Rapid Pulse

They rock to his voice in clubs across Europe. Now he is an emerging YouTube sensation, with thousands of people viewing countless videos of his high-energy performances at Riu Palace in Spain, at Gleisdorf and Salzburg, at Club Restan and at Urodziny Klubu's Energy 2000 in Poland, at Prater in Bochum, Germany, at Disco Club Kuvajt in Slovakia.

The American singer NICCO (whose real name is Nicco Maniatty) is best known as the "voice" of the Austrian DJs Darius & Finlay. But this singer-songwriter is also a musician in his own right and is coming out with his first solo track "Downpour." Arranged by erOc of Electrolightz Music, "Downpour" will be released by Sony Germany in August 2011.

NICCO's emergence in the European club scene was largely the result of a successful collaboration with Darius & Finlay, music producers and DJs who crafted the songs "Destination," "Rock to the Beat," "Hold On," "Do It All Night," and "Till Morning." The trio, featured in the live performance I've video-linked to below, struck a common chord which produced three videos, several remarkable club tours, and a handful of catchy, very danceable songs that got a lot of radio and scene play across Europe. Like NICCO, Darius & Finlay have a formidable acumen for music that resonates with young people across national borders and even oceans. A little over a year ago I was at a party of international graduate students, all from India, at Michigan Technological University in the United States. Their song featuring NICCO, "Do It All Night," was included in a line of "hits" played that night. This list had been sent from a club DJ somewhere in India -- a country NICCO didn't even visit during his tour with Darius & Finlay.

It would be great if at some time in the future this trio of talented musicians could reunite to make more songs together. If they do, though, I think their videos should capture more of the energy all three of these guys evoke in their live performances. What NICCO brought to Darius & Finlay was more than just a "voice." He brought an exceptionally engaging stage presence that wowed the kids he performed for. Friends of mine who follow NICCO all remark on his ability to keep his audience hopping, thrusting their hands in the air, singing along to the familiar lyrics. Like these two DJs, he clearly enjoys being on stage, working the audience, belting out his songs, as the video-link above aptly demonstrates. Even those of us watching uploads of his live performances online can't help but rock to the beat as well. NICCO has fun on stage and that fun is contagious.

Speaking of contagion: you really know a song has lasting power when other musicians cover it. In the past year, various renditions -- and even tutorials -- of Darius & Finlay songs featuring NICCO have popped up on YouTube. One gifted piano player who calls himself Pokenob offers this sensitively rendered version of "Rock to the Beat" that, for me, really speaks to the versatility of this melody. Instrumental covers of these songs have been posted as well. The keyboardist DJWhitehanded offers a fun muzak rendering of "Destination," a song reinvented as well by the piano player Matthaeus42 who pounds out his hard-chord version here.

In a compelling testimony of just how popular these songs featuring NICCO have become, DJWhitehanded's keyboard tutorial for "Do It All Night" has had (as of this writing) close to 18,000 views! His other tutorial for "Rock to the Beat" has had more than 20,000! Of the numerous videos posted on his YouTube channel, these two tutorials are by far his most visited.

With his new single "Downpour," NICCO enters the brave new music world as a solo artist. For those of us who appreciate the talent of this gifted musician and performer, watching him progress from the inconspicuous MySpace site he set up when he first started making music to the club-busting crowd-rousing musical act he has become is as fun as watching the videos that document his ascent. If you're interested, you can follow NICCO through his website, niccomusic.com, on Facebook, or on Twitter.