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Riki is the Los Angeles based synth-pop outfit commandeered by the mysterious Niff Nawor, a visual artist and musician active in the deathrock / anarcho-punk scenes of the California bay area (formerly a member of
Crimson Scarlet), before founding her solo endeavor as Riki in 2017. Niff’s desire to explore her own sound manifested in the recording of the
Hot City cassette tape in 2017, which featured
Chelsey Crowley of Crimson Scarlet,
Skot Brown of Phantom Limbs and
Peđa of Doomed to Extinction. Released on Commodity Tapes and later reissued on vinyl by the well-regarded
Symphony of Destruction label, Riki followed the release of the single with several small tours and festival dates, performing with such acts as
Light Asylum, Black Marble, and Trisomie 21.
For her self-titled debut album for Dais, Riki explores courage, physicality, and romance across eight timeless synth pop anthems. Produced and engineered by hardware-based synthesist
Matia Simovich of INHALT, influences and ideas are worn proudly without deviating from fresh and daring electro-pop territory. Nostalgic cues can be heard ranging from Neue Deutsch Welle, early Adrian Sherwood productions, classic ZYX Italo Disco, Japanese Visual Kei and even classic new wave/pop like Pat Benatar, Kate Bush, and early Madonna.
The lead single,
Napoleon, contains Riki’s indelible sound design, reminiscent of 80’s New York dance floor electro-pop that recalls the fusion of uptown and downtown styles and culture, told through Riki’s present day West Coast narrative.
Riki invites listeners to “reveal their useless habits of complacency and fear...and witness their own rebirth, a rhythm universal”
Album comes with a foldout RIKI poster, printed inner euro sleeves with lyrics, and download card. Package design by Niff Nawor, photography by Nedda Afsari.
