9ICK - SMIL (Self Release) [Nu-Jazz]

The Slow Music Movement
Nov 3
2 min read

The cover for 9IC'S SMIL album, showing smiling colorful buildings by a canal, boats, trees, and bridge with cars. "SMIL 9ICK" text above. Cheerful, whimsical city scene.

Hailing from Denmark, Nicolas Hamilton Stephensen aka 9ICK is a classically trained pianist, producer, a keen collaborator with a fondness for instrumental hip hop and an increasingly jazzy inclination. He's not shy of putting in the hours as well, he's been grinding hard for the last six years searching for his sound with a slew of releases exploring the downtempo beat spectrum from boom bap to chill hop, whilst dabbling with soul, flirting with pop and jumping in the studio with the more thoughtful rappers that he crosses paths with, culminating in his brand new album which is a full on nu-jazz pleasure.

Nicolas Hamilton Stephensen aka 9ICK smiles in a dark sweater stands outside a building with large windows and blue trim under a cloudy sky.

The album is solid with not a bad track on it - mostly short and sweet sub two minute jazz hop bombs, that whilst not turning heads with their originality, certainly won't be causing any complaints either - the production is tight and the collaborators are right. My main complaint is that in very 2025 fashion most of the tunes say good-bye when most jazz track are just warming up, but perhaps that's just me showing my age? And to be honest it's not much of a complaint either.

Kicking off with the synth quivering and skittering broken beats of "Start With a Smile!" next up is 9ICK's safe place, the bumping, head nodding hip hop tempo, in this case orchestral jazz joy of, "Morning Bike Ride", closely followed by the horn and piano guided, "Talk for Mad" featuring Braxton Cook no less. Getting the dancers moving is the more funktified, "Postcards From 2023" before "Flying My Kite" sees the drummer run to the toilet, leaving the tune to float through the speakers unaided like a stray cloud on a summer day.

And so the hip hop meets jazz vibe continues, pausing for breath so Hamilton can have a solo noodle on his piano and show off all those years of practise on "Hjem til Kobenhavn", before "My Piano Drifted Away" adopts an old school sentimental jazz mood piece that just as you're taking a trip down memory lane takes a pleasingly lysergic twist near the end. "Bridgewater Canal" then ups the tempo with some cool, live broken beats and cosmic keys, before the album says good night with "Godnat". If good natured, short and sweet nu-jazz meets instrumental hip hop is your thing then look no further