Q&A: meet RIIKI, a ball of creative energy
Wellington resident Raquel Abolins-Reid, AKA RIIKI, has recently released her new single Share Your Luv. Her third track since her music debut in 2019 is a melodic mix with a refreshing take on indie-pop music. She’s managed to create a juicy sound that has elements of softness but also complimented by her zesty bite. She really shows off her diverse vocal ability. We love her sassy yet doughy tone.
RIIKI is no stranger to performing and being centred around creativity. You don’t have to look very far to find RIIKI’s energy. Her vibe is outright contagious and I’m pretty sure she stole the word ‘flare’ from the dictionary and isn’t planning on giving it back. She describes being on stage as her happy place and just loves to be in the moment and vibe with her band. Good news for us is she is planning a to debut her first headline show soon.
RIIKI is a multi-disciplined artist showcasing skills in choreography, production, visual direction, poetry, photography, and much more. She see’s herself as not only a musician but as someone who wants to, and can, show the world her creative vision through multiple mediums. Man oh man her visuals are literally so tasty! When you watch the music video for High Heights you can literally taste every flavour of those starbust chews.
We had a chat with RIIKI about her new release, how cereal may or may not be a soup and her spirit animal.
Heres a look into our chat:
Hey RIIKI! So nice to meet you, can you tell us why you do music, what about it draws you in?
HelloOoo, very nice to meet you, how fun. Honestly I just love the way music makes you feel when you listen to it. I get really emotionally attached and it represents the emotions I am feeling in the moment whether that is sonically or lyrically, so I really like being able to create something that can maybe move others in that way too. For me it’s a nice release and pour out of things going on in my head.
“High Heights” is an absolute bop! You must be happy with its success?
Thank youuuuuu, very kind. It definitely reached a lot more people than I expected it would, which is pretty cool to hear. Has been cool to connect with new people through the song. Makes my heart warm to know people really dig the track.
The “High Heights” music video is such a POP of colour, what was it like to film?
Making the music video was a ginormous bundle of fun! I worked with a Wellington, NZ based director called Ezra Simons who completely brought to life the colourful “RIIKI World” I had envisioned for the video. You wouldn’t know from the video that for most of the day it was actually pouring down outside, but if anything it made it a bit more spontaneous to create as we kind of were forced to go with the flow and had a lot of fun experimenting in the location.
Talk to me about your new release “Share Your Luv” what does this song mean to you?
Share Your Luv when I first initially wrote it was about a personal experience I had with someone where they abruptly abandoned the relationship (not a romantic relationship) and things turned a bit nasty, which was really upsetting. I knew I wanted to write a song about the experience for a couple of months but didn’t really know how to go about it, and then one day it just came out of nowhere in the space of a couple hours and it was a major relief. But I think you can take the song and connect to it in many different ways, which is really cool! Now, the song means so much more to me as I relate it to what is going on around the world regarding politics and ‘Black Live Matter’. The track has shifted to a whole knew meaning for me and when I listen back to the song, I can’t help but think about how important it is the everyone does their part in society to share their love and look out for one another.
Tell us about how you vibe on stage, do you love performing?
I freakinnnn love to perform AH! I miss it so much. It’s such a happy place for me and makes me feel super confident and able to connect with others. I vibe hard with my band onstage, they are a big part of what creates the “RIIKI stage vibe”. I’ve always been performing in some way or another whether it’s through dancing or acting. My heart is big for the performing arts, but performing as RIIKI is a very personal thing and feels like a really lucky thing to do and do it in front of other people who vibe it too.
What’s the weirdest gift you’ve received?
Someone made me a Christmas tree made out of popsicle sticks for a secret Santa one time which was cute but didn’t know what to do with popsicle sticks lol.
What’s the best wifi name you’ve seen?
I honestly cannot remember any off the top of my head! I’ve seen a pick up line used as a name which is a bit funny but creepos.
What would be your spirit animal and why?
That’s hard. Maybe a flamingo? Or a lemur? I think of that lemur character from ‘Madagascar’ who thinks he is really funny and has such a personality and I think that is me to an absolute T lol. Don’t know what relevance I have to a flamingo, but thats a cool animal.
Is cereal a soup Y or N?
NO WAAAAY ! Thinking of it as a soup makes me feel like I’m eating dinner for breakfast. I feel like it’s a bit weird to start the day off with ‘soup’ hahaha.
RIIKI has such good energy that she is putting out into the world through all of her platforms. We can’t wait for her to tour Australia and New Zealand so we can bask in some of those good vibes.
Check out her new track below or head to our I’m So Indie You 🌞 playlist to hear more great songs just like this one.
By Samuel Seedsman.