Nik Thakkar

Nik Thakkar is multi-disciplinary recording artist known professionally as NEO 10Y.

NEO 10Y
NEO 10Y in 2015
Born
London, England
NationalityBritish
Known forSpirituality, Consciousness Expansion, Music, Contemporary Art, Contemporary Music, Song Writing Fashion, Political Art, Pop Music, Activism, Public Speaking
AwardsGenArt Prize 2015 at New York Fashion Week, Time Out Magazine's Top 100 Creatives

Education and early career

NEO 10Y was born and raised in London, where he was classically trained in piano and vocals.[1] He studied Law and French at Cardiff University.[2]

In 2013, he was scouted in Paris by Jean-Paul Gaultier for the eponymous label's AW13-14 digital campaign,[3] did the Art of Packing project for Louis Vuitton,[4] and filmed a short film called An Ode to Oud for Tom Ford.[5]

2013 - 2016: Art and fashion

Thakkar teamed up with London-based designer Ada Zanditon in 2013 to create Ada + Nik, a luxury non binary clothing line featured in London Collections for five consecutive seasons.[6][7] They designed five collections with a typically dark silhouette and had runway shows at London and New York Fashion Weeks.[8]

Rapper Angel Haze, artist and poet Kojey Radical, and comedian Jack Whitehall wore the line, which was praised for making wearable technology aesthetically pleasing.[9] Thakkar was described as “the pop couture poster boy.”[1] He served as a judge for WSGN's Global Fashion Awards and the Fashion Monitor Journalism Awards in 2013.[10][11]

Ada + Nik collaborated with will.i.am to create the world's first camera enabled biker jacket.[12]

2016 to present: NEO 10Y

For his stage name NEO 10Y, Thakkar combined neoteny as a positive force and the significance of number 10 as "rebirth and revolution".[13] He first used it for the dark electronic track he anonymously published in June 2016.[14][15] The song would debut as Amerikkka at a Tom Ford party.[13]

In October 2016, NEO 10Y released "NEO 10Y vs. NIHIL: The Kid That Killed Trump," a three-part music video for his tracks Amerikkka, Janis and Wild West. It caused controversy by using live sex and burning a mask of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. The artist subsequently received hate mail and FBI reports.[13][16] NEO 10Y's work has been described as "lyrical political activism".[15]

On 10 October 2018, NEO 10Y released dual release of Dopamine and Poems To Fuck To along with two interconnected videos where they show the artist dragging himself into the future as a symbol for humanity's urgent need to evolve to save the planet.[17]

When discussing the meaning of his artist name further, NEO 10Y says “the one and zero in my name is rooted in the fact that ten is the only number where both parts of the binary code are cohesively together demonstrating a sense of togetherness, which is integral to my voice, non-binary nature and artistry. The ultimate balance. Complete. Also, my Sanskrit name is Nikhil which means "complete".[18]

On October 10, 2019, NEO 10Y released the song Stan Yourself along with a music video which were described as "powerful",[19] "glimmering", "seductive"[20] and "a multidimensional, visually engulfing, cohesive cerebral tapestry.”[21]

In 2020, NEO 10Y released four singles, titled ILY, Y, Crackhead Angel and Unrelatable Autosexual to acclaim from Billboard,[22] COLORS,[23] Paper,[24] Gal Dem, Gay Times,[25] Dazed, BBC Radio, Soho Radio and more. The four releases all have the common thread of love energy, universal introspection, curiosity, self realisation through a provocative and cerebral lens.[26]

On January 1, 2021 NEO 10Y released Shortcut To World Peace with a succinct message of love being the shortcut to world peace, and decoding love as a philosophy of non-violence.[27] The intention of Shortcut To World Peace is to "help us manifest freedom, peace and the future that we deserve," according to NEO 10Y in an article for Paper Magazine.[28] The Los Angeles Tribune described NEO 10Y as "A New Wave of Consciousness For An Inclusive Spiritual Revolution".


Musical style and influences

NEO 10Y presented his Amerikkka as "electronic aggression" comparable to Aphex Twin and Squarepusher.[29] Thakkar listed Grace Jones, Elliott Smith, Bob Marley and Zaha Hadid as inspirations for his art.[13]

He also cites Britney Spears, Kurt Cobain, Aaliyah and 2Pac as influences.[30]

Activism

In 2015, Thakkar teamed up with All Boxed Up to raise funds to support the Albert Kennedy Trust for homeless LGBTQ youth.[31]

Thakkar attended an anti-Donald Trump Rally in London dressed in his NEO 10Y Mickey Mouse character.[32]

In 2018, Nik was part of a controversial set of episodes for BBC3's ‘Britain’s Most Offended’ TV show as a vegan activist. Equating the slaughter of animals to rape and racism, his arguments brought on a large discussion of the treatment of animals.[33]

In 2018 with the release of NEO 10Y single Dopamine, Nik's hopes for world peace was made more clear in this Gay Times article where he said, “For us to choose love, those of us with voices need to use them to speak up, otherwise there is no point in us having platforms.”[34] Also discussing world peace in Billboard he commented on the song Dopamine "the bridge of the song explains this clearly with, "I am full of hope and all I'm longing for is peace/ So please give me that my friend" is the idea of finding peace within oneself, so that we can find peace as a planet, for humanity overall.[35]

In an interview with Buzzfeed in 2019, Nik spoke out about nude solicitations from an editor at Billboard magazine.[36] This resulted in the editor being fired and a movement within the queer community encouraging other artists to speak up about similar unprofessional behaviour.[37] Billboard magazine released a statement in support of NEO 10Y and other artists.[38]

