Last week, when Melbourne singer-songwriter Niine released her debut EP Yeah Nah, we were immediately taken back by her experimental blend of sounds.
Across the EP, Niine charged through elements of prog-rock and electronic to craft a sound that’s unlike anything else currently making the rounds. So we caught up with the artist herself for a run-down on each track.
Fresh off the release of her increbidle debut EP Yeah Nah, we caught up with Melbourne based artist Niine for a track-by-track run-down.
Call Me Your Boo
I originally wrote this song for Beyoncé to sing, but I couldn’t find her email address. It’s a gentle introduction into my unique genre of avant-garde avalanche pop music. The song is about the juxtaposition of the heartbreak I was feeling from the demise of a relationship, while at the same time falling in love with another and the sweet excitement new love brings.
Call Me Your Boo represents me finally understanding that I would have to sit with the painful feelings and allow myself to be sad, or angry or whatever I was feeling at the time, before I would be able to completely move on and enjoy being in love again.
Nasturtium Dreams
I moved into a house far enough out of Melbourne that there was a garden with magnificent gum trees and an abundance of birdlife. It was at this house that I discovered the beauty of the nasturtium plant. Both the fiery coloured flowers and the bright leaves originally caught my attention. I then found out that the entire plant is edible and tastes delicious like pepper.
I began putting it in every summer salad I could manage. Unfortunately, the ending of my country adventure was nowhere near as pleasing as the beginning. Months after leaving, the memories of these flowers reminded me of the wonderful moments I had there and that I can choose for those to be what I remember. Nasturtium memories renew me with relief.
Only He Knows
I completed writing Only He Knows after watching the Hayao Miyazaki film Laputa. Like my other tracks, it flips in and out of a peaceful and tense state of mind, just like I seem to do a number of times each day. The more aggressive moments are specifically referring to people not taking responsibility for their emotions and actions, choosing to blame others and approach life with anger.
It also refers to a somewhat secret relationship I was enjoying at the time. This person was the only one who knew everything that was going on for me at the time and just one look into his eyes warmed me up like I was in a heated cocoon.
The contrast of dealing with both angry people and the most opened hearted and empathetic of people often sent me into an abstract daydream. Laputa has imagery that I felt matched my imagination and it impacted me enough to transform how I approached the song lyrically.
Frick Tim
This one is much more personal. It’s written specifically to my boo. We had a super rough start to our friendship. Our situation could have been straight out of The Bold and the Beautiful. I’m not prepared to do a complete run down of this one. But it is simply about me giving him all of my love and dedication and his inability to receive it.
Listen to Yeah Nah above.
