Spotlight On... Nikhita

It was popgirlz founder Rachel Alice Johnson, otherwise known as Kohla, who first turned us onto the calming and soulful R’n’B of Edinburgh singer-songwriter Nikhita.

Nikhita played for us at Kelburn Garden Party last summer, bringing her unique singing bowls to the glen for a dose of much-needed escapism. New music has since followed, with the release of singles Lake Karachay and Insurance earlier this year, and on Friday, Nikhita releases her debut EP, Solace. Including a live version of her 2023 single Golden Child, the whole EP has a loose live feel to it, adding to the intimacy of her unique sound. With the EP due for release, we catch up with Nikhita to find out more.

First of all, can you tell us what inspired your early interests in music when growing up?
My earliest inspirations in music were rooted in Sangeetham and Telugu cinema. I’ve always loved to write and sing since I was very young, and since I am the only creative in my instant family, a lot of my early musical inspiration came from the movies we would watch together at home. Since I was always singing around the house, my parents put me in Sangeetham classes when I was in my early adolescence, and it was such a special way to get to know my voice and learn vocal control, later moving onto writing in a more contemporary style when I started to find my love for R'n'B/soul.

Who/what would you say inspires you as an artist now?
Currently I am feeling very inspired by nature, love, the complexities of relationships, stories (fictional and non-fictional), and using music as a method of healing. At the moment, a couple of my artist inspirations are Raveena and Cleo Sol.

In the press release for your forthcoming EP, you talk a lot about the writing process being a place of solace for you, helping you navigate some challenging situations. Can you tell us more about this, and what each of the EP’s songs represent for you?
Writing has always been my place of solace, and even a form of therapy for me. There’s something so cathartic about writing a song to process a situation, feeling yourself heal as the track progresses and you add more and more layers sonically – the tension really just melts into inspiration and it is one of my favourite feelings. Being able to then share my musical stories with others who are going through similar situations, extending that place of solace to them is so special.

Each song on this project represents a story, detailing personal growth, coming of age, and struggles with toxicity in terms of relationships – romantic and familial. I wanted to structure it as a backwards telling of events, to show the consequences and roots of toxic relationships.

Lake Karachay (the opening track) is the sum of what all these experiences have amounted to, using the world’s most polluted lake – Lake Karachay – as a metaphor for feeling emotionally polluted and weighed down by toxic relationships.

Insurance represents the decision to try to finally stand up to those who treat you as less than what you are worth – which can be very difficult if those people were your first experience with romance.

Cleopatra is inspired by a fictitious story – Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors – which got me instantly inspired upon reading it. The song tells the story of the two main characters in the book who have a passionate whirlwind romance, which slowly progresses in an ugly direction, starting with the subtle, heartbreaking signs of falling out of love.

Chamomile Clouds tells stories of mistreatment from a more clouded, romanticised perspective. A naive daydream, painting someone in a light much more flattering than their true colours.

The last song is a live version of my previously released track Golden Child, which is a track about the clash between my queer and my cultural identity. It has always been a very hard-hitting one for me, and though I love the original version, I wanted listeners to experience the intimacy of the song which translates in a live setting, by including the live stripped back version in this EP. We get our first understandings of what love is through our families, and when that foundation is rocky, it can definitely cause issues with the people you attract later on; that’s why this is the last track on this project, the bottom of the root.

With the gentle lilt of your music, and in particular through your use of singing bowls, you can sense this desire to find healing through your music practice. Can you tell us more about the sound healing journey you’re on? And how did you get into playing singing bowls?
Since writing and making music has always felt so healing to me, I wanted to find a way to translate that into the sonics of my music. The first artist I saw using singing bowls was Jhené Aiko; her music definitely helped me heal at a low point in my life. Looking further into the history of singing bowls and sound healing in Asia further drove me to incorporate them into my shows and recorded music. It feels so empowering to use an ancient healing practice rooted in my culture in the sonics of my art.

In my journey of healing in the past couple of years, I have also started practicing Yoga. I wanted to incorporate some meditative techniques I have learnt into my recorded music and live shows, to make meditation less daunting and accessible to those who have not yet explored the practice. Bringing people into a present and introspective headspace definitely changes the way the music is perceived.

I am only at the start of my sound healing journey, but it is something which fascinates me, and I cannot wait to delve deeper into.

You’re celebrating the release of the EP with a show at Edinburgh’s Whitespace on 10 April. It’s not a standard gig space, so what can we expect from the show?
I love the intimacy and modular feeling of Whitespace. Expect to feel solace through guided meditation – the musical lineup, set design, styling, and community. My great friend Amina Beg has designed this beautiful dress for me, inspired by Lake Karachay. My support artist is Ringu. She has such a beautiful voice, I honestly get lost in her jazz/neo-soul-tinged melodies. I will be playing a full band setup, accompanied by some amazing live musicians who are dear to me – Dylan Elphinstone, Niamh Jordan and Scott Abel. This show is all about creative collaboration, expression through a variety of avenues and channelling the essence of Solace.

And what does the rest of the year look like for you as an artist?
Primarily lots of writing for the next chapter! I am so excited to give myself lots of space to write and further find my sound. I will definitely be sharing that process through a few more live shows.

I will also be visiting my family in India this summer, so strengthening my connection to my heritage and taking more cultural inspiration into my musical and healing practice is a large focus for the rest of this year.

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Solace is self-released on 4 Apr; Nikhita plays Whitespace, Edinburgh, 10 Apr

Follow Nikhita on Instagram @__nikhita