About the Artist
Indie-rock/folk singer Nikita Lev is committed to crafting compelling music.
Fashioning her songs with grace, emotion, and soft haunting vocals, the New York-bred multi-instrumentalist released her debut single “Elegance,” on February 27, 2023, and has since released five singles. Her second single “Like I Care,” in April, her third single “Nothing Has Changed” in June, “Nowhere Bar” in July, “Nihilistic Baby” in October, and and her newly released single in February 2024, “Now I Think of You Unspeakably”.
Nikita crafts music that is honest, confident, and mature. Not afraid to speak her mind, she introduces a tension between nostalgia and modernity on “Elegance.” As she penned the lead single off her forthcoming “Clearly Misunderstood” EP, she examined the juxtaposition between entering adulthood and the carelessness of being a free-spirited youth.
“I was experiencing intense writer’s block when I wrote the song so it has some risk in it that I like,” Nikita says. “I was thinking about what it feels like to be a kid, when you think you know everything, and how as an adult you feel like you don’t know anything. It was the mature side of me looking at the present and also at past actions mixed with this element of wanting to retain the wonder of being young and playful.”
Hinged with guitar, piano, and drums, the song showcases Nikita’s rich, lower-register vocals that call to mind influences like Lana Del Rey and Phoebe Bridgers. Produced by artist, singer, songwriter, producer, and music director, Eric Scullin (Dysplay, RZA, Mark Needhman [The Killers]), the ambient track was recorded in Los Angeles in his home studio. “I’ve been working with Eric since November 2021 and it’s been really cool to see how my songs have expanded sonically. I’m in the process of learning more about production because I want to be able to have more creative license in that realm.”
It’s not surprising the songstress wants a hand in her art. She grew up around family members heavily influenced by classical music. “I come from a family of musicians that performed chamber music together as well as my mom was in a band in the 1990s.”
Nikita picked up the flute and piano at an early age and by ten, she was learning how to play the guitar and write songs. Today, when she composes her music, she leans on the guitar or piano to come up with the melody. “I always know what I'm going to say first and the melody comes later. I need a narrative thread to hold on to when writing. The lyrics are the reason the song is being written rather than sonic motivation but I think both are equally important. So when I write, I’ll have a bunch of different lyric ideas. I’ll accumulate them on one page, map them out, and put them together like a puzzle. Then I’ll use the piano and guitar with the lyrics to see what melody works best.”
To date, Nikita has written over 200 songs. Most of her songs carry a theme of longing, she says. “I like songs that are evocative, that are relatable, universal, yet ambiguous, I love a clever lyric,” she says. “I have always been inspired by artists that embody that; The 1975, St Vincent, Arctic Monkeys, Leonard Cohen, etc. Quite the variety.”
Nikita is poised to make a dent in music this year, with support from her management company, JV Agency.
Nikita’s newest single, “Now I Think of You Unspeakably”, is out now!