EXCLUSIVE: Niko Moon Invites Fans on a Headphone Holiday with ‘YOU, ME & A BEACH’, from His Joyful, Sun-Soaked Third Album, ‘AMERICAN PALM’

Niko Moon has always had a knack for crafting earworm melodies and energising instrumentals. But the glass-half-full, sun-soaked and uplifting message that underpins Niko's catalogue has meant the ‘BOAT SONG’ crooner has established himself as far more than a chart-topping hitmaker. He has cultivated a fanbase that is geared towards the common aspiration of peace, love - and sunshine.

On his third studio album, AMERICAN PALM, Niko is doubling down on the coastal, margarita-sipping ambience that permeated earlier fan-favourites such as ‘COASTIN’ and ‘SUMMER DON'T GO’. At the heart of the project is the adoring, rose-tinted ‘YOU, ME & A BEACH’, which is exclusively premiering on Holler below.

It finds the ‘I LOVE THIS BEACH’ singer-songwriter paying tribute to his wife, Anna, who co-writes a number of Niko's tracks, as well as being a cornerstone of The Happy Cowboy Foundation, which strives to improve mental health awareness and access.

Speaking to Holler ahead of the arrival of the record, Niko explains where ‘YOU, ME & A BEACH’ came from, “‘YOU, ME & A BEACH’ helped set the scene for the entire album. Two things that always renew me are the beach and my wife. I wanted to write a song that links them together and shows how they put my mind at ease like nothing else can. It’s one of the more romantic songs on the album. It’s about how being in the perfect place with the perfect person can be all you really need”.

He heartwarmingly expands, “The song was one of the first songs we wrote, and once we finished it, I knew where this album needed to go. It captured the spirit of what I wanted to say. It’s something warm, grounding, and grateful. That song was the start of the whole world I wanted to build with this record which was to bring the spirit of the times I had growing up on the beaches of Florida into a record”.

Niko eagerly outlines that, while fans will be able to find a mental getaway in AMERICAN PALM, they can also find a blueprint to help them to tackle the stresses, strains and struggles of day-to-day life, “With this album, I wanted to create a world people could escape into. AMERICAN PALM is my version of paradise, built on love, peace, and a deep breath of ocean air. It’s about slowing down, soaking up the moment, and finding joy in the simple things that make life feel full”.

Excitingly, when discussing his creative partnership with Anna, Niko Moon teases there might be more on the orange, sunset-painted horizon soon after AMERICAN PALM, “We wrote more than a couple of songs on the album together - she's on ‘SANDCASTLES’, ‘BOAT SONG’, ‘SANDBAR’...and two songs yet to come...!”

Niko Moon, whose infectious joie-de-vivre overflows whenever he speaks, goes on, “‘YOU, ME & A BEACH’ was one of the very first songs that was written for the album, and I feel like the more time that passes by in life, for me personally, the more simple I'm trying to get things. I'm realising that happiness maybe isn't as external and complicated as I thought it was, and it's really just about finding the few things in life that are really meaningful, and focusing on nurturing that”.

He endearingly muses, “My family and my wife are cornerstones of my peace of mind, and in a lot of ways, [Anna] saved me, and the best parts of me come from her. I wanted to write a song that really celebrated my love for her, but that people could make their own. That's why it wasn't ‘Him and Her’, it's just ‘You and Me’. Regardless of who you are, you can take ownership of this song in your own relationship”.

What's particularly striking about Niko Moon's approach to this album as a whole, is how his ebullient nature and his unwavering commitment to spreading positivity is born from a need for that very positivity. In his conversation with Holler, Niko powerfully opens up about how the dark thoughts that swirl around his head are often what fuel him more than anything else to ‘Keep the Light On’, as he phrases it.

He reflects, “I have really loud self-talk in my head, you know, that sometimes isn't always positive. I can beat myself up a lot, and I'm really hard on myself, and I'm not always as kind as I should be to myself. I think it's difficult for me to find peace of mind, and that's why I write so much about it, and why it's so important to me - because it's personal. It takes a proactive, holistic effort on my part to find it”.

This might come as a surprise to those who only see the ever-smiling, ever-palm-tree-shirt-wearing Niko Moon on socials, but serves as a refreshingly relatable point for fans. Positivity, as Niko himself regularly professes, isn't about being happy all the time - it's about holding onto the belief that better days are ahead.

AMERICAN PALM is deeply, richly influenced by the king of tropically-minded, island-inspired music - Jimmy Buffett - so much so that Niko Moon has paid homage to Jimmy with by choosing the iconic ‘Margaritaville’ as his signature cover-song on the album.

One of the many fascinating aspects of Jimmy Buffett's legacy and his public persona was how he became a figurehead for kicked-back living, relaxation and taking it easy. Yet, in reality, Jimmy was known as one of the most hard-working people in the industry, establishing his Margaritaville brand, writing his array of books and more.

You can't help but feel the same is true of Niko Moon, who runs The Happy Cowboy Foundation alongside his successful Happy Himalayan salt-infused water company. Niko and Anna are also about to launch a stylish, breezy and breathable line of summer clothing named after the new album, AMERICAN PALM, next month.

“My life is anything but chill”, Niko confirms, “I'm not eternally posted up with my toes in the sand and a margarita in my hand, right? And I think that's why I've loved it so much and that I find it so important, because life is so busy, and we need those moments. I need those moments. It's not about literally being at the beach 24/7 and having your feet in the water. It's the mentality. It's the mental vacation”.

He emphasises, “We can live anywhere, and still connect to the mentality of taking a little vacay. It doesn't always have to be literal, it's meant to be metaphorical. It's meant to be mental. I spend 90% of my time not at the water, and not always unfortunately, you know what I mean? I love touring, and I love being in all the different places that I am. I feel such a peace, and I feel my heart at the water, and so that's why I love singing about it. But I can go there anytime. I don't have to literally be there. That's the beauty of music. That's the beauty of Jimmy Buffett - he took me to paradise when I needed it, when I needed to be reminded that every little thing was going to be alright, you know what I mean?”

Niko concludes, “I'm doing my best to pay it forward with my music, to hopefully take people on that getaway when they need it. Sometimes it's just for five minutes, and sometimes it's the entire album. Sometimes it's a live show, and then sometimes it's literally flying down to the beach, and getting those toes in the sand and putting that mental into reality, which is a beautiful thing to do. I think for most of us, that's only something that we're able to do sometimes - but with music, we're able to go there all the time. That's what this album is”.

This is why, while Niko Moon has been a beacon of light and positivity ever since his 2021 debut album, GOOD TIME, it feels as though AMERICAN PALM is the most authentic and transformative record from him yet. You can hear that it is sincere and comes straight from Niko's heart, while at the same time, it has been carefully curated and designed with the core objective of offering listeners some respite and joy. And that's something we'll gladly raise a frozen margarita too.

Niko Moon's new album, AMERICAN PALM, is out on Friday, July 18th 2025

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