NYIKO RELEASES MUSIC VIDEO FOR 'LA ON FIRE'


by mariah estran

photo by niles gregory

After much anticipation, LA-based artist Nyiko has returned, dropping a visual for his latest single, "LA On Fire." 

Now, the scene is set for the indie-pop tune. A reflection on the recurring natural disasters, and a metaphor for the lasting effects of the entertainment business. Through the film direction of Milo Mitchell, the LA lifestyle is front and center in the newly released music video.

“Milo and I are part of a movie club that meets up to watch low-budget and fringe horror films. With that shared connection, we wanted to make a video that drew inspiration from the more bizarre and campy horror films,” Nyiko explains.

With three characters: a photographer, dancer, and skateboarder, we see Nyiko play mad scientist. He overlooks their lives through television surveillance, but when a few buttons are pushed, things escalate. Smoke appears, each person taken over, engulfed by the overwhelming aspects of the Hollywood dream.

Through use of over-the-top, silly horror, it allows that nostalgic, dance-inducing sound to flare. Burning that memorable chorus and illuminating keys right into your mind.

 

'LA ON FIRE' / NYIKO: REVIEW


by mariah estran

photo by niles gregory

photo by niles gregory

After watching the LA skyline darken to an orange, fire-induced hue during a week of wildfires, singer and producer Nyiko found riveting similarities between the glows of success and the destruction of natural disasters. Teaming up with producer U-Tern, his latest single, “LA On Fire,” carries those thoughts through a vivid, dream-pop sound. A style Nyiko has continued to expand since the release of his LP, Honesty.

“I had the idea on the way over to Vaughn’s (U-Tern). I was driving on the highway and had the vision of flames overtaking the East LA hillsides,” the singer says. The track opens with dazzling keys. As he sings of Los Angeles burning, complete with smokey surroundings while a nostalgia-washed beat grants a dance-worthy charm alongside the battle of fighting for the Hollywood dream. 

“The fire can be interpreted as the pressures of trying to “make it” — the all-too-common dream of becoming a celebrity that people have when they move to LA. A spark, or opportunity, can ignite the path for success, but on the flip-side, people can become consumed by that dream to the point where they’re creatively and professionally burnt out,” he explains.

Nyiko is no stranger to integrating a larger message within his work. He’s tackled the topic of toxic masculinity in his single “Call The Boys.” Now, “LA On Fire” sparks another conversation. Within four minutes, the listener can find themselves thinking of the wildfires that have engulfed the West Coast while analyzing the effects of the entertainment industry.

Yet, the vivid layers of synth, drums, and moving vocals wrap the song in an illuminating warmth, almost like a residual ember holding a light towards change. 

 

'HONESTY' / NYIKO: REVIEW


by mariah estran

HonestyLP_Cover_3000.jpg

Reevaluating our relationships and how we value self-love can be difficult. But the Los-Angeles-based singer-songwriter NYIKO has taken on those challenges with stride, releasing the spellbinding debut LP, Honesty.

The appropriate album title comes to life as NYIKO leaves no momentous feeling behind. His candor sores through tracks initially penned in 2014. He shares, “While the songs were written over the course of a few years, I wanted the sequence to follow the narrative of falling in love, watching it fade, and the prospect of finding new love again.”

These themes the singer presents could transcend time. While, ultimately, possessing substance for each listener. From romance to heartbreak to self-reflection, we have all been there. The eleven tracks are deep in context but presented in glistening synth-pop structures you might find familiar to The Cure or Morrissey.

Listen to Honesty on Spotify. NYIKO · Album · 2021 · 11 songs.

For thirty-eight minutes, you’re transported to a universe rich in nostalgic tones, as if you have fallen into a heavenly 80s flick. The album opens with “Make You Feel,” a lively introduction full of bright keys and a swift drum cadence, as NYIKO shares the beauty of instant allure. Those charming sound facets carry throughout, even during heavy moments, such as “Four Years.” NYIKO explains, “'Four Years' was written in 2014 when I was still living in Vermont. It was an elegy for the traumatic end to a long-term relationship. Three years after writing it, I was going through my phone and found the original voice memo. Hearing that memo inspired me to build the production around it. Even then, I wasn’t quite sure if it was going to fit with the record.”

There is a smooth balance between notable messages and lessons learned. “Call The Boys” lays out a conversation on toxic masculinity as the post-punk production foreshadows a future capable of transformation. “Glow” shows the audience the importance of celebrating self-love and inner beauty. As the final track, “Ghost In Your Dreams,” examines the concept of memory, a mental faculty that aided the album's entirety.

