Sibling duo, Nico & Chelsea, have just released their latest single, “Weapons In My Pocket.” This track skillfully merges pop-Americana vibes with thematically resonant modern country influences, addressing the normalization of weapons in American society. It explores the contradictions of leadership and the everyday violence that many of us encounter.
Despite its serious themes, the song features catchy hooks and an upbeat rhythm that invites listeners to reflect while enjoying the music. In a time when connection is more important than ever, Nico & Chelsea highlight the unifying power of music. It’s truly inspiring to witness a brother and sister collaborating in such an exemplary way, showcasing the beauty and strength of family bonds. Their partnership not only amplifies the message of the song but also serves as a reminder of the profound impact that love and support can have in overcoming challenges together.
After pursuing separate paths in the music industry—Chelsea collaborating with artists like Swae Lee and Nico gaining recognition through his independent work—they have come together to form a compelling duo. Today, we’ll discuss their creative journey, the inspiration behind “Weapons In My Pocket,” and how they aim to address broader societal issues through their music.
I’m guessing you must get this question often: What’s it like working with your sibling in this capacity?
It’s like working with a built-in best friend! We have so much fun together and it’s a lot less pressure to work with someone that you can communicate honestly and openly with, oftentimes with little to no filter — in the ways that siblings do. We both bring different things to the table and are constantly learning from each other, and our dynamic is the perfect balance between silly and serious. We complement each other rather effortlessly. When we go to create a new song, we usually lock in a clear concept that’s accompanied by a hook, tag, or title. We still prefer writing the song on the guitar or piano, campfire style, like we did as kids. The production element comes last, when we go to properly record the song. The best songs are always the ones that you enjoy making to the point it rarely ever feels like work!
What led you to work together like this after soloing for a time? Was this always in your plans?
Yes, it was always in the plan! In fact, our upcoming project together has actually been in the works for five years! We never really focused on it or put it in the forefront due to previous contracts binding us as solo artists, but we were always creating duo songs in the meantime. We had a natural tendency to write about similar themes every time we created a “Nico & Chelsea song”, so the album conceptually came together in a rather organic and unintentional manner. We both have gone through so much in our personal lives that we never really run out of stories, messages, experiences, or characters to write about.
What has surprised you most about forming a duo after your solo careers, and how has your dynamic evolved?
Over the past few years, we had to learn through our experiences within the industry what it was we didn’t want for our careers, in order to find what we did want, and that happy place where music didn’t feel stressful. For a while, we both were creating from a place of fear, pressure, and overdrive — not necessarily pure passion, and eventually our tanks ran out of gas. There are a lot of gatekeepers, elements, and expectations the corporate industry holds regarding how “hit music is supposed to be made and promoted” and we had to learn our flow outside of that. Learning to fully trust our intuition, and vision, even when it’s at odds with the advice or demands from A&Rs, has been paramount in discovering what works for us and what doesn’t.
Our dynamic has become stronger because recognizing this taught us how to love and make music in a much freer, more authentic way — more like when we were young kids with big dreams before we entered the industry. The way we approach music now, and even just life in general is a lot lighter. This project reflects this newfound freedom and the dissolution of our previous ways of being and thinking — the album title/ concept encompasses this process.
Outside of your musical partnership, how would you describe the dynamic between the two of you?
Most people meeting us for the first time assume we’re twins. While we have our unique differences, we undoubtedly share more in common than not. We’re both pretty introverted, and have the same sense of humor, interests, hobbies, and an inexplicable affinity with cats and reality television! We often speak identical phrases word-for-word at the same time without actually intending to, usually when responding to a question, and it’s freaked some people out because it’s definitely uncanny. We can almost always tell what the other one is thinking just by a look or body language, so we definitely have that “sibling telepathy”.
Your most recent release, “Weapons In My Pocket,” addresses the widespread normalization of weapons in society. What inspired you to tackle this complex and timely issue?
The first line of the chorus started out as a melody and phrase in our head because we’d always go on long walks and have to carry self-defense items like pepper spray for safety reasons since we live in Los Angeles and have been attacked a few times. Considering our personal experience, in tandem with the whole world suffering and going through constant displays of global violence in our modern-day society — we grew incredibly sad, heartbroken, and frustrated; so we did what we usually do every time there’s a heavy feeling that’s hard to talk about… we wrote a song about it.
