RIIKI recalls that time, saying: "As an artist, you had to get into the mindset of everything being on pause. All you can do is create, but it's hard to get things out and happening when we can't see each other or do anything. It just becomes really slow.
"Most of the time you spend your whole day in a little room anyway, making music. In a way it felt slightly normal, when it came to writing and being creative in that sense. The part where I found it really hard was not being able to bounce ideas off other people."
Having already built momentum with the release of a series of pop gems including High Heights and Good Times, knowing she had the WME signing up her sleeve made the 21-year-old feel like there was something to look forward to – that when the gloomy Covid cloud started to lift there would be opportunities waiting to be tackled.
"It was one of those things that made me feel like stuff is still actually happening, and people are still looking out and listening; wanting to keep growing and building. That was definitely a light at the end of the tunnel."
Just over a year later, RIIKI is ready to release In The Moment, a song she wrote in LA the week before Covid closed New Zealand's borders. The ongoing impacts of the pandemic meant that it hasn't made sense to release the track until now: "It's been that song I've wanted to get out and just haven't been able to. It's finally going to happen, which is exciting."
In The Moment will have its moment on May 14, the same date as RIIKI's first-ever headline show. The artist plays storied Auckland venue Whammy Bar that night, and Wellington's Meow on May 21, with a live band comprised of buddies from her days at Massey University's Wellington campus.
The single release harks ahead to her debut EP which, originally due to drop in 2020, is now scheduled to come out towards the end of 2021. The year has already brought with it a brighter feeling and sense of promise. "Coming into 2021 was so exciting for me," RIIKI remembers. "I got to perform at festivals – and New Zealand got to do festivals. I had never done that before. And also, coming out of everything was so awesome."
Being essentially grounded in NZ has provided the performer the opportunity to work with a number of high-profile local producers, including Simon Gooding (P!nk, Dua Lipa and Migos), Wells* (Navvy, Thomston, Paige) and Alex Wildwood (The Veronicas, Broods, Earth Tiger).
However, while she keeps threatening to move to Tāmaki Makaurau to further explore these and other professional relationships, RIIKI admits that, "Wellington feels like an awesome place to be right now," and that she can't bring herself to relocate away from her original community just yet.
That said, and with travel to the US still feeling tenuous, RIIKI is hopeful that the transtasman bubble will provide opportunities to connect with new audiences and collaborators in Australia. Ultimately, the year that was – for better or worse – has left her recharged and ready for the next chapter.
"I wish Covid never existed, but at the same time I think it's affected me in a positive way, looking at where I'm at now."
Catch RIIKI live with opening act Eli Superflyy at Whammy Bar (Auckland) on May 14 and Meow (Wellington) on May 21.
• Listen to the Locals Only podcast below. Made with funding from NZ On Air.
