Playlist: Introducing NIIX
“The goddess of the moon evolved into the goddess of the night.” Ahead of the launch of debut EP, I, we speak to NIIX about new music and her new persona…
The Double Negative: We previously knew you as Luna. Why the name change? Why Niix?
NIIX: A year of lockdown made me realise that the stuff I had been doing as LUNA didn’t really feel like ‘me’ anymore. Thanks to teaching myself how to DJ and getting more into presenting radio shows over the past year, the music I was listening to became much more electronic and dancier. This naturally seeped into the music I was making myself – so the goddess of the moon evolved into the goddess of the night… meet NIIX.
TDN: What is the contrast, musically?
NIIX: It’s still pop music, but with more of a club focus. Instead of floaty dream-pop, there are harder, grittier and darker sounds that you could listen to on the nightbus home, just as easily as you could at a rave.
TDN: Who are some of your inspirations, or artists you look to?
NIIX: I love anything that comes from the label NUXXE – Shygirl, Sega Bodega, Coucou Chloe… As a female producer as well as an artist, I also take inspiration from fellow female producers including FKA Twigs, BABii, Caroline Polachek… the list goes on!
TDN: You’re currently being mentored by artist and producer Låpsley. How did that come about and how’s it going?
NIIX: Låpsley and I were paired together as part of the Brighter Sound mentoring scheme. It’s working really well so far; we’re from similar musical backgrounds, we like a lot of the same artists and produce a similar style of music. We have a weekly phone call and it’s great to just have a bit of a chinwag as well as exchanging advice.
TDN: You release your first EP as NIIX on 2 July and play Festevol later in the month. It must feel great to be emerging with new material to play in front of a live audience.
NIIX: I’m honestly itching to play live after so long! The fact it’s this new sound is even more exciting. I’m lucky enough to be playing with one of my best friends (iamkyami); we’ve had a couple of practices so far and it’s just been a laugh.
TDN: Would you tell us a bit about the playlist you’ve put together for us?
NIIX: I’ve had so much fun putting this playlist together! I tried to include a mix of old and new, harking back to my childhood days growing up on trance music with Oxygen and 4 Strings. You’ve also got some old school Brandy and Mariah Carey – I’ve always loved rnb vocals and how free-flowing they are.
More recently, there’s tracks from Liverpool-based Remee (who features on my track W8NG, off I), and a new release from Vietnam-based producer and DJ Maggie Tra, who I’m delighted to be inviting onto my next AREA F-5 show on Steam Radio on 10th July. Having grown up playing piano there’s also some Debussy and Ryuichi Sakamoto in there for good measure.
TDN: What’s next, what’s on the horizon?
NIIX: I’ll be following up the EP release with a handful of live and DJ gigs across the UK, as well as my monthly radio shows on Melodic Distraction, Steam Manchester and Longthrow Radio. I’m also currently working on something exciting which I can’t reveal just yet, but all will become known soon…
Listen exclusively to new track LST&FND, which appears on NIIX’s debut EP, I:
As told to Mike Pinnington
I, the debut EP from NIIX, is available Friday 2nd July. Pre-order on Bandcamp
NIIX plays the sold out Festevol 31 July @ Future Yard
Images: Don Wavos
