“Ninataka (I Want)” is a stunningly organic production that's exemplary of Nicholson's many years honing his craft in the studio. A producer who is as equally skilled at orchestrating cascading synths and subaquatic electric pianos as he is at casting the right characters in the studio.

Nicholson is a master music maker and is equipped with his distinctive process-oriented production techniques and musical visions for what a song truly can be. Inspired by the Rhumba Styled percussion of Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band, tracks like “Sunshower” were the initial focus of his first musical track draft that he sent along to top-shelf keyboard cowboy—Younger Brother of Actor/Comedian Craig Robinson, and ‘The Nasty Delicious’ Music Director—Chicago’s Very Own, Chris "Rob" Robinson.

An extremely accomplished musician and performer, Chris Rob has performed with and alongside everyone from Prince & The New Power Generation to Elton John, Snoop Dogg, and Barry Manilow, to Roberta Flack, Cee-Lo Green, and Patti Austin, just to name a few. Rob spends much of his year as an acting Music Director for many of Hip-Hops finest from Pete Rock & CL Smooth, to Black Moon and Talib Kweli.

After Chris sent three acoustic piano takes to Anthony for his use, and after trying a few different variations, he settled on just using the very take from Chris in its entirety. From his first added accompaniment to his programming, Nicholson was ready to present this newest version to Amaury Acosta, the NYC-Based composer, (U)nity Band leader, and percussionist.



KokuGonza | SingerSongwriter

Acosta created, tracked, and sent back three intricate percussion takes for Anthony to work with.
He then began carefully blending the three live percussion takes over his programmed quantized sequence—being very thoughtful about the preservation of Amaury Acosta’s dynamic shuffling groove—effectively humanizing the rhythm section of “Ninataka (I Want)”.

Having worked with the Tanzanian-Kihaya Neo-Soul revivalist, Koku Gonza, on two of her original compositions as well as two more songs— together—in collaboration, their styles found a very solid counterpoint together. Utilizing his signature “Chicago Eclectic Organic Rhumba AfroBeat” approach to design the spatial ambiance around her tambour and cadence, and matched Gonza’s emotive vibe and strengths.

Switching dialects, the sultry Swahili and English vocals of Koku gracefully float to the top of this definitive future classic of Nicholson’s. A Nicholson signature, to be certain, he has an innate talent to cast, enlist, direct and produce the exact right musicians and resources for him to achieve the retro-futurist afro-nu-jazz vibes he is world-renowned for.

Anthony uses a few key self-imposed structure limitations in his creative process when writing which allows him to free up brain matter for more important tasks of his environmental discoveries in ways that encourage consistent differentiation through probability and exercises.

Another future classic from the Logan Square producer, Nicholson takes his time to make his music with great care, compassion, and depth, and it is magnetic for these reasons. Modern music of spiritual substance, crafted in a way that avoids cliche, eschewing just enough groove to dance across the room, but also just enough to over-intellectualize, but spiritual enough to make a cognitive emotive connection with the listener, through aesthetically masterful artwork.