My history with Nick Drake, who passed away 50 years ago

And the release of a cover version of "From The Morning."

🇧🇷 A edição em português agora é publicada em um link separado. Clique aqui pra ler.

1. In August 2007, a health issue prompted me to head to my parents' house in the countryside. I ended up staying there for a month, and during much of that time, I needed some assistance to get around. Someone was always nearby offering to help, saying things like, "Let me get that for you," or "You don’t have to get up." My sister was one of those people. One day, someone lent me the movie *Garden State*. I can vividly picture my sister lounging on the couch while I settled into an armchair, the TV humming in the background as the movie played. Suddenly, a beautiful song began to play—the intro featured an acoustic guitar, followed by a piano, and some jazzy bossa nova drums, all accompanied by a soft yet powerful voice singing lyrics I couldn’t quite grasp. After the movie, my sister and I wandered into the garden, chatting about the film. I distinctly remember telling her, “You know, I think that might be the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard.”

2. It took me a few days to track down the song's name, One of These Things First, along with its creator and performer, Nick Drake, an English musician who sadly passed away at just 26. I discovered he left behind only three recorded albums, and while there are a few photos of him, there are no videos. In the following weeks, I found myself reading his Wikipedia page before bed, sometimes struggling to grasp certain phrases in English. When that happened, I would pause at a particular photo of his grave beneath a tree, nestled in what appeared to be a sprawling garden. It felt both sad and peaceful, beautiful yet mysterious. 

3. The next few years were all about diving into those three albums. I played them so often that my brother and sister also got into them. Even my parents and some friends wanted to check out this artist I was obsessed with. Then, one of my friends went to Europe and brought me the DVD A Skin Too Few as a gift. That was the first time I really learned about Nick—where he was born, what his home life was like, where he went to school, what he liked to do, and how he spent his last day. Honestly, I hadn’t cared much about that stuff before, and I still don’t, to be honest.

4. What has been steadily growing over the years is my interest in his music. With only three albums and a handful of home recordings released sporadically, experiencing Nick Drake's work has always been a gradual journey. I could easily listen to everything he has recorded in just two hours, but instead, I've found myself immersed in this two-hour collection for 17 years now. It's akin to sitting before a majestic mountain, gazing at it for hours. What do you begin to observe and feel during that time? It’s also reminiscent of focusing on your breath, a fundamental aspect of meditation. What transformations occur within you after hours, days, or even years of engaging in a singular practice?

5. Sometimes, my connection with Nick Drake's music became a big part of my work. Back in 2017, I kicked off a project to share his music in Brazil, which I named Lua Rosa, the Portuguese version of Pink Moon. I set up shows where Brazilian musicians played his songs and held workshops about his life and work. This adventure took me to places I never thought I'd go, and I met fans from all over. I had some great chats with people who really got his music and his story, like the producer Joe Boyd or the photographer Julian Lloyd. I even got the chance to perform with my partner, Ju, at a theatre in Nick's hometown, Tanworth-in-Arden, alongside other fans from around the world.

6. The project has definitely slowed down over the past few years. People often ask me, “Aren’t you going to do anything else?” and I can’t help but feel a bit guilty about it. But as I write this, I realise the project never really stopped; it’s just taken a different route that’s more laid-back and drawn out - very similar, in the end, to how I experience listening to Nick Drake.

7. Last year, I found out that one of my favourite Brazilian artists was performing a Nick Drake song at his shows. His name is Flavio Tris, and he used to live just around the corner from me in São Paulo. To me, his music always felt like it was in the same vein as Nick Drake's - full of beauty and sensitivity yet stripped of elaborate sonic or poetic flourishes. There’s also a lot of silence woven into his work. The song Flavio has added to his setlist is From The Morning. Being the last track on Nick Drake's latest album, some people see it as his final word and sound before he leaves. The song has indeed a heavenly vibe, and its lyrics feel to me like advice from someone who has reached a higher state of being. A passage that people often talk about is exactly the phrase that is inscribed on his tombstone:

And now we rise, and we are everywhere. 

8. On November 25, 1974, Nick Drake's parents discovered him deceased in his room. Today marks the 50th anniversary of that heartbreaking day. While many in the Western world might view such anniversaries as grim or morbid, I, as a Buddhist, understand that the day of one's passing is simply another phase in our ongoing journey of the mental continuum. This brings to mind a poem by Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh called Contemplation on No-Coming and No-Going:

Birth and death are only doors through which we pass,

sacred thresholds on our journey.

Birth and death are a game of hide-and-seek.

So laugh with me,

hold my hand,

let us say good-bye,

say goodbye, to meet again soon.

We meet today.

We will meet again tomorrow.

We will meet at the source every moment.

We meet each other in all forms of life.

9. In the spirit of celebrating Nick Drake's legacy, we're thrilled to drop Flavio Tris' take on From the Morning today across all music platforms, released by Brazilian label Pequeno Imprevisto in collaboration with Lua Rosa.

10. It’s been a real team effort. Flavio handles the vocals and guitar, backed by his fantastic band featuring Kiko Woiski on bass, Conrado Goys on guitar, and Gui Augusto on percussion. The whole crew pitched in on the production, with my brother-in-arms and musical partner, Otavio Carvalho, taking care of recording, mixing, mastering, and A&R. Pâmela Prudente manages digital communication while I oversee press, A&R, and project execution.

I really hope you enjoy it! And if you get the chance, please check out the original version and dive into all of Nick Drake's albums.