Nikki is a new singing, song writing talent from Surrey. She’s been involved in music since her teens and is now really coming into her own as a solo artist, thanks to hard work, live experience, and development/coaching from some respected industry experts, through Major Music. Nikki is another artist I’ve discovered through myspace, and she has an interesting mix of songs up on her page.

Nikki explores her rock chick side with the first track ‘Poor Little Princess’. It alternates between a rock and dance feel, and I can imagine this combination appealing to a variety of music fans. The lyrics are interesting, and have a slight cheekiness about them at times, but it was the funky bridge that really stood out for me on this song.

The rocky theme continues in ‘Masquerade’, though for me the guitar arrangements in the chorus are a bit overpowering and a little too big for Nikki’s voice. That aside, I enjoyed the vocal responses to the haunting piano arrangements in the verses, and the lyrics are again well written.

It’s not just the lyrics that are outstanding on ‘Need You Here’ it’s the whole, faultless song. I believe that you can tell a lot from an initial response to a song, and this one had me smiling before the vocals even started. Nikki has a smooth and soft side to her voice which is a pleasure to hear, and the backing vocal harmonies were well arranged too. I can feel the emotion in the story and would love to hear Nikki do more in this genre in the future.

The last two tracks veer more towards commercial pop in style, and have a similar spanish summer vibe to them. ‘I Resign’ has a stand out chorus, which you can sing along to and some smooth guitar beats, whilst ‘Over You’ is the more infectious of the two, and has some enjoyable, slightly quirky arrangements.

All In all I enjoyed listening to Nikki’s tracks, and look forward to seeing what else she has in store in the future. She comes across as a smooth and confident singer, with a talent for soft acoustic songs, but needs to make sure the up-tempo rockier music doesn’t overpower her vocals. What more can I say other than well done, and keep up the good work!

Nikki has gigs booked throughout the year, in London and the South East. To find out where she’s appearing, and to listen to her tracks visit www.myspace.com/nikkiaston