NIIC theSinging Dog

Kyle James McCarthy is a Philadelphia-based composer, musician, performer, and producer operating through NIIC Music LLC.

He graduated from the University of the Arts with a bachelor’s degree in Music Composition in 2012 and received the School of Music Award for Scoring for Media during his studies.

After spending time in New York City in 2013, he returned to Philadelphia and continued developing NIIC into a complete music, character, performance, and community project.

NIIC was first conceptualized in February 2013. The character was inspired by a relative’s husky named Nicki, whom Kyle knew during his early childhood.

Green was chosen because of the color’s personal importance in Kyle’s life and because it reflected the vibrant, energetic personality he wanted the character to carry.

NIIC also revived ideas from an earlier puppet project called Sebastian the Singing Cockroach, transforming a difficult one-person puppet production into a live musical character suited to concerts, videos, and the furry fandom.

The original digital character design was created by furry artist Casparr.

Artist Vallhund developed NIIC’s recognizable wardrobe and the headphone-paw-print logo frequently associated with the character.

The first costume combined work by Blix Fox and Faris Batwan. The current costume includes work by Grimmkitty Productions and Sassypup Creations.

The major albums follow an interconnected narrative beginning with NIIC escaping from a pet store after refusing to accept the name chosen for him.

Instinct continues through a news report describing a giant green dog near a North Jersey power plant.

Beast reveals that NIIC was captured and taken to a hidden laboratory. The story leaves him on the run, with the upcoming Escape positioned to continue the pursuit.

NIIC’s recordings combine energized, synchronized electronic tracks with live instrumentation.

Kyle produces his music in Pro Tools through an Apogee Quartet setup and uses the Shure SM7B as his primary vocal microphone.

Virtual instruments and production software provide the large, animated sound that allows the music to move between dance-pop, electronic production, rock, and theatrical storytelling.