One of the fantastic outcomes of making this website is that it has pushed me to slow down, seek out and pay attention to music that even a year ago I would have ignored. Artists like Lena Hessels, Heartworms and Kee Avil all make music I probably would have ignored in 2023, with my short attention span and preference for the familiar. niina is the latest name on that list. Indulge me — hit play on this and let her do her thing:
It shouldn’t work for me, and yet I’ve played that song more than any other in the past two weeks. I keep coming back to this record, almost resentfully. How did this get so deep under my skin?
The obvious answer is that niina is very good at this. This is fun, smart, tongue-in-cheek dance pop. Her Bandcamp page has music going back as far as 2021, with her first release being an EP called 2 high 2 cry. Even then, her instinct for building a propulsive and layered rhythm is obvious.
(Aside: Don’t trust Apple Music on this one – for me, they have her new album filed under the profile of a different Niina)
A series of singles and EPs followed, including highlights like “Miss u” and “Apple Juice“. Each of these tracks are full of ideas, just barely getting established before heading off in a new direction. She also regularly posts DJ mixes to her Soundcloud and YouTube pages. The Apple Juice EP, and specifically “Summer in the Rain” seems to be the first example of the deadpan vocal delivery that permeates honestly, does this smell off to you?.
Another highlight from the record is “summer high”, with irresistible energy, and a refrain that sounds like an old jumprope song.
It also features the strange Igglepiggle-looking mascot that shows up in much of the content that accompanies this record. It’s fantastically goofy, and this instagram post explains:
There has been a monster called Patrick that has been following me around of late, Patrick is a physical manifestation of life’s anxieties and I’ve become very good at running away from him the last few years. I can’t believe he showed up at my photoshoot for this album but I thought I might as well go with it.
The record also has several more straightforward electronic songs on it though. Another standout is “finding bliss”, again just packed with ideas and surprises like a David Holmes single:
Artists like niina are such a joy to find and have been a fantastic byproduct of starting this goofy little website. Her entire catalog is full of songs that have found their way into my playlists. As a last treat, here’s one of her DJ mixes that includes some of the music from the record, but also makes for perfect accompaniment to doing other things (like preparing this post).
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