Music-News recently had the chance to sit down with soul-pop/R&B artist Niki Tonik, who just released her brand-new infectious song, “Equinox”.
Tell us about yourself and how you got your start in the music industry?I wrote my first song when I was about 11 years old ~ growing up in Israel and listening to a lot of different genres of music including American, European and Middle Eastern Pop definitely had a big influence on my musicality early on. I’m not sure exactly at what moment my ‘start’ in the music business began but it was probably somewhere around 2011 when I performed on stage in Hollywood with Jason Mraz and he acknowledged me as a fellow singer/songwriter. Also around that time I began collaborating with other incredible musicians/artists like Kamasi Washington, Tony Austin and Miles Mosley. So 2011-2012 was a really good musical chapter for me getting started in L.A I feel.
Tell us about your new single "Equinox"! What inspired it? How did you meet TMGmusic for the duet?We met up at the end of 2018 at his home/studio in L.A and from there started working on songs for my album. Once we finished and released my debut album “Write On Time”, TMG began working on “Equinox” and I immediately knew that I wanted to be a part of it and he wanted me to be featured on it as well. To me the song feels inspired by the reverence of nature and the cosmos and how its invisible yet powerful forces affect and reflect in our everyday lives. We were also inspired to align its release with the actual Spring Equinox and its melody and lyrics are very light-hearted, uplifting, and joyful which we felt was perfect for this time of year.
Who are some of your inspirations musically?So many to mention. I guess I’ll start with Whitney, Mariah, Beyoncé, Shakira, Lauryn Hill, Alanis Morissette, Gwen Stefani, Nelly Furtado, Alicia Keys, Sade, Norah Jones in my earlier years and then as I got older I really started appreciating more R&B/Soul music like Motown, Nina Simone, Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, etc. I also really love Radiohead, Billie Eilish, Queen, Miguel, Post Malone, Frank Ocean, Daniel Caeser, H.E.R, SZA, the Marleys, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Rickie Byers, Jason Mraz, Rivers & Robots, sound healing music and the album “Love Secrets” by John Mark Pantana.
Did you pick up any hobbies during Covid or explore anything unique in addition to writing new music?I’ve definitely spent a lot more time exploring my love of the culinary arts lately and have been trying out a bunch of new healthy plant-based recipes. I’ve loved making raw vegan desserts, salads, paleo pizzas, vegan sushi, soups, sauces, smoothies and have been coming up with new Tonik (superfood~latte) recipes as well. I know pre-pandemic I was ordering out most of my meals so It’s really been great getting back in touch with food again lately and preparing/cooking things myself.
What's next on the horizon for you?More music, more videos, and more surprises :)
How can our readers follow along with your career?I’m most present currently on Instagram @nikitonik and you can also find the rest of my socials as well as updates by visiting me at
www.NikiTonik.com. 💖
