Zohar Shafir has been operating under the moniker Nico Teen since 2002. Nico Teen started as a solo project, and evolved into a full band led by Shafir. In addition, she is half of the duo Cassexxe Vibrato.
While both projects share an interest in aural investigation and layered complexity and a desire to create disturbance, instability, and unease, the duo is completely freeform and intuitive in nature.
while Nico Teen is structured around pop and rock narratives, be it the melancholy side of synth-pop in its solo incarnation or the captivating, enchanting, yet uncanny and unsettling manner with which the band version approaches and appropriates various strands of heavy rock music.
The result is accessible, at times sentimental and bombastic, yet always elusive and cagey.
What dominates her compositions is her voice, effortlessly shifting between frail, sweet, morose, piercing, searing and outright horrifying.
What dominates her live performances in addition is her undeniable stage presence: half operatic diva, half decadent rocker, constantly emitting a powerful, confounding sensuality.