Executive Overview
To categorize Nick Hakim simply as a soul artist is to overlook the spectral, transcendent architecture of his sonic universe. Based in Queens, the multifaceted polymath has spent years cementing his reputation as a trusted, shape-shifting collaborator for figures as wildly disparate as indie-folk luminary Adrianne Lenker and modern rap icon Lil Yachty. Yet, while his guest appearances and production credits span a vast cross-section of contemporary music, Hakim reserves his most breathtaking work for his own catalog. With his latest full-length project, I Can See—released via Earseed—Hakim crafts an intoxicating brand of spectral R&B, driven by sound design so immaculate that the production itself functions as a sentient instrument.
Spanning five years of meticulous fine-tuning, I Can See arrives as Hakim’s most cohesive and ambitious statement to date. Co-produced alongside Andrew Sarlo—a visionary studio architect renowned for his work with Dijon, Bon Iver, and other vanguard indie acts—the album bridges the chasm between raw, intimate bedroom demos and high-definition, otherworldly fidelity. The resulting record is an ethereal, ghost-haunted journey through memory, loss, and spiritual convergence. It sounds simultaneously ancient and futuristic, capturing the warm crackle of dusty vinyl while radiating the crisp, holographic precision of modern spatial audio.
As Hakim navigates the dual collapses of a long-term record deal and a foundational romantic relationship, he transforms deep personal mourning into weightless art. I Can See is not merely an album to be heard; it is an environment to be inhabited—a sonic séance that invites listeners to sit in the heavy fog of the past and emerge, ultimately, into a state of transcendent calm.
Detailed Chronology: The Five-Year Evolution of I Can See
The genesis of I Can See stretches back even further than the rollout of Hakim’s 2022 full-length, Cometa. While Cometa offered listeners a woozy, whispery, and hypnotic trip through jazz-inflected R&B, material for I Can See was quietly gestating in the background, undergoing half a decade of painstaking refinement.
From Bedroom Demos to Studio Alchemy
Hakim’s creative process relies heavily on preserving the raw, vulnerable intimacy of his initial ideas. Rather than scrubbing away the imperfections, he and his core band spent five years capturing subtle grooves as if conjuring them directly from the ether, slowly blurring them into a textured mirage. The recording process spanned a remarkably diverse array of environments: from the legendary, sprawling expanses of Sonic Ranch in Texas to various lavish, state-of-the-art facilities in New York City, down to humble, unassuming home studios.
Despite the logistical and geographic shifts, the album maintains a stunning aesthetic uniformity. Where Cometa was rendered in a sleek, crystal-clear focus, I Can See sounds as though it were captured from the other side of a room in an old, abandoned home—one currently inhabited by a benevolent, divine presence. It is a testament to Hakim and Sarlo’s production prowess that these disparate sessions yielded a singular, cohesive sonic ecosystem.
The Catalysts of Grief and Transition
The thematic urgency of I Can See was sharpened by profound life changes. During the writing and recording process, Hakim found himself navigating the simultaneous dissolution of a long-term romantic relationship and the end of a major record deal. This double-barreled heartbreak permeates the record’s DNA.
On tracks like "Real Here Now," the veil between the living and the departed grows paper-thin. Hakim addresses themes of spiritual communication and lingering ghosts with devastating candor, singing:
"My sister, she’s been learning magic / She claims, she talks to grandpa in the attic."
Yet, the specters haunting the narrator are just as often romantic ghosts. As the song unfolds, Hakim laments:
"I hear laughing, and it sounded just like you / I hear singing, that song you always love to do."
Rather than drowning in self-pity, Hakim treats these heavy emotional burdens with feather-light grace. He moves through a dense fog of memory, transmuting profound sorrow into songs that feel as light as air.
Supporting Context & Metrics: The Ensemble and Sonic Architecture
To fully appreciate the scope of I Can See, one must examine the elite ensemble of musicians and engineers who brought Hakim’s vision to life. The album’s credits reflect an uncompromising commitment to musical excellence, featuring a tight-knit core unit complemented by surprising, cross-genre collaborations.
The Core Unit and Instrumentation
Throughout the album, Hakim relies on a trusted collective of instrumentalists who intuitively understand his spectral aesthetic:
- Drums & Percussion: Vishal Nayak and Abe Rounds
- Guitars: Joe Harrison and Dylan Day
- Bass: Kyle Miles
- Keyboards & Piano: Occasional contributions from Jake Sherman, though Hakim frequently handles piano, synthesizer, and MPC duties himself in addition to delivering his signature falsetto vocals.
Genre-Bending Collaborations
The liner notes for I CanSee are peppered with fascinating creative pairings that highlight Hakim’s expansive network within the New York music scene:
- "The Reason": Features grain-heavy, atmospheric guitar work alongside guest vocal contributions from modern soul vanguards Moses Sumney and June McDoom.
- The Experimental Edge: In a delightful twist against type, the album features songwriting credits for Julian Pratt of the experimental hardcore outfit Show Me The Body. In a masterclass of cross-pollination, one particular track places Pratt’s name directly alongside avant-garde icon Arto Lindsay.
The Sarlo Factor: Reimagining the Studio
Andrew Sarlo’s involvement as co-producer cannot be overstated. Over the past decade, Sarlo has helped redefine indie-adjacent music by pushing artists to treat the recording studio as an active instrument rather than a passive tape recorder. Just as Sarlo aided Dijon and Bon Iver in completely reinventing their respective sounds on groundbreaking records like Baby and i,i, he helps Hakim achieve a quantum sonic leap on I Can See.
However, whereas records like i,i leaned into deconstructed, futuristic digital soundscapes, I Can See achieves a thoroughly organic, celestial warmth. It represents a striking convergence of the utterly natural and the supernatural—the sound of an artist learning to make peace with the ghosts of his past.
Official Statements & Lyrical Analysis
Hakim’s lyrics throughout the album serve as a meta-commentary on his musical approach. They describe a shifting, malleable reality where memories bleed into the present moment.
On the opening title track, "I Can See," Hakim sets the thematic table with stark vulnerability:
"It all comes back / In a mist / Then it fades away like before,"
he sings, pushing his voice up into a delicate, pristine falsetto that bears the technical agility and emotional resonance of prime Michael Jackson.
Later, on another standout track, his lyrics aptly capture the swirling, elusive nature of the album’s production style:
"Love our late night noise parade / The source feels far away / And it shifts like soft wet clay / But always stays the same."
This duality—something feeling simultaneously distant yet overwhelmingly close, shifting yet permanent—defines the listening experience of I Can See. It is an auditory exploration of what it feels like to immerse oneself entirely in a treasured past while grappling with the agonizing permanence of what has been lost.
Future Outlook: A New Benchmark for Modern R&B
With I Can See, Nick Hakim has not merely delivered a follow-up to Cometa; he has established a new benchmark for what modern R&B and soul can achieve when untethered from rigid genre constraints. By treating sound design as a physical medium, Hakim has crafted an album that demands active, immersive listening.
As the record finds its way into the hands of listeners navigating their own dark nights of the soul, its impact is bound to ripple far beyond the indie-soul underground. I Can See proves that sorrow, when filtered through exceptional artistry and profound empathy, does not have to crush the listener. Instead, Hakim’s flickering laments offer a transcendent calm, guiding his audience out of the fog and into the light.
For those willing to surrender to its ghostly grooves, I Can See is an unforgettable triumph—a poignant reminder of why Nick Hakim remains one of the most vital and visionary polymaths working in music today.
I Can See is available now via Earseed. Physical and digital editions can be pre-ordered and secured through official distribution channels.
