After many years as bassist in The Strokes, Nikolai Fraiture is stepping forward into the lead-singer limelight in his new band Summer Moon. Formed by Fraiture with Stephen Perkins (Jane’s Addiction), Camilo Grey (Uh Huh Her) and Noah Harmon (The Airborne Toxic Event), Summer Moon is an interesting outfit that, on the evidence of ‘Happenin’‘, doesn’t really sound like any of those acts at all. It is taken from the band’s debut album With You Tonight, which will appear on February 24th, and is an addictively restless track which features Fraiture on bass and lead vocals.
Fraiture was able to spend time away from his usual Stokes commitments, putting together rough demos and experimenting with sounds (such as the percussion on ‘Happenin’‘, which sounds like there might be a few milk bottles in with the drums) until the tracks started to take shape. At this stage, he enlisted the help of producer Brad Bell (Arcade Fire, The War On Drugs), who helped shape the album’s sound; ‘Happenin’‘ is an intriguing introduction into Summer Moon’s world.
