Welcome back to another exciting Artist of the Week! For the next few days we’ll be working with Toronto-based pop trio to bring you exclusive content and interviews. First up we have a Q&A with the band, so keep on reading!
BTS: Introduce yourself!
NW: Hey this is Nikki from Nikki’s Wives!
BTS: How did the band get together? And what’s the story behind the name “Nikki’s Wives”?
NW: Dylan and I used to play together when I was still doing my solo project. He played guitar and we would write a lot of the songs together. So when we needed a drummer for one show he called up Nate and asked him if he could do it. The show went so well that we all decided it should become a permanent thing, so that’s kinda how the band started. The name is an inside joke between the three of us that this band is the closest any of us will get to marriage.
BTS: You guys had a pretty unique writing process for your EP “For E*V*E*R” – what was that like?
NW: For E*V*E*R was out first attempt at being a band and writing together. The song “Fantasize” was the first song the three of us had ever written together. So the entire EP is all about us finding our sound as who we are as a band. Writing 6 songs in a week in a freezing basement in the middle of winter really helped us bond as a band. I don’t think any of us would wanna do it again, but we’re happy for the experience.
BTS: Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
NW: The three of us are all inspired by very different music and artists, so it allows for our sound and timbres to always be different. Nate is super into motown and hip-hop, while Dylan takes a lot of influence from classic rock and jazz. Personally I’m very influenced by singers like Florence Welch, Lana Del Rey, and Amy Winehouse.
BTS: Where did the inspiration for your EP come from?
NW: While writing the For E*V*E*R EP we took a lot of influence from artists like Peter Gabriel and ABBA. We were listening to a lot of 80’s pop and rock at the time, which comes across in tracks like “Another Lie” and “Lonely Being Cool”.
BTS: How would you describe your sound for our readers who haven’t checked you guys out yet?
NW: Our sound is pretty moody and dark, but we also like to play around with synths and 80’s inspired timbres. So alt-pop would be the genre I guess.
BTS: The video for “lonely being cool” is super interesting – how did you guys come up with the concept for that?
NW: We wanted the video to play on the name of the band. So in the video Nikki is the groom while Dylan and Nate are the wives. The director of the video had just finished the newest Grimes video before directing ours, so we felt confident that he could make us a cool video. My favourite part is the last wedding scene when the guests are destroying the room and flipping tables over.
BTS: What’s one thing you want fans to know about Nikki’s Wives?
NW: We want to inspire people to be strong and to not take shit from anyone. Basically the goal is for everyone to be a bad bitch after listening to our EP.
BTS: What does 2017 have in store for Nikki’s Wives?
NW: We’re just about to start working a brand new single. So we’ll be busy shooting a music video for that and then touring the support that and the EP.
BTS: Cross country tour or festival line ups?
NW: Nothing we can talk about yet. But we will be doing a radio tour to support the single at the end of November. So keep an eye our for us in your city.
BTS: Favorite song on the EP?
NW: My favourite song is the title track of the EP, For E*V*E*R. I think the song is super badass and captures the feeling of being vulnerable to someone while also trying to be strong and independent.
BTS: If you could travel back in time and see any concert or artist, what would it be?
NW: This is a cheesy answer, but my dad was in a band back in the 60’s and I would have loved to be able to see that. I think it would be really funny to see my dad with a ponytail playing a guitar.
BTS: If you could build your dream tour, who would you want to tour with?
NW: If I’m being honest, any tour with hot fans who buy a lot of merch haha. But I think we would all die if we could go on tour with someone like Bruno Mars. He’s such a dope performer and musician.
BTS: Where’s your favorite place you’ve traveled to on tour?
NW: This is super weird but one of our favourite places to tour is Omaha, Nebraska. People are always so friendly to us and it’s a super cool music city. 10/10 would recommend.
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