks to the hollow ambitions we spend our lives chasing. What connects them isn't genre or era, it's a listener who needs music to mean something, and keeps finding examples that it can.
Nikolai Jones is the songwriter and producer behind U.K. act Wuzy Bambussy, with single 'Late Libation' out March 26 and debut LP 'The Ghost & The Rhythm' following April 15, 2026.
