New Signing Presence Shares “Nightmare”; Watch Here
July 11, 2022 BY Penny Palmer
Nettwerk Records is excited to announce the signing of Southern California recording artist Presence (also known as Jonathon Martinez). Presence’s musical catalog of nearly two dozen singles is an intimate dive into his struggles with anxiety, depression, grief, and love. Combined with a unique blend of singing and rapping, this vulnerability creates a fluidity of emotions across every project.
In 2019, Presence gave a TEDTalk titled “The Power of Authenticity and the Internet.” During the presentation, he states, “we all are unique, which makes our stories important, but more importantly, we all are connected, which makes our stories necessary. You never know who’s paying attention to yours.” This conviction to be open and honest has made Presence stand out since uploading his first video to YouTube at the age of 14. The Ventura-born musician was able to amass over 60 million views on YouTube with more than a million followers across social platforms by the age of 19.
“I’ve struggled with depression for as long as I can remember, and it always informed my songwriting. When writing these songs, I never intended to ‘make an EP about my journey with mental health issues,’ but I think that’s what it became. All I wanted to do was be honest, and the result is this.”
Today, Presence shares “Nightmare,” the first single from an upcoming EP (details TBA). About the track, he had this to say: “the first verse in this song begins with lyrics I wrote at 14 years old. I felt like nobody could relate to my struggle at the time, which I think is normal for many kids dealing with mental health issues.” Adding, “fast-forward one year, and I began to grow an audience by speaking about my struggles. Given the response from people on the Internet, I realized I wasn’t alone in these feelings, but it didn’t change much about how I felt. Since then, it’s still been a continuous struggle with my mental health, and that’s what the rest of the song is about. Depression feels like recycled emotions that I’ve already been through but still don’t know how to conquer. ‘Nightmare’ encapsulates the feelings.”
Watch The Official Music Video For “Nightmare” HERE:
Presence joins Nettwerk’s expanding roster of artists that includes altopalo, Tim Atlas, Harrison Brome, Skinny Atlas, kerri, and others. “Nightmare” is available at digital retailers here: https://presence.ffm.to/nightmare.
For Additional Press Materials: https://nettwerk.box.com/s/eld64ig21jk2jrant16ultzz08ighu19.