In March 2019, Nik was featured in a mini documentary about Climate Change Anxiety for BBC Ideas where he stated that at this point in history the onus is on the individual to create action through changes in consumption patterns.[39]

In December 2019, NEO 10Y published an essay titled "Deconstructing “genre” and the bipolar experience of being an independent artist in 2020" in Line of Best Fit where they said,. "I describe my sound as genre-bending, and myself as a post pop*. That’s because “pop” has always visibly been white, blonde and female. In my role in society as a rule-breaker of norms within the arts, I wanted to be that queer, brown, non-binary person who also happens to be a full 360º performer and creator of their universe that deconstructs “pop” for what it traditionally has been seen as: a dated concept built by men who've had authoritative control over what is “popular” since the day that music became a capitalist entity as opposed to, say, the God-given right to create sound that every human should have access to".[40]

2020 saw NEO 10Y fronting the Future Normal campaign for The Vegan Society with their dog, 10 and discussing a conscious future for humanity of non violence.[41]

Awards and recognition

Thakkar won the GenArt Prize together with Ada Zanditon at New York Fashion Week in 2015.[42]

He was included among the one hundred most original and influential people in the UK creative and media industries by Time Out Magazine in 2012[43] and was voted one of the top-five most eligible bachelors of 2017 by the readers of Out Magazine.[44]

References
  1. Turner, Ian Michael. "Chasseur Interviews Nik Thakkar". Chasseur Magazine. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  2. "Student life: how did university help you?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  3. Hawkins, Shane (9 October 2013). "JEAN PAUL GAULTIER - NIK THAKKAR FACES THE AW13-14 DIGITAL CAMPAIGN". Wonderland Magazine.
  4. Cheeseman, Clara. "Louis Vuitton and Nik Thakkar's Packing Essentials". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  5. Sauvalle, Julien (11 April 2014). "Tom Ford 'An Ode To Oud' Featuring Nik Thakkar". Out Magazine. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  6. "Ada + Nik Menswear show report". www.vogue.co.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  7. "Ada + Nik Menswear show report". www.gq-magazine.co.uk.
  8. "Ada + Nik". vogue.co.uk. Vogue (British magazine).
  9. Burn-Callander, Rebecca. "Camera-enabled biker jacket hits Harrods". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  10. Bowe, Harriet. "The WGSN Global Fashion Awards Announced Judging Panel". The Industry. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  11. Bowe, Harriet. "First Ever Fashion Monitor Journalism Awards Winners Announced". The Industry. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  12. "Ekocycle and Ada+Nik's Jacket". forbes. Nov 18, 2015.
  13. Crowley, Patrick. "NEO 10Y Premieres 'Echo Chamber' Video, Talks Kathy Griffin, Lana Del Rey and Importance of Being a Queer Person of Color". Billboard. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  14. Sapienza, Ethan. "Exclusive Track Premiere: 'AMERIKKKA,' NEO 10Y". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  15. Moore, Vanessa (10 December 2016). "Masked trip-hop vigilante and lyrical activist: NEO 10Y". XXY Magazine. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  16. Moran, Justin. "Anon Artist NEO 10Y Criticizes American Culture in 'The Kid That Killed Trump' - Bullett Media". bullettmedia.com. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  17. "NEO 10Y Talks Dual Music Video Release". billboard.com. billboard.
  18. "The meaning of Thakkar artist name further, NEO 10Y". billboard.com. billboard.
  19. "Stan Yourself review". gaytimes.co.uk. gay times.
  20. "Stan Yourself playlist". gal-dem.com. gal dem.
  21. "Stan Yourself premiere". billboard.com. billboard.
  22. "NEO 10Y Wants To Help You Connect With The Universe". billboard.com. billboard.
  23. "NEO 10Y - Y - Song Of The Day". colorsxstudios.com. ColorsxStudios.
  24. "NEO 10Y Premieres Crackhead Angel Video". papermag.com. paper.
  25. "NEO 10Y gets real about self-love on new track Unrelatable Autosexual". gaytimes.co.uk. Gay Times.
  26. "Non-Binary Fashion and Music Icon NEO 10Y". almondsprestige.com. Almonds Prestige.
  27. "NEO 10Y reveals the secret of world peace in Shortcut to World Peace". out.bg. OUT.
  28. "NEO 10Y's Shortcut To World Peace". papermag.com. paper.
  29. "NEO 10Y: AMERIKKKA". Kick Kick Snare. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  30. "Britney, Kurt,Aaliyah and 2Pac influences". Gay Times.
  31. Boardman, Mickey (9 December 2015). "London Man About Town Nik Thakkar Wants to Groom You for a Good Cause". Papermag. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  32. "Nik attended an anti-Trump Rally". Gay Star News.
  33. "BBC Three". BBC News Online. February 23, 2018.
  34. "Nick in interview with gay Times". Gay Times. October 10, 2018.
  35. "discussing world peace in Billboard". billboard.com. Billboard.
  36. "nudes solicitation". buzzfeed.com. Buzzfeed.
  37. "NEO 10Y and other artists speak out". advocate.com. Advocate.
  38. "statement from Billboard in support of artists". billboard.com. Billboard.
  39. "climate change". bbc.com. BBC.
  40. "Deconstructing "genre"". lineofbestfit.com. Line Of Best Fit.
  41. "Future Normal". karlismyunkle.com. KIMU.
  42. "Ada + Nik fill us in on their Gen Art 2015 Award win - Notion Magazine". Notion Magazine. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  43. "The h.Club 100: the winners". Time Out. 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  44. "Adam Lambert is the Most Eligible Bachelor of 2017". Out Magazine. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
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