Community Picks is a weekly series where artists submit a release to be voted on by members of the Nina community. Once a week, the release with the most votes will receive editorial coverage. This week’s winner is “say a little prayer for me” by broken dates featuring stav. The track is a jazzy, woozy piece of experimental rap driven by its drum programming. We sent over some questions to broken dates, read the interview and listen to the track below.

Where are you from?

broken dates: Essex County, NJ and Queens, NY.

How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it?

Blue hour, world holding its breath, searching for my hiding spot within the metropolis. There’s this rhythm, an ebb and flow—chaos and calm weaving through each other. Kind of like Aang and Zuko, or Huey and Riley—that dynamic between them, making their fight sequences feel like dances. It’s not just in the surface noise, but the quiet undercurrents, the space between.

Tell us about your release on Nina.

I started it in December 2023, shortly after I got out of the hospital. I was in a space where I needed to make something, out of survival. So the track begins with these vomit sounds, almost like an expulsion of the self. I needed to let it out. I brought in Stav for vocals, and he laid it down perfectly—like he always does. Since then, my work has become quieter, more intimate. This track sits in a different world now, tucked away in the back of my mind. It doesn’t fit with anything I’m working on now, but I always knew it had to see the light. It's one of those things, that energy—I don’t think I’ll ever be able to tap into it again, nor do I want to.

What kind of tools do you use to make music?

I’m such a simple guy >.< Most of the time I just press buttons and click around until something makes sense. But lately I’ve been really into VSTs. I love playing around with the Soundtoys suite and have also been doing some weird things with CYLES by Slate + Ash. I love playing with filters, LFOs and delays to create textures that blur the lines between dreams and nightmares. 

Who are 3-5 independent artists you think people should check out? 

Of course my man stav. He inspires me a ton and it’s been a privilege watching him grow. Sonia Surma is a radio host who’s really opened my ears to so much good music this past year. Zaumne, Felicia Atkinson, Perila, their work moves me. And also khc/moribet and, speaking of which, the new moribet project is incredible.