Nick Anastasakis, who records and performs as 4FRO Nick, has one of those origin stories that sound like they were designed to produce a certain kind of musician. Born in Crete, shaped by New York, now based in Los Angeles, and among his earliest memories are gypsies playing guitar for spare coins on Venetian cobblestone streets. That image of music as raw, immediate, and entirely unmediated by industry machinery runs through everything he does.
The Don’t Waste My Time (LA mix) EP drops June 16th as a limited-edition 7-inch vinyl alongside a digital release, with the A-side getting the full treatment and the B-side already out in the world. Both tracks feature Grammy-winning pianist and synth player Leo Genovese, drummer Johnny Radelat, and bassist George Athanas – a lineup that gives the project serious weight behind the performances.
“Don’t Waste My Time (LA mix)” is the more straightforward of the two – live-feeling rock with a lot of genuine grit behind it. The driving guitar riffs and soulful choruses land with the kind of directness that doesn’t need much ornamentation, and the band chemistry makes it feel like a room full of people playing together rather than a track assembled in pieces. The message – stop letting invisible limitations dictate how you live – is delivered with matching conviction. “Get There Before Noon (LA2 mix)” is the more experimental one, with electronic layers that get quite hairy and insane at key moments in the song. Genovese’s synth work is the key ingredient here, pushing the track into psychedelic territory that the A-side doesn’t venture into, and the contrast between the two sides of the record is clearly intentional – one foot planted in classic rock grit, the other reaching for something stranger and more textured.
As a 7-inch, the format suits the release well. Two songs, two distinct personalities, one clear statement of artistic range. 4FRO Nick has been building this project across cities and across years, and the LA mixes feel like the sound of someone who has finally landed exactly where they needed to be to make the record they had in them.
