Get to know Riiki Reid on her latest EP
Sun-soaked memories, over-saturated visuals, and a deep longing for summer—it turns out that Riiki Reid’s latest EP is a love letter to the season she can’t get enough of.
Image via@riikireid
Tell us about your latest track, ‘Over Romanticʼ?
I wrote it in Australia about six months ago. At the time, I was in New Zealand, midway through the year, while all my friends were off travelling—soaking up the sunshine in Europe or South America. I felt a longing for the sun, reminiscing about the summer that had passed. Iʼve always been emotionally connected to summertime, and I wanted to capture that over-romanticised feeling of yearning for it. When I went into the session, I had one word in mind to guide the direction: Sun drunk. To me, Sundrunk is the feeling of being intoxicated by the sun—where everything looks as though you have rose-coloured lenses on. I wanted the song to encapsulate that feeling.
What was the inspiration behind the visuals for this track?
For me, visuals have always been one of the most important aspects of my work—if not the most important. I’ve always been a very visual person, and I believe visuals are what truly connect people to music. Throughout this entire project, I’ve been trying to find a consistent visual identity that represents the music I make. When I developed the concepts for this particular song and the music I’m releasing this year, everything felt deeply visual. All the keywords—like Sundrunk andover-romanticised—along with the song’slyrics, instantly create imagery in my mind. I want the visuals to enhance the music, amplify the messaging, and evoke nostalgia. I’ve gone for a really saturated early 2000s aesthetic—it’s almost gimmicky in a way.
Tell us about the rest of the EP—what can your fans expect?
Honestly, the whole project is a reflection of this one keyword: sun drunk. What I’d really love is for people to take this as a piece of their own summer nostalgia. More than anything, my goal—especially with how this year has started for me—is to create a joyful space for people. At this point, I’m almost done with sad songs. I feel like there’s so much room for light and joy, and I’ve never felt more inspired and motivated to bring that into my music. A year ago, when I was gathering ideas for this EP and figuring out what kind of music I wanted to make, this feeling resonated with me the most. I was listening to all this over-romanticised music, and it helped carry me through everything else I was dealing with. I want to create a space where people can just have fun, feel warm, and feel right—where I can give someone a little sunshine and make summer last all year. That’s what I’m trying to do. That’s the goal of this EP.
Image via@riikireid
How much creative power did you have with this EP?
Honestly, the creative direction is my favourite part of it—especially now, because I feel so stoked and content with what I’m doing. For the first time ever, it feels completely aligned with me. In fact, I almost thrive more in that space than in the actual songwriting. Writing music is amazing, but as soon as I finish a song and start seeing the visual elements come together, that’s when I get really excited. I love developing the concepts, choosing the colours, and mood boarding—I’m a huge mood boarder. I love that music acts as a vessel not just for sound, but for visual story telling too. Honestly, if music ever flops, I’ve always told myself I’d move into creative direction.
How does the music industry in NZ feel currently, especially as a female creative?
I think there are so many female musicians trying to break into the scene in New Zealand. As an artist, it’s crazy how many people you connect with online—so many women in NZ are making music and putting themselves out there. What I’m noticing more than ever is that women are finally starting to empower other women in the industry. It sounds obvious, but for so long, the music industry has created this sense of competition among female artists, especially in a small place like NZ, where breaking through can feel even harder. But I really feel like that’s shifting now. That’s all I want—to see other women succeed. When I see someone doing well here, I’m just like, ‘hell yeah, that’s amazing!' There’s always been this idea that female artists have to compete, like who’s going to be the next Lorde or the next Benee? But that’s so not the point. I think people’s mindsets are changing. Now, I see artists—whether they’re bigger than me or just starting out—reaching out, commenting, supporting, and wanting to learn from each other, and I think that’s so beautiful. That’s something really special about the industry right now. But in terms of breaking through, it’s still tough. The NZ music industry is a hard one to crack. Globally, we’re seeing more and more female artists becoming the biggest names in pop culture and music, and I think that’s setting a precedent for the rest of the world.
What is the best advice youʼve received being a female creative in the industry?
Honestly, the biggest thing I’ve learned—especially over the past year and through creating this next body of work—is that nothing will truly come together if, first, you’re not happy with yourself, and second, you’re trying to navigate the overwhelming saturation online. There are so many expectations, trends, and moulds that make you feel like you need to fit into them to be seen. But that’s not how it works. You’ll only find real happiness in what you’re doing if it’s genuinely authentic to you. I know that sounds like the most generic advice ever, but especially with the rise of social media and TikTok, you don’t need to make a ‘get ready with me’ video or follow a formula to be noticed. People just want to connect. They want to know who you are. And right now, more than ever, people crave real connection—with creators, with artists, with each other. The way you build that connection is simple: be a genuinely kind person, and be happy with what you are putting out into the world, first and foremost, for yourself.
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