Independent artiste Nikitaa knows no bound. The singer who has dropped hits like Goddess and Tum aur Mai in the past, turned to folk tales for her latest single Wolf, released recently. The single which packs in beats from RnB, Hip-hop and pop, is a wild cry to take charge and renounce your fears. We spoke to the spirited singer and dive more into the making and music of Wolf which will have you under its grip with its first beat. Excerpts:
The title Wolf immediately gives away that it be a full-on energy song. Tell us more about it?
Wolf was written from the perspective of the Wolf in older folktales - not the one we’ve been told fights against us in fairytales, but the one cultures across the world knew we all need to work with or for us when we’re faced with fear. We all feel the call of the Wolf - a wild call to trust your instincts and intuition and do what needs to be done. This single is that call.
How did the song come about?
Mukund and I started putting Wolf together one day just for fun, actually. It started with a beat he was building from scratch... by the time he had fleshed out the drums and strings I felt like the song needed to be about something primal, something ferocious. I usually love to close my eyes and visualize the theme of the song when I’m stuck. When I closed my eyes and listened to it - I could literally see a wolf running through the woods. So, then I thought - what if I wrote about the wolf that came before all the fairy tales that tried to tell us he was a bad guy? What if instead I wrote about the Wolf of old folktales that helped people - in some cultures specifically women - overcome the darker and scarier parts of their lives? And that’s how Wolf came to be!
There's a mix of RnB, pop and hip hop, did you do it intentionally?
This was most definitely an intentional blend of some of my favourite genres. I’ve always loved the space where they all come together.
After this energetic number what are you intending to explore next?
Wolf is just the beginning of all the music I have in store for this year. Wolf is based on an old archetype, and I’ll be exploring more of those moving forward as well! There’s a lot more sonically where it came from, and I’m excited to share it! I’m also really wanting to (and actually am) collaborating with more women of colour this year.