The debut album from ZEKO turns Adrian Nicholas’ personal story into a focused eight-track queer electro-pop narrative.
ZEKO introduces a carefully structured pop identity on WINGSPAN, a debut album released through Paper Crown Records. Across eight tracks, the project explores self-image, desire, memory, and acceptance through dance-pop, nu-disco, and atmospheric electronic production.
Written by Paper Crown Records owner and songwriter Adrian Nicholas, WINGSPAN is a personal project told through ZEKO, a character created to give shape to Nicholas’ own story. The persona allows the album to examine experiences of identity, relationships, transformation, and self-acceptance through a distinct pop framework. Rather than presenting a loose collection of singles, the record follows a clear emotional sequence, moving from reinvention toward a more settled understanding of the self.
Opening track “New Face” begins with confidence and momentum, framing personal change as something active rather than accidental. “Dear Aaron” shifts into a more reflective space, while “Hide and Seek” explores the uncertainty that can accompany self-discovery. On “Body Electric,” connection becomes physical and immediate, supported by a brighter dance-pop approach.
The album becomes more vulnerable on “Like Her,” which considers comparison and insecurity without losing its melodic focus. “Santiago” moves into fantasy and escape, drawing on the sense of possibility associated with nightlife and movement. The closing pair, “Becoming” and “Butterfly,” bring the album’s themes into sharper focus. Transformation is not treated as a sudden breakthrough, but as a gradual process shaped by reflection, relationships, and acceptance.
References to Troye Sivan, Years & Years, SG Lewis, and Purple Disco Machine can be heard in the album’s polished electronic framework. Still, WINGSPAN remains centered on Nicholas’ personal narrative. Dance music functions as more than a backdrop. Through ZEKO, it becomes a language for processing change and finding comfort in a new sense of self.
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