It’s not just the music that bewitches the listener -it’s the imagery, the sensuality l, and the avant-garde vibe. There’s something special about Niine and it comes down to how she writes her music.
“I decided a few years ago that I wasn’t into following anything but the emotion and the story I’m trying to get across,” Niine says.
“Instead of writing a song in a standard structure, I’m showing different emotions in a different verse. One might be angrier, darker, but then I become powerful and it becomes sensual and intimate.
“It’s not a song where you hear everything at the start, you have to get to the end to make sure you didn’t miss out on the bigger picture.”
Niine’s two current singles, ‘Only He Knows’ and ‘Call Me Your Boo’, push and pull, and half the reason you get lost in the spirit of her sound is because you’re preparing yourself for the jolt of different experiences.
This makes Niine something of a chameleon, particularly when it comes to performing these songs, knowing she’s undertaking an ocean of different experiences and emotion. “Sometimes I’m shy, sometimes I’m extroverted and go between lots of different roles in my life and I think that comes across in my music,” she explains.
“I would say I’m a bit of a daydreamer, I go through a lot of emotions, so it’s actually quite normal for me to go between emotions because in the end, I feel like they all connect. Worry, fear, excitement of the unknown, there’s always emotions for everything.
“Like when you’re in love – you’re all encompassed by different emotions and I feel like my songs accentuate that.”
Being both convoluted and colourful is what makes Niine’s music interesting. Not to mention of course, she is a fantastic singer. “I do love singing,” Niine says. “I did have a few lessons, not many though, because I got sick of being told how to say different sounds.
“At certain times when I was singing or recording I was smiling or frowning, and that changes the sound when it comes out. When you’re talking to someone, it’s those sounds that hold weight. When I sing I try to be emotional so people can connect with it.”
Being taught the theoretical execution of performance, in a sense, stripped away the essence of who Niine is, and made it difficult for her to convey her stories in the expressive way she wanted.
“The singers I’ve always been into, they’re not technically the best but emotionally, in my opinion, far superior; just being able to connect and being really raw.”
Executing her honesty and having her own voice in this world is ultimately what Niine strives for. “I studied classical music from a young age; even classical music, though it’s rigid in some ways, I was able to add the emotion when I wanted,” she says. “Push back, pull, make it louder when I wanted, and you can interpret it your own way. That’s how I write music.”
We’ve had a little introduction to Niine with these two singles and in her upcoming EP, Yeah, Nah, Niine says there’s more to be revealed. “Two new tracks, one gets dark and heavy, but I think of it as an unfurling flower. From the start to the end it unfolds and there’s some sense of resolution. They’re different to the singles. ‘Only He Knows’ is quite in and out of emotion, quite intense and ends excited and overwhelmed, while ‘Call Me Your Boo’ is a juxtaposition between two relationships.
“The last track is called ‘Frick Tim’, named for the person it’s about. The beginning is sensual, intimate, and a direct story to this person – but the end is electronic and out there, the opposite to the other new track which opens up the idea that this isn’t the end of what the story is about. The next steps will be in the next EP.”
