Draft:Riki (American musician)

Riki is an American synthpop musician based in Los Angeles, California.

Early life and education
Riki grew up on the West Coast of the United States, spending time in Portland, Oregon and the San Francisco Bay. She studied visual arts at the post-secondary level.

Career
Previously going by the name Niff Nawor, Riki was an active member of several bands in the California underground punk/goth scene before founding her solo project, Riki, in 2017. After putting out a few independent releases, she signed to Dais Records in 2019 and released her self-titled full-length debut album on Valentine's Day of 2020. Plans to tour this album, however, were postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Working with producer Joshua Eustis/Telefon Tel Aviv, Riki released her second album with Dais, Gold, in November 2021, and followed this up with extensive tours in North America and Europe. Throughout 2021 and 2022, she played several notable festivals and shared the stage with bands such as Front 242, Stabbing Westward, Cold Cave, and Boy Harsher.

In 2023, she played the in the Pasadena-based 80's pop festival Cruel World Festival, on a bill that included Iggy Pop, Siouxsie Sioux, Billy Idol, and many other notable acts. The same year, she also played in Mexico with Belarussian post-punk act Molchat Doma and again toured North America with Cold Cave. She has also revealed that she is working on her next album. In October 2023, Riki released "SAS (For Those Who Speak And Spake)" as part of a cassette player collaboration between Dais Records and Retrospekt.

Influences
Riki’s sound and aesthetics draw primarily upon influences from 1980’s pop and new wave music and has been compared to Blondie, Bryan Ferry, David Bowie, Nena, Cocteau Twins, and the early music of Madonna.

Members

 * Riki - vocals, keyboards, drum machine, programming, bass guitar, melodica

Studio albums

 * Riki (2020, Dais Records)
 * Gold (2021, Dais Records)

Singles & EPs

 * Hot City (2017, Symphony Of Destruction/Commodity Tapes)
 * Know Thyself (2018, self-released tour cassette)

Live Albums

 * Spellbound Live: Riki (2024)

Music Videos

 * "Napoleon" (2019, dir. Amanda Siegel)


 * "Earth Song" (2020, dir. Amanda Siegel)


 * "Marigold" (2021, dir. Muted Widows)


 * "Florence & Selena" (2021, dir. Travis Waddell)

In popular culture
The 2022 suspense/thriller film Watcher "Come Inside" from Riki's self-titled debut album. The song is played when the protagonist, Julia, follows the stranger into a club.