It’s a concept and cycle that’s close to our hearts because of how painful it is, when people in dire need of long-term rehabilitation have little to no viable options and are left trapped in a lifestyle of violence and pain, oftentimes purely for survival.
It’s scary that an ever-growing amount of ordinary people also feel the need to carry around lethal objects when in public because they simply don’t feel safe anymore.
Our hearts especially break for all of the innocent children being brought up in these dark and unprecedented times. The leading #1 cause of accidental death in children is gun violence, surpassing car accidents around five years ago. When we were in school, which in the grand scheme of things was not that long ago, the mere thought of being harmed in class was a nearly non-existent one. The reality for children and students today couldn’t be more opposite of that. It’s become so out of control that it’s both a frequent headline people have become desensitized to, as well as an omnipresent fear in the forefront of the developing minds of our society’s youngest and most vulnerable.
Can you discuss your songwriting process for “Weapons in My Pocket”? Were there any particular influences or inspirations?
This song is unique to us because it’s the only song that we’ve ever written entirely from start to finish without actually being in the same room or dedicating a specific session to work on it. The whole top line was created in a few sporadic moments when we weren’t actively thinking about writing. It started out as the first line of the chorus. The melody and lyric just kinda spilled out of Chelsea one day when we were walking and her pepper spray along with her taser kept making her pants sag. A lot of the songs we write start out that way — unplanned. It’s as if the initial concepts are just planted in our heads at the most random of times. She wrote the rest of the chorus herself as well as the first verse. Then about a week or two later, Nico wrote the second verse, bridge, and post-hook while he was in that half-awake, half-asleep state. We reconvened, made some minor edits and the song was done. It had a naturally twangy, boot-stomping kind of vibe, so we were inspired to produce the song in a country-leaning direction. We’ve always wanted to make a song with an identifiable dance associated with it, and we figured this would be the perfect one. As far as the track goes, Chelsea produced the instrumental, and Nico produced the vocals.
Getting your message across to someone who differs from your worldview outright is a proper challenge. Do you feel you’ve tackled that with this single?
We hope so. The thing is, it’s not a divisive song at all — it’s an anti-violence social commentary. Regardless of one’s political opinions, religious beliefs, cultural norms, etc., the overwhelming majority of the 8 billion people on this planet don’t inherently view violence, chaos, death, instability, war, and destruction as positive things to strive for. With that being said, we’ve made peace with the fact that there will definitely be a few people who won’t like the song, whether they listen to it or not, but at the end of the day, music is subjective. It’s up to the listener whether they want to give the song a proper chance and listen to what we have to say. We think that most people will receive it how we intended! With that being said, it is a bit strange to be living in an era where writing a song about weapons and the destruction they cause can somehow be conveyed as “controversial”. Music is one of the most, if not the most effective mediums on the planet that intrinsically promotes critical thought, human connection, and unity. Hopefully, those are the sentiments that most people receive when they listen to the song!
The song comes alongside a music video. How does the music video influence the overall impact and interpretation of the song?
We actually used to line dance in elementary school once a week in PE during every spring semester — the entire school did. The mother of one of our classmates came up with a new idea for a fundraiser; it was an outdoor country-themed barbecue type of event at the end of the year where all the kids would get to participate and show off the various line dances that she volunteered her time to teach us. Needless to say, the first one was so wildly successful that we got to do it every year. There was always the typical lot of PTA fundraisers and events going on, but none of them had the turnout, enthusiasm, or anticipation like that one did. The memory of that event and the dances we learned always stuck with us, and so for this song, we wanted to incorporate that same feeling of togetherness in the video — in hopes that the dance would unite people and encourage them to learn it. The song’s message is already heavy enough, so having a contrasting visual that comparatively feels lighter and more optimistic balances out the seriousness of the lyrics.
What’s next for Nico and Chelsea Collins?
So. Much. Music. We’re slowly but surely rolling out singles from our upcoming album. We also are working on finishing our debut solo albums, which will also start to be rolled out soon. The music we make is essentially an autobiography of our lives, and we can’t wait for our fans to hear what we’ve been up to over the past couple of years. We feel pretty confident that there is at least one song for everyone on this project, and so we hope to welcome new listeners and music lovers into the fandom as well.
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