RIIKI REID ON her EP 'Crash & Collide'
PREMIERE: ‘Don’t Start Now’ / ‘This City (Acoustic)
RIIKI REID has burst onto the music scene, and she’s only just getting started. 2022 has seen her complete an arena tour alongside some of NZ’s biggest names - L.A.B, JessB, Katchafire, The Black Seeds and Dave Dobbyn, and also joining Budjerah on his Australian tour.
RIIKI’s now released her second 3 track EP for the year ‘CRASH & COLLIDE’ which is all about picking up the pace and capturing a levelled-up energy - and we’re fully here for it.
Hey RIIKI, thanks heaps for taking the time to chat to us! First off, we'd love to know a little bit about your journey so far from when you started singing and making music?
Thank you very much <3 I started singing when I was somewhere around 7 years old. It started off with just my brother and I always covering music together - I used to write some hilarious songs on garage band, and then we entered a mall talent competition in 2007 which I then fell in love with singing for people. I properly started writing music through high school where I was in a band, so mostly for that and on the side I was writing my own personal songs and things with my cousin. In Year 13, I decided that I wanted to go to Massey University to study music and in that first year is where I decided to start RIIKI, which is now RIIKI REID.
Awesome! We are super excited that you’ve dropped your 3-track EP 'Crash & Collide'! What can you tell us about it and what were your main artistic influences going into it?
Thank yawwww!!!! Ah! It's so much more energetic and such a level up from my past projects honestly. "Newer Oxygen" which I released earlier this year was the 'baby steps/learning to walk' EP, and I had always planned for this next EP to be 'now I'm running'. The pace is faster, it’s energetic, it’s exhilarating. I just really wanted to show another side of myself and the music I love to people, so it was important for me to say "hey, I don't just make alternative music or pop music, I can make anything I like and with this EP, I'm making dance music". The biggest influence for this EP is generally 90's/early 2000's electronic music. I love the ravey Berlin looking aesthetics and really wanted to give that with the new music. It's quite a Euro electronic sound I think. Biggest influence was actually a song called "I Remember" by Deadmau5.
So dope! We're so in love with your latest single 'DRIVE'! Can you tell us a bit about what inspired you to write this song and the writing and production process behind it?
I was in Sydney when I wrote it working with an incredible pal named Dave Hammer. I like to be really hands on with the production as I love producing my own music, but this was such a fresh experience for me with Dave. He had this uptempo, racey beat going on in the studio and it just gave me such an icy fast and zooming feeling. I wanted to write about that full force feeling when you are speeding through the brisk fresh air at night time, screaming at the top of your lungs and feeling so fulfilled. I had this image in my head of two people running head on to each other to collide and become apart of each others worlds. The song is really like a love letter - what I describe in the song is really how much I can't stop thinking about someone who I really want to be a part of my world, and how I want them to drive at full speed into my world and my heart so that we collide and be together.
That’s incredible! Plus, we’re obsessed with your latest single 'This City'! What's the concept of this track and what can we expect from it?
Yessssss - she's a lil club tune this one. It's really just a little dance party song. It's about how I'm so infatuated with the city on a good night out, surrounded by all my closest friends, dancing, getting lost together and forgetting about the world. In particular, the song is about me and my friend’s nights at club121 in Wellington (which I'm embarrassed to say), but we have such special memories there. You can feel the love in that club between everyone and it's just a special one. So as simple as that really. It's fun and careless and free!
What were your main highlights working on the EP?
The writing process on this just trickled out so so so easily for all three songs. I have no idea how, but because of this, the songs just felt so right and organic. I feel so satisfied with all three of these songs. They explode with emotion for me, and that makes me so happy. The team for all of the creative has also been the best - I have honestly learnt how to enjoy the process with this team which has meant that every single step to this EP has been so enjoyable and some of the best memories + connections I have made. I feel like this EP has just been so nurtured and looked after which I am grateful for.
Plus, we just wanted to say a HUGE congrats with your singles 'Meet U Again' and 'The Dream State' being featured on the iconic EQUAL GLOBAL Spotify playlist which led to you being featured on a massive electronic billboard in Times Square! How did you feel in that moment when you found out?!
Honestly I am still so gobsmacked that it happened. I am convinced it was photoshopped and it's a prank. But yes, I feel so grateful and honoured to have had that opportunity. It was such a fulfilling moment and the whole message behind the campaign is something I really aligned with, so it felt so honouring to have a voice and be able to speak my piece and contribute to something bigger than me. It's the sort of thing you dream about as a kid and at this stage in my career, you feel like this sort of goal is at least 20 years away still lol. So the fact it's happened makes me feel very privileged and grateful.
Who are some of your favourite NZ artists right now and are there any songs in particular that you especially love?
New Marlon Williams is amazing, in particular the song ‘My Heart The Wormhole’. ‘Come Apart’ by Fazerdaze is another kick ass tune.
Great picks! What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learnt in your career so far, and what advice do you have for other artists out there?
ENJOY THE PROCESS - honestly ... this is a game changer. The music industry is so wild, it's amazing, but it also can become very pressuring very quickly, but it doesn't need to be that way. So I think the best thing that I do is remind myself why I am doing what I am doing and saying to myself simply to 'enjoy the process'. It should be fun, you should be making the best memories of your life and feeling so filled with joy. Who cares about how things turn out, there is so much learning to do if you are absorbing every minute of the process and enjoying it. For me, through doing this, I can feel myself growing as a person and an artist.
Amazing advice! Lastly, we end every interview with this question - if you could say one thing to every person in the world, what would it be?
Get it boo x
Thanks so much RIIKI! Catch her supporting Ashe in Auckland on 11 November, and Six60 in Christchurch 10 December, or make sure you keep up with her on Instagram, Facebook, Spotify or Apple Music.
