nykolaes and Daniël Paul are two artists based in Brussels working alone, together on music. They released their first album neofolk in 2023, to underground acclaim. In 2026 they return with a new home recorded effort called: Jeudi Matin. nykolaes & Daniël Paul both bring their own styles to the project, nykolaes’ 90s influenced, pro-post-anti-singer-songwriter modernism and Daniël Paul’s intimate, eyes wide open lo-fi-mumble-folk. Together they bring soft-spoken songs that combine guitar, DIY instruments and simple electronic elements, with vocal performances harmoniously in and out of tune, pitched to satisfaction. They repurpose something authentic and visceral into something that shimmers and screams in the pillow at times. Expect uplifting grunge, backwards folk, playful drone, disarming texts in Dutch, French and English. Never stuck in a tape loop, singing the shed saw, respectfully covering … we’ll see …

Cowboy Builder may have been secretly trading for longer under misleading handles and fake names. Mutated 2020's misremembering of folk w/ dub damage. Compositions with elements of noise and improvisation, usually slow and long.

For the past 3 years they have operated as a 4 piece with double drum parts. This year they will be playing as a stripped down version called Plastic Cowboy Builder. three-piece of guitar, violin and makeshift percussion playing against arrhythmic samples.

"Veering from nasal rants to startling sweetness, the songs slither into a precarious transcendence.... the whole album feels like it’s been knocked into a battered out-of-placeness by reality speeding up around it" Daryl Worthington, The Quietus, 2022

Cowboy Builder's most recent release is COLD via Bison Records in April 2026. They have toured the UK and Europe and been featured in publications such as The Wire and The Quietus.