Among the many milestones Grabbitz has achieved throughout his professional career, it is worth highlighting that he topped the U.S. Alternative charts with Someone Else, established crossover success with deadmau5, and crafted genre-defining collaborations with Illenium, Zedd, Subtronics, NGHTMRE, and Sullivan King, culminating in a showcase at Shaq's Bass All-Stars Festival. But he still has a long way to go, and 2025 seems to be a very important year for the artist. After his Buffalo Bills Playoff Rap recently went viral with millions of views, highlighting his versatility across electronic and rock genres, today he releases his rock-influenced album Big Epic Nothing, coinciding with his current support on Sullivan King's Chaos Will Bring Peace Tour.
From the special feeling that comes with being recognised for your work in your hometown and being able to share these unforgettable moments with your family and friends to a formula for success that lies in creating emotions through music based on real feelings and experiences, shared honestly and sincerely with the audience. We speak about these and many other topics with Nick Chiari, widely known as Grabbitz, in this interview, in which he also reveals which artists he would like to collaborate with and what his goals and visions are for Blue Butterfly Records this year.
Nick, we're happy to have you here. We've just started the year, and you've already lived many unique experiences and are working on several great projects. How are you? Do you have the feeling this is going to be the best year in your career so far?
Thanks so much for having me. I’m doing great. I don’t know if it will be the best year yet, but I just keep my head down, continue to work hard, and see what happens. That’s the method I’ve used to achieve many goals of mine, so I’m hopeful it will be a good one regardless!
Recently, you achieved a career milestone when your track Die For You was selected as the official tunnel song for your hometown Buffalo Bills. This was a very special moment that you've even referred to as surreal. How have you felt about its success, and how have you experienced this very meaningful journey?
Being able to have a song of mine affect the emotional state of the team, get them excited, and get the crowd excited is an unbelievable feeling. I’ve had a strong connection with the Buffalo Bills since I was a kid, so it’s truly full circle.
How does it feel to be spotlighted on the local news of your hometown? How did your family react?
It always feels great to be recognised by my city. My family was thrilled, of course, but I really love that aspiring artists and musicians can see that there is a strong group of creatives in Buffalo, and you don’t have to go across the country to find them.
Is there any anecdote from this unique experience you'd like to share with us?
I have always believed that if you work hard and put things out into the universe, they will come back to you in some way, and the successes that arise, big or small, all feel like that hard work just coming back.
Almost two million people listen to your music every month on Spotify, and this single, Die For You, has almost 150 million streams. How do you feel when you think that your tracks are heard around the world and more and more people are following you at every step you take?
I’m grateful for it every single day. I have always dreamed of a life where I can make music and there are people out there waiting to hear it. Some of the numbers astonish me all the time, but I just take it as a reminder to keep on going.
Your music has always been deeply personal, resonating with fans on a visceral level, and you’ve proven to connect with audiences beyond your studio work. What do you think is the formula for your success, and what do you enjoy most about your work?
I’m just trying to create emotions with my music. I think the easiest way to do that is to pull from my own very real ones. I like to keep a certain amount of vagueness so anyone can relate something of their own to it. This vagueness, I think, is important for me to connect with people, but everyone has their own way of doing it. I enjoy the creative process the most,  and being on stage. Everything else I do is to support those moments. Creating has always been my escape, and I get the same feeling listening back to something I made now as I did when I was first learning how to make music.
And what stage do you like least in the creative process and development of your musical project?
There is a heavy pressure to self-market yourself and your music now. It’s not that I dislike it; it just makes it harder for the more introverted artists to get to know their audience and connect with them. I don’t even view it as marketing anymore; I just try to connect with my online audience in different ways, and as more and more people start to pay attention, I just keep on giving them stuff. Albums, merch, remixes, streams, etc. It is definitely a different form of creativity that I don’t enjoy as much as creating music.
A few days ago, you performed in Buffalo, NY, at RiverWorks, as part of your tour before concluding with performances in major markets like Chicago, San Francisco, and Las Vegas. How was it?
Buffalo will always be my favourite place to perform because it’s home. My family will usually come, and I feel like the city has this way of supporting each other that I really feel when I’m on stage. It’s like they want me to win.
Let's talk about your new album, Big Epic Nothing, which is being released coinciding with your current support on Sullivan King's Chaos Will Bring Peace Tour. How does this project differ from your previous bodies of work?
I would say it doesn’t differ that much; it just continues the story. I am always drawn to blending rock, alternative, and electronic music together, and I think each body of work I release just pushes that idea forward. This one is no different. I think the more comfortable I become as an artist, the more authentic the music becomes, and the more I trust my instincts. So I would say since Big Epic Nothing is the rawest.
The album’s lead single, Love You ‘Til I’m Dead, is a powerful collaboration with REZZ. What would you like your fans to feel when they listen to this album?
I want them to feel a rollercoaster of emotions. There is angst, aggression, reflection, romance, longing, and fun, all packed into the eleven tracks. I just want them to take it all in and stumble upon the feeling they enjoy the most and form a connection with it. As far as Love You ‘Til I’m Dead goes, Rezz and I share a very similar vision when it comes to creating that feeling, and we always land somewhere really unique. She’s one of my favourite artists to work with. We just click creatively.
In the creative process of each project, different emotions arise depending on the moment you are living or the message you want to send to the world. From what emotions was this LP born?
I had a pile of demos, and I just instinctively knew I could compile them into my next body of work. Something I would be proud to show people, it always starts there. I never stick to one palette or one sonic direction. The emotions were those of life, ups and downs, all around. What mattered most to me was that they were presented correctly.
From Hero Pt. II to This Is Not Enough (1987), eleven tracks make up Big Epic Nothing. Could you tell us more about the connection between the different tracks and how you have built and ordered the narrative in this project?
The album starts out like a punch in the face and then mellows out a bit, which is kind of how I like the journey of an album to go. A Long Drive Through Time is a trip back into the past that ends with This Is Not Enough, my take on a song created in the 80s. I like to do timepieces that are set in specific times just for fun.
Beyond being a vocalist, how has your role as a producer shaped your impact on the industry?
Being able to produce is the single most important thing to being able to express everything I am trying to express as an artist. I could never imagine not being able to make the things I want to make. I always stress to artists to learn how to produce so they can have control over their vision. It has led me to countless collaborations on many different projects and is a skill I will use for the rest of my life.
Which artists would you like to collaborate with in the near future and why?
I want to collaborate with deadmau5 again. He gave me my first chance in music when I featured on Let Go back in 2016, and I think we’re due for another. I just really respect his creativity and technical skill while also being able to see things from 10,000 ft.
What are your goals and vision for Blue Butterfly Records in 2025?
I want to continue giving my core fans music of my own and investing in a select few artists that I really want to help build, like Frankie IV. Once I grow more, I plan to set up an infrastructure to release music from many upcoming artists.
Last question. Any dreams to fulfil?
Make a song with Trent Reznor.