Put in Nicolay’s debut album ‘Here’ and the first few bars will make you think you’re hearing the interlude to a Brady Bunch episode. But that’s exactly what makes it so great when the track opens up, transforming the retro vibe into something that is completely current.

In fact, although this is Nicolay’s debut album it’s not his first endeavor. His project Foreign Exchange with Phonte Coleman produced the album ‘Connected’ (2004). His new album ‘Here’ is actually spelled ‘(T)Here’ on the album artwork, and the dual spelling links past to present symbolizing the producer’s move to the United States from his homeland, the Netherlands.

In order to commemorate his move, the Dutch producer features artists from a variety of US regions on his tracks. He starts out in North Carolina with Darien Brockington in “I Love the Way You Love Me.” You can begin to hear Nicolay’s approach here. He layers tracks cleanly, with a breathable quality, so that the beat, organ, chorus, and soloist can almost be heard as equals. This clean approach creates a simple but solid structure and Darien layers the vocals by stretching his patterns over the beat, hanging behind a bit, and “rubber banding” back toward the end of the phrase to keep the groove.

Moving on to St. Louis, Nicolay features the visceral group Black Spade in the tracks “I Am The Man,” “Good Days Are Gone,” and “The End Is Near.” These tracks are by far the heaviest, and the lyrics push toward more issues-focused topics (although my favorite lyric was in the rhyme with doppelganger which they used in “The End Is Near,” using the word correctly and in context).

From Pittsburgh-based group Wiz, Khalifa is featured on the classic track “What It Used to Be.” However, on the ninth track, he takes a sharp turn into R&B territory with “Adore,” featuring Yahzarah. This tune is so sweet, and Yahzarah’s voice (who collaborated in Foreign Exchange) has pop sensibility combined with huge range and volume to carry off this transition to effect. He bookends the album with an outro, and links it using the flute and organ into “My Story,” featuring Kay and Sy Smith.

However, the tracks that truly struck me were the ones that Nicolay created himself. “Give Her Everything” had a noticeable passion, and “Let It Shine For Me” had a corresponding serenity that seemed to bring a hint of Americana to the album – perhaps intentionally?

“It’s this story that I’m tellin’/Take my life in stride,” says “My Story.” Nicolay’s story is taking a new turn, and all signs point toward a happy ending.