Riiki

• From: Wellington, New Zealand
• Related Artists: BENEE, Navvy, Dua Lipa

Riikimay have only launched her solo project in 2019, but she’s been honing an impressive collection of skills since roughly the time she could walk. She started dancing aged four, plays piano, produces, and caught the performance bug when her parents convinced her to enter a talent competition in a mall. Fast forward a few years -via a stint in a high school indie rock band -and she decided to go solo while studying commercial music at university. And so Riiki was born: a promising indie pop artist with a honey-glazed voice, writing mellow pop grooves that belong in an endless summer. Debut single High Heightsis a bass-driven bop that was inspired by watching seagulls fight over a chip. Share Your Luv, released in June, hears her honey-glazed voice sing about monsters lurking in the dark and someone not caring enough. This handful of tracks showcases her knack for good vibes and infectious melodies, which she’ll build on with the release of an EP later this year. She’s also busy lining up gigs now we’re legally allowed to mosh closer than 2 metres apart in New Zealand, and by the time festival season rolls around we hope to be basking on a burnt patch of grass watching Riiki take her sunny bops to the stage.