Jakarta-born, LA-based singer-songwriter and producer NIKI firmly plant herself as one of the most dynamic artists of today with the release of her new album Buzz via 88rising, out now. Accompanying the release is the music video for the title track “Buzz”, directed by Isaac Ravishankara. The video, a cheeky line-by-line depiction of the lyrics, encapsulates the rush of raw emotion and bittersweet nerves of a budding romance – glimpses of buzzing bees, a crackling guitar amp, and longing looks between two people, all signaling the start of something new. NIKI was initially inspired to name the record after the budding growth she observed in her garden every spring. Across thirteen tracks on the album, the singer encapsulates the feeling of being on the precipice of something undiscovered.
Photo: Annie Lai/88rising
The album’s release joins previous singles; the love struck summer track, “Tsunami,” astrologically-inspired song “Blue Moon,” and flirty lead single “Too Much of a Good Thing.” NIKI plans to celebrate Buzz on with a comprehensive fall world tour.
What eventually became Buzz, the third studio album by singer-songwriter and globally-renowned star NIKI, started with an urgent quake from the innermost core of her being. What surfaced in its wake was a collection of warm, stirring folk-rock songs, which crackle and flare like a bonfire between close confidantes. “I went through an identity crisis,” says the 25-year-old of Buzz. “It took a lot of trial and error, and I just stumbled upon pieces of myself along the way. I named it Buzz because it feels like I’m on the precipice of something about to happen.”
For NIKI, things have been happening progressively since she was a high schooler in Jakarta, Indonesia. As a student at an international academy, she cut her teeth scribbling lovesick poems in English class and performed acoustic guitar covers of American pop songs on YouTube. With a six-string in hand, and her family and classmates cheering her on from the audience, Nicole Zefanya then staked her claim to global stardom as NIKI.
And claim it she has – with over three billion streams worldwide, sold out shows on multiple continents, massive sets at festivals across the globe, front-row seats at Paris Fashion Week, four songs on a Marvel film’s soundtrack, and some of the most phenomenal, confessional songs being released in 2024, NIKI has already established a veteran’s resume before the age of 25.
On Buzz, her songwriting remains as intimate as ever. In her initial sketches of songs for Buzz, NIKI took cues from other lane-paving women with confessional, honest lyricism soundtracked by guitars. “Joni Mitchell is my songwriting north star,” she says — and uncompromising feminist luminaries like Stevie Nicks, Carly Simon, and Liz Phair. To match the wandering spirit of Buzz, NIKI cultivated her own elastic approach to guitar.
To further harness this creative and personal sea change, NIKI began enlisting producers who had worked with her favorite contemporary singer-songwriters. She tapped Tyler Chester, who’d captured tracks with Madison Cunningham and Sara Bareilles; she also recruited Ethan Gruska, who counts Fiona Apple and Phoebe Bridgers as collaborators.
Buzz reverberates with the hard-earned wisdom of a young woman who charges dauntlessly towards her dreams — but can still spare a laugh if she stumbles.
Do you have a story for the WhenInManila.com Team? Email us at story.wheninmanila@gmail.
