Brighton-based singer-songwriter Nik Barrell, originally from London and known for his nomadic troubadour approach, has released ‘Lost’, the latest track from his EP Almost Home. Following his previous album Home, which emerged from the same winter of solo travel, Barrell converted an old Renault Master van, dubbed Bertie Van Doogle, into a mobile recording setup complete with guitars, mics, keys, and drums. He captured these songs on the road through Spain and Portugal, with the drums for this one tracked amid the Portuguese mountains, letting the surroundings bleed into the sound.
‘Lost’ builds with restrained acoustic layers and vocal delivery that carries real weight, reflecting on grief, a fraying relationship, and the search for self amid upheaval from personal loss and wider chaos. The quiet build and atmospheric touches echo the isolation and vastness of those drives, turning raw experience into focused introspection.
In an era dominated by overproduced tracks and digital detachment, it’s strong to have Nik Barrell pushing this kind of grounded, place-driven folk, field recordings shaped by actual landscapes and life shifts, paired with hand-drawn animations like the one out for “Little Blackbird” and coming for this single. His commitment to presence over polish cuts through, making Almost Home a timely reminder of how music can map emotional terrain when it’s made this directly.
Nik Barrell explains: “If you’ve found that you are lost, then you’ve just begun to find yourself.”
Stream ‘Lost’:
