The Foreign Exchange Share “The Grey” & “I Couldn’t Love You More” (Dub) Single for 20th Anniversary (The Foreign Exchange Music)
The Foreign Exchange, L-R: Nicolay and Phonte (CREDIT: Chris Charles)
The year is 2002: two artists from opposite ends of the world—North Carolina emcee/singer Phonte of Little Brother and Dutch-born producer Nicolay—engaged in a fully-online, transatlantic musical collaboration that would help re-define the face modern music. Fast-forward to August 24, 2004: the novelty of their collaboration became their namesake and they released their seminal debut album, Connected, together as The Foreign Exchange (The F.E./F.E.) Over the course of the 20 years since, Nicolay & Phonte have both (individually and collectively) set a precedent for what Indie artists can achieve and revolutionized the way artists collaborate today. With a GRAMMY-nomination and their very own The Foreign Exchange Music/+FE Music label, the duo commemorates their 20-year-long journey as The Foreign Exchange by sharing a new 12-inch single, “The Grey” B/W “I Couldn't Love You More” (Dub.) Released earlier this week on all digital streaming platforms, the dual release covers the musical gamut that is The Foreign Exchange. “The Grey,” which serves as the theme song for ESPN's new 30 for 30 film, False Positive, finds Phonte spitting razor-sharp bars—arguably, for the first time since Connected with The F.E.—with a hook delivered by the silky vocals of +FE Music signee BeMyFiasco. In contrast, Phonte & Nicolay go full quiet storm mode on “I Couldn't Love You More,” a beautiful soaring rendition of Sade's classic song from her album, Love Deluxe.
“Rhyming and covering my favorite Sade song felt like the best way to encompass all that The Foreign Exchange represents. We've covered a lot of ground over the past 20 years. This single represents us coming back to square one… [Sade’s] Love Deluxe and [Sweetback’s] Sweetback are my two favorite albums in the @Sade musical universe. “I Couldn’t Love You More” (Dub) is our way of paying homage to them both. Much love to @stuart_matthewman, Paul Denman, Andrew Hale, and Helen Folasade Adu for laying the blueprint. Respect the architects. “The Grey” / “I Couldn’t Love You More” (Dub) out now on all platforms. F.E. season continues. Thank you for listening!”
- Phonte (@phontigallo)
180 gram numbered color vinyl of the 12-inch single are were limited to 300 copies world-wide and available to purchase here. ESPN's new 30 for 30 film, False Positive, which debuted on June 11, 2024, was scored in its entirety by Nicolay. The film tells the story of former Olympic Track & Field athlete and world record holder Butch Reynolds, who was falsely accused and banned for drug use by the International Amateur Athletic Federation. As a fan of Nicolay's work, the film's director, Ismail Al-Amin, first contacted the classically trained multi-instrumentalist from The Netherlands for the project in 2021. Nicolay has, also, been hard at work on his forthcoming solo album, which is currently slated for an early summer release. The project's latest single, “Roll Up (I Can't Lose My High,)” was released in April just four days ahead of the 4/20 holiday and can be streamed anywhere you find music online.
“Ismail booked The Foreign Exchange for an event in Akron, Ohio years ago. He was keen on creating a decidedly soulful score, but with a European twist, as the sport of track and field, traditionally, is very popular there and a lot of the crucial action in the film takes place overseas. He felt that I could be the right man for the job. This particular project represents 20 years of experience and accumulated style... the scope of this project and the sheer quantity of music required really allowed me to double-down on it all... There's quite literally a little bit of everything in this score. While I was working on some initial sketches for the film, I came upon the idea of mirroring all of the different stages of Butch's life and career with the evolution of my own music over the years. So in the early stages of the documentary, the music is largely beat-driven and optimistic, mirroring the sound and feel of my own early years. As the situation gets more complicated and inevitably darker and more emotional, so does the music.”
- Nicolay (@nicolaymusic)
Nicolay Rook, born Matthijs Rook and raised in The Netherlands, is a producer and classically trained multi-instrumentalist who has been responsible for significant innovation in Hip-Hop, R&B, and Electronic music. In 2002, renowned emcee/singer from North Carolina Phonte Coleman (of Little Brother) stumbled across one of Nicolay's beats on okayplayer's message board and asked if he could rhyme over it. A friendship and musical relationship were born from this transatlantic collaboration, which they, eventually, called The Foreign Exchange (F.E.) It, also, led to a full-length album, Connected, released in 2004. Their groundbreaking musical partnership spawned a signature blend of soulful vocals and heartfelt lyrics with genre-blurring soundscapes. It, also, inspired Nicolay's move to The United States and an Indie record label dubbed +FE Music. The second Foreign Exchange album, Leave It All Behind, came later in the year on their Foreign Exchange imprint. One of its highlights, “Daykeeper,” was nominated for a GRAMMY. The Foreign Exchange label expanded during the early 2010’s with additional albums from F.E. & Phonte, as well as releases from collaborators YahZarah, Zo!, The Hot At Nights featuring players from The F.E., and Median. Today, The Foreign Exchange has evolved from Internet duo, to GRAMMY-nominated group, to renowned record label and Indie artist incubator. Its latest signees include young luminaries, such as Dallas, Texas-fried singer/songwriter BeMyFiasco, Minnesota-based singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bain, as well as frequent F.E. collaborators Sy Smith and Darien Brockington.
