Certain songs take a moment to assume their true form. That was the case with Nick Hakim‘s “Green Twins,” soon to be included on an album of the same name scheduled to drop on May 19.
“I watch life inside of you grow/Every month a little bit bigger,” go the lyrics. The track is an ode to the cues given to us by the subconscious. The Brooklyn singer had the same dream, in which he saw two green babies “made out of some green jello texture,” crushed on a street in Jamaica Plains, Massachusetts.
The “Green Twins” lyrics were written in response in October 2013 and Hakim has given fans a taste of the song before, as far back as 2014 when Sofar London released a video of the Brooklyn singer performing the song to a living room audience in the throes of extreme relaxation. But the track’s official, appropriately lucid audio came out just this month.
Hakim has a practice of holding onto songs before they’re ready for an official debut — he once told an interviewer that 2014’s Where Will We Go? double EP project sat in his computer for years before he considered it ready for the public. He experiences a certain reluctance to put out tracks with painful personal connotation.
Minimal neo-soul washed with soft, worshipful notes like Hakim’s sometimes involve a deceptively complicated creation process. Watching the live ATO Session of “Green Twins,” one wonders how the dream of the green twins manifested in the life of its receiver. Hakim’s voice has picked up a satisfying touch of rasp and a backing band fleshes out the neo soul spareness of his solo version.
Watch our premiere of the live session above.
Nick Hakim’s Green Twins drops on May 19 via ATO Records. Pre-order it here.