Nick Ward enters a new chapter with the announcement of his sophomore album, Year Of The Snake. The album will be released on 13 November. Today, Ward shared the song Piano, which incorporates a sample from a recording by the late acclaimed pianist Glenn Gould.
His first release since 2024’s acclaimed debut House With The Blue Door, Piano signals a new evolution for Ward. Not one to repeat himself, Piano is unlike anything he has released before.
Written and co-produced alongside Kody Nielson, who has previously worked with Unknown Mortal Orchestra and The Mint Chicks, and Timon Martin, known for his work with BENEE and Babe Rainbow, the track is built around a sample from Glenn Gould’s iconic recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations.
Widely regarded as one of the most celebrated classical pianists of the modern era, Gould was renowned for his precision and expressive performances, and was known to hum and vocalise while playing. This nod to Gould’s spirit felt like a fitting starting point for a song about creativity, inspiration and reclaiming confidence in your own life.
The new song arrives alongside a psychedelic visual co-directed by Ward and his longtime collaborator Charles Buxton Leslie, drawing from their interest in late ’60s surrealism and the dreamlike playfulness of Federico Fellini and Jacques Tati.
Year Of The Snake takes its title from Ward’s birth year, 2001, the Year of the Metal Snake, and the Chinese zodiac belief that a zodiac year can bring profound change. Following the release and touring cycle for House With The Blue Door, Ward found himself in a period of personal upheaval, loss, relationship breakdowns and increasing isolation from his peers.
Rather than simply wallow in that darkness, Year Of The Snake became an attempt to move through it, with music-making serving as an act of survival. Its loose thematic thread draws from the myth of Orpheus, whose journey into the underworld became a parallel for Ward’s own experiences: learning to let go of what no longer served him and finding a way forward.
“I didn’t want to make a depressing album wallowing in what it’s like to be alive right now,” Ward said. “I wanted to make a record that felt like a warm hand on the shoulder or a pep talk, without being naive to the darker shades of life. These are difficult years that we’re experiencing, and I wanted to make something that feels like a salve to that.”
The Beach Boys, David Bowie, Steely Dan, Animal Collective, Geordie Greep and Fiona Apple were key inspirations for Ward throughout the album’s creation.
“Year Of The Snake feels like the first fully realised Nick Ward record,” Ward said. “My first album was made almost completely in my bedroom, so this was my first time building something from scratch on a larger scale, trying all the things I dreamed about as a teenager, such as working with session musicians, doing live improvised jams and recording analogue to tape. It feels like a step forward, closer to the artist I want to be.” Ward said.
