Originally appeared on the 405, view archived article here. 

To follow Young & Sick is to be invested in more than just a musician. The Holland-born and LA-based artist, né Nick van Hofwegen, is a songwriter, producer, and visual artist who has just put out his second EP of 2018, following a lengthy gap in music releases—under his Young & Sick moniker, that is. He collaborated with JD Samson as SHARER in 2015, and as Mr Sanka with Mustafa and James in 2016. His visual art career hasn’t suffered either, having shown original work at FF-1051 Gallery in Los Angeles earlier this month.

I picked van Hofwegen’s brain about the new EP and his simultaneous careers; read an excerpt below and the full article here.

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You’ve said that ‘No Static’ is about how hectic life gets creating as much art as you do. Is there also an implication as to how that affects your social life?

‘No Static’ is a song about many things, and leaves a lot to the imagination intentionally. One of the themes is about listening to your own advice, and how hard that may be at times. My personal interpretation of the song is that I constantly try to be a better person, a better partner, and a better human. Sometimes the answers to how to do that are simple but the execution proves more difficult.

The ‘Up Down’ cover is not just a bop, but it’s also so satisfying to hear your music in the structure of T-Pain. Why did you choose that song in particular for this EP?

I love T-Pain a lot and have always wanted to cover one of his many bangers. I think covers are the most fun when they are out of your comfort zone, and far from what you are doing artistically. It allows me to really experiment and push things. It’s also fun to pick something a lot of people know…messing with a classic. Other songs I considered: Aqua – ‘Barbie Girl’. SpongeBob Squarepants theme. The Polish national anthem.