Through Honesty, NYIKO reminded us of the importance of reflecting on our past. The good, the bad, and how each of these moments could contribute to our growth. But if you need help acknowledging that, turn this record on, dance, take a moment, and remember there’s still time to evolve. 

 

NYIKO: INTERVIEW


by mariah estran

photo by niles gregory

photo by niles gregory

“Call the boys inside, tell them it’s alright. There’s no shame in your pain;" is the first lyrical line that breaks through the shimmery nostalgic keys and basslines on Nyiko’s latest track, “Call The Boys.” The spellbinding pop tune checks each box for an addictive indie hit. But it’s the overall message that spotlights a bigger issue, one which has shapeshifted into ghastly news stories filling our TV screens and media feeds. Think school shootings, police brutality, and questionable leaders. Those recurring events weighed heavily on the mind of the Los Angeles based singer-songwriter, discovering that toxic masculinity might be one of the motives.

“At the time, there seemed like every few weeks there was a news story about a school shooting,” he recalls, describing the beginning stages of “Call The Boys.” “That song started as a reaction to the overwhelming amount of school shootings that were primarily carried out by young men.” An observation that isn’t wrong. According to the 2020 Mother Jones A Guide to Mass Shootings in America, of the hundred and nineteen cases reported, half involves male culprits.

Crediting a 2018 opinion piece in the New York Times, titled The Boys Are Not Alright by Michael Ian Black, Nyiko says, “What it showed for me was there’s a breakdown occurring in the developmental stages of young men. In the mentorship, in the leaders that we have, in the media we consume that continues to show men as needing to be powerful, dominant, angry, and violent in order to be masculine.” The singer gathering that those instilled societal behaviors are contributing to these horrifying outbursts we’ve somehow managed to make our new norm. Yet, he knows this is something we can change. “I truly do believe it’s something that can be fixed and be cured with redefining what it means to be a man and to be masculine.”

Through a medium he knows best, Nyiko is reshaping those outdated definitions with his music. “The idea for the song (“Call The Boys”) is to create a new model for what it means to be masculine and to breakdown the toxic masculinity that invades a lot of male cultures,” he explains. “To set-up these new ideals of being tender, being emotionally available. Instead of using power or strength to have control over people.” This single is a call for much-needed unity and support for one another. It’s a song with such effective messaging that it practically speaks for itself, he sings: “We need an exemplary, symbol of masculinity. For these boys, beyond violence and raising a voice. He’s starting the conversation, and ultimately, setting that example, he hopes others will do so as well. Reiterating that we must work to tear down the negative connotations behind male fortitude. “Use that strength or power to hold other people up, and to make sure that everyone is benefiting from whatever strength you might have like a ‘masculine’ male, opposed to using it to dominate or create fear.”

Listen to Call The Boys on Spotify. NYIKO · Single · 2020 · 1 songs.

photo by niles gregory

photo by niles gregory

The courage to share these points of view in music and to be vulnerable is what allows listeners to find relatability, especially in a time of mass media consumption. “I think, what would be amazing, obviously, every artist being true to themselves with whatever they’re writing about, and whatever they’re putting out in the world," Nyiko shares when asked about how the media could change to accept exposed emotion or opinion. Adding, “But also to realize, as an artist, if you have any following what-so-ever you do have somewhat of responsibility, and you are somewhat responsible for what people take away from the art you create.”

Recognizing this responsibility didn’t happen overnight. He was once writing one love song after another while absorbed in a theme of romance. But after discovering more inspiration and gaining more life experience, he’s creating tracks that get the audience thinking. In addition to “Call The Boys,” is the previously released single “Glow." An encouraging tune that celebrates inner-beauty and finding confidence. “I’ve been a lot more compelled to touch on different topics a lot of people can relate to that aren’t purely centered in you’re in a relationship, you’re not in a relationship,” Nyiko says. “I do hope that in the artwork, the songs I create, people can find meaning for themselves, or can take a step back, and explore the true message of the song.”

By the end of 2020, Nyiko will release his appropriately titled debut album Honesty. An eleven song LP that will express the honesty identified within himself. However, this wasn’t all he found; Nyiko discovered a way to share his stories, and feelings, in a world that might tell him not to. He persevered but knows it’s not easy. “As an artist, I feel fortunate to have a creative outlet to process my emotions and the things I perceive,” he states. “If you're feeling lost or confused with yourself and the world right now, I invite you to see if there's an untapped outlet for you to express yourself. It's easy to feel overwhelmed or even hopeless right now, but we always have the capacity to create change and have a positive impact.”

 

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