FEATURING LEON BRIDGES, JIM JAMES,DIRTY PROJECTORS, ALESSIA CARA, ST. PANTHER, TERRACE MARTIN, KIANA LEDÉ, LIDO PIMIENTA, AYONI, DUENDITA, JOHN-ROBERT AND MORE

PARTNERING WITH THE SOLUTIONS PROJECT TO MATCH DONATIONS IN SUPPORT OF HYPER-LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE

The Room, the debut album from Grammy-winning, multiplatinum producer and songwriter Ricky Reed, is available now via his own Nice Life Recording Company.

Photo credit Chantal Anderson

Listen HERE.

The Room is a result of Reed’s remote collaborations during lockdown, mostly created during the NICE LIVE! sessions, where many of the songs were started and/or worked on by Reed and his collaborators in real time. The songs are inspired by Reed’s and his collaborators’ feelings, attitudes, and experiences in the first half of 2020. The album features collaborations from Leon BridgesJim JamesDirty ProjectorsAlessia CaraAyoniKiana LedéLido Pimientaduendita, and John-Robert among others.  

On March 16, in direct response to the current global crisis and the stay at home ordinance, Reed moved his producing and writing sessions online from his home studio and published an open letter in the Los Angeles Times addressing the artist community and urging them to “band together by staying apart.” Beginning as a mental health exercise to keep motivated, as well as to help inspire, challenge and gather fellow creatives, Reed took the online sessions one step further; he began hosting livestreams twice per week (Mondays and Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. PT) on his Nice Life YouTube channel, and NICE LIVE! was born. The sessions offer an unpolished look at the conversations between Reed and friends, which are often the flashpoint for a new song or instrumental that Reed will then create live on the spot. Reed explains, “The Room is a running record of me trying to stay connected with my community, cope with the terror of pandemic, and supply love and energy for the revolution while spending a lot of time looking inward. For me the music is a warmly lit healing place for us all to gather, zoom out, and work through the strangest time of our lives, together.”

As part of the album campaign, Reed and Nice Life partnered with The Solutions Project, a nonprofit that connects people with frontline communities working to combat the climate crisis. The Solutions Project promotes climate justice through grantmaking and amplifying the stories of frontline community leaders in media, using culture as a tool to get people to pay attention to what’s working and join the broader cause. The partnership is raising funds for and awareness of three organizations across the country, chosen by collaborators on the album—The Good Life Garden in Brooklyn, SCOPE in South Central Los Angeles, and Native Renewables in Navajo Nation—to showcase their land, jobs and energy solutions to climate change. Donations can be made during the NICE LIVE! livestream as well as on the Nice Life YouTube channel. As part of this partnership, donations up to $30K will be matched to these organizations through The Solutions Project.

Ricky Reed is best known for his work with Lizzo, Maggie Rogers, Twenty One Pilots, Halsey, Leon Bridges and many others. Reed started Nice Life Recording Company in 2014 as a joint venture with Atlantic Records, signing and developing global superstar Lizzo. While Lizzo remains in the joint venture, Nice Life went independent in 2017 and the label earned its first #1 record with Lizzo’s smash hit “Truth Hurts” in 2019.

RICKY REEDTHE ROOM:

1. Shipwreck with Michael Sneed

2. Us (How Sweet It Was) with Jim James & duendita

3. In A New Place with Malaya

4. Real Magic with Terrace Martin & St. Panther

5. No Future with Godfather666

6. Catch You with Lido Pimienta

7. Fav Boy with John-Robert & Alessia Cara

8. We’ll Be Home Soon with Biloba

9. Better with Leon Bridges & Kiana Ledé

10. No Stone with Dirty Projectors & Ayoni