Today, Jakarta-born, LA-based singer-songwriter, and producer NIKI unveils her new single and accompanying video for “Oceans & Engines.” The track will appear on NIKI’s forthcoming sophomore album Nicole, which she announces today will be out August 12, 2022.
Written by NIKI when she was only 17 years old, “Oceans & Engines” is a heart-wrenching ballad on surrendering to a broken relationship that serves as an impassioned moment of clarity and demonstrates NIKI’s songwriting ability. The reimagined version of the track, re-recorded for Nicole, continues to see NIKI shine revisiting her singer/songwriter roots.
The accompanying music video, directed by Isaac Ravishankara (The Lumineers’ The Ballad of Cleopatra), is an expansion of the narrative portrayed in the “Before” music video, showcasing tender moments throughout the course of a relationship and the struggle to let go after it’s over.
On the track, NIKI says “I wrote this song in 2016 when I was 17 experiencing the earth-shattering heartbreak of a first love moving away for good. It is massively dramatic & long with a naïveté & innocence I look back on fondly now at 23. Like she had no idea about what was going to happen. Like the fact that after writing it in bed at ungodly hours of an 11th grade weeknight snacking on stale cereal she would eventually revisit the song and release it years later. Life can be quite cyclical at times and that has become painfully obvious throughout the process of re-working these songs that are some years old now. Can’t wait for you all to hear each one nestled in the plush & pillowy company of sister songs when the album drops in August but in the mean time, here’s a second snippet of my favorite thing I’ve made so far.”
“Oceans & Engines” follows the release of her first single “Before,” a reflective nostalgia-tinged record that will also appear on Nicole. The track sees NIKI yearning for a past relationship that has come to an end and grappling with navigating her feelings and how to let go. Upon release, “Before” received acclaim from NME, UPROXX, and Teen Vogue who praised that the record “perfectly highlights NIKI’s songwriting prowess.”
Most recently, NIKI announced her first ever North American headlining tour “The Nicole Tour,” which nearly sold-out during the presale and within the first 3 hours of general onsale, with some cities selling more than 5,000 tickets. The run kicks off in Vancouver, BC on September 8th and stops in major cities including New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and more before wrapping at The Wiltern in Los Angeles on October 22.
This spring, NIKI became the first Indonesian artist to ever perform at Coachella, alongside Rich Brian. NIKI will follow up her Coachella appearance with a performance at 88rising’s 2022 Head in the Clouds Festival this August at Brookside at the Rose Bowl. NIKI previously headlined at the 2021 Head in the Clouds Festival last November with a striking set that received acclaim from MTV, Flaunt, and The AV Club who hailed her a “goddamn superstar.”
To date, NIKI has accumulated over 1.8 billion streams across all platforms. Her hit single “Every Summertime” from the soundtrack of Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings recently went viral and currently has over 220 million streams and climbing. The track, written and produced by NIKI and longtime collaborator Jacob Ray – is an exuberant love song with a throwback sound reminiscent of classic R&B and soul.
The Nicole Tour Dates
September 8 – Vancouver, BC – Malkin Bowl
September 9 – Seattle, WA – Showbox
September 10 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
September 13 – Sacramento, CA – Ace of Spades
September 14 – San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom
September 15 – San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom
September 17 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Catalyst
September 20 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
September 22 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix Concert Theatre
September 23 – Toronto, ON – Phoenix Concert Theatre
September 24 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore
September 27 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
September 28 – New York, NY – Webster Hall
September 30 – Washington, D.C. – The Howard
October 2 – Boston, MA – Royale
October 4 – Nashville, TN – Eastside Bowl
October 5 – Charlotte, NC – The Underground
October 6 – Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse
October 8 – Dallas, TX – The Factory in Deep Ellum
October 9 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
October 11 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
October 12 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
October 14 – Denver, CO – Gothic Theatre
October 15 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex – The Grand
October 18 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
October 22 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern