Niko Haley Interview

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NIKO HALEY

November 2023

Photos by: Mya Isabel and@dietcherrylola
Interview: Shifty Gnome

WHO ARE YOU, WHERE ARE YOU FROM, AND WHAT KIND OF MUSIC DO YOU MAKE?

I am Niko Haley and I make girly alternative rock! I am based in Seattle. I’ve moved 26 different times, but Seattle is my home.

WHO ARE YOUR MUSIC INSPIRATIONS?

Courtney Love from Hole is one of my biggest inspirations. Her album “Live Through This” means everything to me. I also take inspiration from The Distillers, that dog., Liz Phair, The Breeders, Paramore, and Metric.

WHAT ARE YOUR STYLE INSPIRATIONS?

My aunt Jamey is my biggest style inspiration. She has always been on top of cool alternative fashions and I have been so lucky to have access to her closet whenever she cleans it out. I also am very drawn to the balance of feminine and punk.

WHEN DID YOU DECIDE YOU WANTED TO PERFORM? HOW DID IT COME ABOUT THAT YOU STARTED PERFORMING? WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST PERFORMANCE?

It has always been a dream of mine to be a singer. My nana’s favorite home video is one where I am about five years old watching music videos online and when she asks me what I want to be when I grow up, I reply, “a rockstar”. I’ve been shy most of my life though and always thought of it as a dream that was out of reach. That’s stupid though! The only way to achieve something is to do it. You only fail if you quit. I was in choir from preschool through senior year, so I was able to get some of my fix by performing there, but I knew I wanted to do something of my own. I surrounded myself with music friends, so it felt like a natural next step to push past my anxiety and give performing a try. My first performance was at a house show in Bellingham right before the pandemic hit. I was scared and had no idea what to say in between songs, but it was so fun I knew I was unlocking something within myself that I wanted to keep exploring.

WHO ELSE IS IN THE BAND? WHAT INSTRUMENTS DO YOU PLAY AND WHAT DO THEY PLAY?

My band consists of friends and family. Cosmo Rossi is my guitar player as well as the producer and engineer of my sound. Eve Newbould is my little sister and bass player. Chris Chamberlin is my drummer. I have a couple songs produced by my friend Cormac Liotta as well. I am the singer and songwriter. I love my band so much, none of this would be possible without them.

WHAT IS IT LIKE COLLABORATING WITH YOUR BANDMATES?

Cosmo is my primary collaborator when it comes to making music. We have been friends and creative partners for years and I think we get along best when we are in the studio doing the damn thing. He has such a great ear and is never afraid of pushing me to get the right take when recording vocals. Collaboration comes naturally between us because we are also in another band CD-ROMANCE together so we know what each other’s strong suits are. When we aren’t in the studio, we send each other songs that we think are sick and are always plotting on our next project. I admire his skill and ambition.

WHAT THEMES ARE YOU MOST INTERESTED IN EXPLORING IN YOUR MUSIC?

I aim to capture that frenzied sometimes beautiful, sometimes ugly feeling of being a young woman. Some of my songs are about sex and love and yearning, but also loss and rejection. They overlap more than I think people like to admit, which is why my album Hothead is meant to feel like a journey into the manic-adjacent feeling of being in love.

DO YOU HAVE A SONG THAT MEANS THE MOST TO YOU?

I think the song Saturnine means the most to me. It’s the most vulnerable I’ve ever let myself be, so much so that I almost wanted to pull it from the album. Thank god Cosmo didn’t let me do that.

YOU HAVE SOME REALLY COOL MUSIC VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE CREATIVE PROCESS BEHIND MAKING THEM?

Yeah! Paavo Saari directed, filmed, and edited the music video for Buzz Off. My friends and I took a little cabin trip for my birthday and we decided to get a little silly on camera one of the nights. Paavo has such fresh ideas I feel really blessed to work with him. My other music videos that live on the depths of the internet somewhere are from a different era of my music making when I was going by Lilmissneeks. Those definitely have a more home-video quality, but they are fun and represent that time period of me very well.

DO YOU HAVE A SONG THAT MEANS THE MOST TO YOU?

I think the song Saturnine means the most to me. It’s the most vulnerable I’ve ever let myself be, so much so that I almost wanted to pull it from the album. Thank god Cosmo didn’t let me do that.

YOU HAVE SOME REALLY COOL MUSIC VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE CREATIVE PROCESS BEHIND MAKING THEM?

Yeah! Paavo Saari directed, filmed, and edited the music video for Buzz Off. My friends and I took a little cabin trip for my birthday and we decided to get a little silly on camera one of the nights. Paavo has such fresh ideas I feel really blessed to work with him. My other music videos that live on the depths of the internet somewhere are from a different era of my music making when I was going by Lilmissneeks. Those definitely have a more home-video quality, but they are fun and represent that time period of me very well.

WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER INTERESTS OUTSIDE OF MUSIC?

I’m a writer, a dog mom, and I work in mental health. My chihuahua, Edward, is everything to me.

Thanks so much. I Lurch You <333