Detroit native , Los Angeles-based EDM and house artist Nik:11 has set a torrid pace for achieving artistic recognition. Her upward trajectory continues pace with the release of her new single “Pillow Talk” and its accompanying video. She builds the track around an imaginative re-envisioning of Sylvia Robinson’s 1973 hit of the same name, it’s proven to be Nik:11’s most popular tune yet with over 700,000 Spotify streams that have tipped her overall streaming numbers with the app past the 1.6 million mark.
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It is easy to hear and see why. “Pillow Talk” has a relentless vibe straight out of the chute as Nik:11 hits the ground running with a persistent bass pulse and swirl of electronics that carry listeners away. She does not launch into the song’s first verse for some time preferring, instead, an extended introduction that does a marvelous job of building anticipation for that payoff moment. When it hits, any and all reservations you might have about that decision and the song in general dissolve in an eyeblink.
She implores her lover with a breathless tone throughout the lyrics. Nik imbues those lines with a surprising amount of soul. Make no mistake, she can sing, and “Pillow Talk” allows her to do so. She works in close concert with the arrangement – this is a seamless musical and vocal experience where both components feed into the other rather than the arrangement serving as an afterthought.
This is especially highlighted just after the three-and-a-half-minute mark. Nik:11 kicks the song into another gear and “Pillow Talk” soars even higher with a near-virtuosic display of electronica that will win over even the most cynical listeners.
The music video leans heavily on science fiction tropes and provides a dazzling array of eye candy for viewers. It is obviously cut to maintain the same pace as the music and it is more than satisfying how it neatly dovetails into the song’s musical changes. It naturally focuses a great deal on Nik:11 as a performer and her physicality embodies the music without ever distracting us from the primary reason we’re here.
Nik:11’s new single has already enjoyed considerable success and will undoubtedly experience even more with the recent release of the video. She’s gaining ground with each new release and forging a reputation that should also reveal itself nigh impervious to the shifting winds of public taste. “Pillow Talk” is wildly imaginative and cements her standing as one of the genre’s foremost practitioners. Its music video further underlines the track’s strengths while standing on its own as a compelling work of visual art that enchants the viewer.
Garth Thomas