"Rebirth" - Help Me Restart my Musical Journey!
Hello my dear friends in music! And thank you so much for taking the time to check out this new project of mine.
I need your help to complete a project that's very near and dear to my heart! In the following video I share my story and explain why I'm asking for help! If you're more of a reader, than look right below the video... I also wrote about it! :)
I would like to take you back to the Summer of 2019 and tell you a story that CHANGED MY LIFE. It's a story about life and its unexpected turns. A story about pain, resilience and hope for a better future. A story about turning negative into positive. A story that YOU CAN HELP ME bring to completion!
As many of you might already know, my name is Nikko Ielasi and I am a professional keyboardist, arranger and producer based in Los Angeles, CA. 
On August 15th, 2019 I was in Ischia, Italy to visit my family and friends and to enjoy a much needed summer vacation. Up until that day, my career had proceeded mostly as planned. I had graduated from my dream school (Berklee College of Music), completed my debut album "NikKollective, Vol. 1", gone on a few tours as keyboardist and worked as music director and arranger for many different projects. If you haven't yet, please feel free to CLICK ON THESE LINKS and check out some of the music I produced through the last few years!
Check out my MUSIC on Spotify
Watch my Band NikKollective perform LIVE
Watch this beautiful song I wrote with Singer Niya Norwood
When I went to sleep that night, I could have never imagined what was waiting for me "on the other side".
I opened my eyes on the morning of August 16th, 2019 to an awkward sensation. It felt as if my alarm clock was resonating weirdly through my brain. My head was spinning out of control and my sound perception felt completely "out of whack". It only took me a few seconds (and a quick shot of adrenaline running down my spine) to realize that, overnight, my right ear had gone DEAF.
I was soon diagnosed with Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss, an irreversible condition. I lost the ability to perceive all the fundamental frequencies that make up our hearing. I can still hear some wind-like and very high-pitched sounds (as my high frequencies were not affected as much), but I lost all my low's and mid's. In this audiogram, you can see the difference between my healthy Left Ear (BLACK LINE, stable at normal levels) and my damaged Right Ear (RED LINE, with a severe loss on all the low and mid frequencies).
The sudden nature of this trauma, the impossibility to reverse it, the consistent nerve-wrecking tinnitus in my damaged ear and the fact that I was hit in the "department" I care the most for (my ability to hear and produce music)... it all quickly brought me to a place of desperation. What followed was, quite simply, the hardest time of my life. I struggled with severe anxiety and depression and I was ready to quit music all together. Even the sound of a few piano notes resonated in such distorted ways, that it physically hurt me. The psychological journey was and still is, in more ways than not, the toughest part of it all. What keeps me pushing, as I try to regain my footing, is my life-long goal: through music, I want to be a vehicle of love and unity among people of different cultures, beliefs and backgrounds.
Thanks to the support of those around me and the help of medical professionals, I was able to slowly accept my new reality. A couple of months later, I started playing a few notes, for a few minutes and, one day at a time, I rebuilt my tolerance for sound. Then with lots of patience, I started writing music again. Except this time, I REACHED WITHIN and wrote TRIO MUSIC that's a bit "quieter" but also extremely intentional and emotionally honest. Once again, MUSIC came to my rescue and helped me find a way.
In November 2019, I decided to fly back to the USA and try to restart my life.
Fast forward a few months and here I am now, in my apartment in Los Angeles, CA, sharing my story with all of you. I'm getting ready to record this trio project and I will call it REBIRTH. It truly signifies a New Start, an attempt to turn the negative situation into a positive outcome. The project will feature two of the best musicians in the world: the one and only Taylor Gordon (AKA The Pocket Queen) on DRUMS and the incomparable Dmitry Gorodetsky on BASS!
I would love to be able to release this project on the 1-year anniversary of my hearing Loss: AUGUST 16th, 2020! But in order to do so, I NEED YOUR HELP. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought most of the entertainment business to a complete stop. Facing the worst unemployment I've ever faced before, I find myself unable to afford the studio time, the musicians rates and other production expenses, including mixing and mastering the record.
So I'm kindly asking you to donate to this project. This album means everything to me! It's my second chance, an attempt to keep spreading love through music, in spite of any negative circumstance. I would love it if you could help me bring it to life! Help me restart my musical journey with a donation of your choice.
For more music and info, please visit My Website
Thank you so much for your time, love and endless support.
I don't ever take it for granted.
Forever Grateful! Nikko