Q&A: Rikas Returns With Elusive and Charming Track "Stereo"

Q&ASpotlightMusic

May 29

☆ BY SAACHI GUPTA ☆

THERE IS SOMETHING DISTINCTLY MAGICAL ABOUT GERMAN BAND RIKA’S MUSIC - it manages to be light and powerful at the same time, hooking listeners with its infectious beat, suave vocals and surreal lyrics. Following the release of their debut album Showtime in 2019, and single “Overthinking” in 2020, Rikas has managed to accumulate almost 800k streams on Spotify.

Now back with “Stereo”, their first release of 2021, Rikas proves that they are still just as phenomenal as ever. The song, with its elusive lyrics, is accompanied by a music video that plays out like a dream sequence. The music video sees the band members up for sale in a shop window — surprisingly, the four-piece will be putting themselves up for a real auction to be on sale for a whole day.

The lockdown, Rikas explain, has helped the band to relax and change their mindset. They are now able to take a more laidback approach to their music, while still being genuine and serious. Rikas have also collaborated with different producers and broken out of their own bubble, allowing for more ideas to flow.

Read on to learn more about the making of “Stereo”, the role that the band members play in creating visuals, and more.

LUNA: Congrats on the release of “Stereo”! Can you share a little bit about the making of the track?

RIKAS: Everything started about a year ago, when we found ourselves in a studio with our friend and collaborator Hannes Butzer. I think the tempo was inspired by The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” but the track ended up going in a totally different direction. Once the demo was completed, we finished the track in February in a studio outside of Berlin. Basically, “Stereo” is about freeing yourself from the memories that bring you down, so we really tried to capture this feeling in the production with a more melancholic verse and the sudden shift to the powerful chorus.

LUNA: How have you seen your music evolve since the release of Showtime?

RIKAS: For us Showtime was more a concept record, inspired by the music productions of Quincy Jones or Nile Rodgers. We recorded the album in Spain and we put so much time into the details. I think we were literally “Overthinking”, discussing every drum break. That was super fun but I think the new tracks might have a more modern approach when it comes to production and songwriting.

LUNA: Sonically, what are some of your favorite elements in “Stereo"?

RIKAS: We all love the fuzz guitar. It’s funny, because the effect was kinda of an accident but we were like that's cool! And in the use of stereophonic sound there’s this one phenomenon; when you pan two identical waveforms both on each side of the stereo spectrum, they are heard as coming from the center. They seem to blend together somehow. So for sure we played around with left and right panning and super weird funky delay echos or double tracking of sampled drums and real drums.

LUNA: The video is so creative and well done, I really love it! What was it like working with Aladin Mekanovic and bringing this vision to life?

RIKAS: First of all, thank you very much! We met Aladin two years ago because he directed the video to “Fanny Pack Party”. Since then we have been in touch and with COVID, we kind of started a Movie Club together. Over the last months, we have had Zoom meetings once a week and we talked about ideas, sketches and movie scripts, not just in terms of music videos. We really like Aladin and we are excited that we have more projects planned with him.

LUNA: Why is it important for y’all to tap into the visual side of your work?

RIKAS: We have always had the feeling that being in a band is more than just making music. For us it’s more like having our own creative company. So it always felt natural to plan music videos, design our own merchandise or album covers. It also reminds me of the book How Music Works by David Byrne. When they planned a new stage show with Talking Heads they thought about everything, the outfits, how the stage should look and so on. And I think the more love you put into a project the more the people will understand your vision of your art.

LUNA: What’s been inspiring you lately?

RIKAS: I just discovered this band called MICHELLE the other week. I think they’re from New York City and I love everything they have out there. I also love that they switch lead vocals (just like we do). Whoever is reading this should go listen to them!

LUNA: Quarantine sure presented its fair share of road bumps, but what opportunities has it been able to bring you?

RIKAS: We started to work with different producers instead of only being in our own bubble. That was very inspiring because we recorded tracks in so many ways. I guess we learned a lot from that progress. And I also think our mindset changed a little bit. Before Coronavirus, we were very ambitious in terms of playing ‘this’ festival or getting into ‘that’ playlist on Spotify. We still are but our jaws are more relaxed these days.

LUNA: Sky's the limit on this one, who is your dream collaborator?

RIKAS: That's a tough question for sure. But I think we would all love to work with Mark Ronson! In the last two decades he has been one of the most influential producers. And we dream about making a movie soundtrack for Greta Gerwig one day.

LUNA: With things starting to open up and live shows becoming a reality again, what do you hope the upcoming months have in store for y'all?

RIKAS: I often dream of getting back on stage and as things are opening up again I am feeling more excited day by day. I do think that the first shows will go down in history. With the amount of energy, love and adrenalin everybody will feel, it will be truly something special. Besides that we can’t wait to be releasing all the new music and were excited about an upcoming collaboration for the summer. But that’s still a secret for now. <3

CONNECT WITH RIKAS

INSTAGRAM

SPOTIFY

Listen

INSTAGRAM

“There's no part of me where I'm denying it or I'm ashamed or I don't want to represent that, but I think just some things should go unspoken and just let the art speak. You don't have to say someone is this, someone is that. Just listen to my music & come up with your own conclusion. That is so freeing to know that I'm not having to adhere to any type of category, genre. I'm just me. I'm a person sharing my experiences & living my life. I don't ever want to be boxed in that way. “ - Deb Never in our 15th Issue 🌟 Photos by @myyaaii Styling by @savwhite Interview by @itssophielol

Dylan Fraser’s catalog explores ruminative pop that is unafraid to experiment with distortion in all of its iterations, & unequivocally embraces vulnerability 🎵 Following the success of 2020’s ‘The Storm’, Fraser has quickly caught the attention of the industry & with his upcoming project, he is ready to cement his position in the new pop canon. 💫Fraser’s new track, “Nightmare”, is out now on all streaming platforms + his new EP, ‘The World Isn’t Big When You Know How It Works’, will be released on August 20th through Atlantic Records. Check out our interview with Fraser to learn more about the new music & what’s next for him ⚡️

“Polaroids & Instax film have a beautiful almost impressionistic feeling that I feel can’t be fully replicated digitally. Instant films contain reactive chemicals that just seem to handle light in color in a special way. Even when I crop my instax photos to remove the border, you can still tell it’s instant film.” - Ryan Scullin 🌟 🎞 Upcoming NYC photographer Ryan Scullin captures a modern perspective when observing the subjects & landscapes around him. Check out the full interview & more of his work on our site now 💗