Indie-pop artist POLI NIKA returns with ‘Remember Why’, a luminous and deeply personal EP that radiates warmth, introspection, and renewal. Blending jazz, soul, and modern pop, the record invites listeners to slow down and rediscover a sense of peace and purpose.
Influenced by the emotional depth of Jordan Rakei, Lizzy McAlpine, and Emily King, POLI NIKA balances vulnerability and strength through heartfelt lyricism and tender, expressive vocals. Each track explores themes of love, grief, and self-discovery, finding light through the lessons of darkness.
We had the opportunity to sit down with POLI NIKA to chat all about the EP in this deep dive interview, exclusively here for LOCK Magazine.
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Congratulations on your new EP ‘Remember Why’! Sum this EP up in three words for our readers?
Tender. Radiant. Love.
Tender – because that’s what my music and lyrics are really about. The emotions in these songs, they’re delicate, vulnerable, honest. There’s a gentleness to how I express what I’m feeling.
Radiant – these songs have so much light in them. They shine from the inside out. It’s this inner glow that comes through each track.
And Love – I chose this word because every song is talking about love in some way. Love for life, for this messy beautiful world, for the courage it takes to feel things deeply and follow your heart. And honestly, so much love went into making this EP – love for the music itself, for the craft, for getting to do what I’m genuinely passionate about.
What was the emotional starting point for this EP?
Honestly, I just wanted to write a bunch of songs I’d be proud of, songs I genuinely loved. So I started writing without knowing which ones would become the EP. I just dove into creating, not even sure at first if these songs would fit together. What mattered was writing about things that were important to me. Then I was looking for a producer, and I remember the moment Theodore Lion sent me the first version of “Sunny Days.” I fell in love with it instantly. He’d just… nailed it. Captured exactly what the song needed to be. It hit me so emotionally, and I thought – this is it. This is what I want to make. That was the spark. Hearing that track with no expectations and suddenly understanding what could be possible, what I’d been searching for. I knew right then I wanted to make an EP with him, in this sound, with this feeling. That moment of recognition – “yes, this is what I want to create” – that’s where everything really began.
Were there specific moments or experiences that inspired tracks like ‘Sunny Days’ or ‘Remember Why’?
The title track, “Remember Why,” was actually born in one of those heavy doubt spirals. I was questioning everything – am I doing this right? What will people think? I’d started looking outside myself for validation, trying to prove something to someone, constantly comparing myself to others. It was exhausting, this race in my head that never stopped. Then my partner said something that cut through all of it: “Remember why you’re doing this. Remember who you’re doing it for. Why does everyone else’s opinion matter so much?” I went straight to my room that evening and wrote the song. It became my anchor, pulling me back to myself, back to the simple truth – I do this because I love it and I want to do what I love. There’s even some irony in this song. I’m poking fun at those voices in my head telling me it’s too late, or the critics saying I won’t make it. But I didn’t start this for them. I started because I wanted to follow my heart and do what lights me up. I needed to hear that message right then, needed to write that song to break free from the swamp of doubt that was pulling me under. That’s how “Remember Why” came to life.
What does the phrase ‘Remember Why’ mean to you personally, both as an artist and as a person?
“Remember Why” is my anchor. It brings me back to myself, to my truth. It’s a reminder to turn down all those external voices that think they know what’s best for me, what I should be doing, what they expect from me. It’s about tuning into myself and hearing what I actually want. What lights me up? What matters to me right now? Without looking over my shoulder, without waiting for external validation, without comparing myself to others.
Sometimes that’s really hard. Sometimes the noise from the outside world is so loud. And “Remember Why” is like a volume dial – I need to turn those external voices down to minimum and turn my own heart up to maximum so I can actually hear it.
There’s also something deeply personal about this song for me. As someone expressing what matters most to me in a language that isn’t my mother tongue – there’s pride in that. Being able to say what I feel, how I feel it, and have it reach people, even though English isn’t my first language.
And as an artist, hearing that this particular song (and phrase) resonates with listeners – that’s the most valuable thing. Knowing it’s not just important to me. When I’ve shared the EP with people, they keep coming back to this track. After shows, listeners come up and tell me it’s their favourite, the one that touched them most. That’s incredibly meaningful. It shows me that what I’m doing matters not just to me, but to the people listening. That’s deeply moving.
Why was it important for you to use entirely live instrumentation on this project?
Looking back, I realize that to capture that retro vibe with real soul, it had to be live instruments – the brass, the bass, the drums, the piano and keyboards… There’s so much Stevie Wonder inspiration in these songs, and I really wanted to honour that with actual musicians playing.
But honestly, I also just love working with live players. The whole process of collaborating, creating something together – it’s special. I can feel the groove in these songs, the character, and it’s like the sum of everyone’s personality who touched the recording. There’s spontaneity in it, this sense of being present in the moment. All of that felt essential to what this EP is really about.
Plus, Theodore, my producer, recorded many of the instruments himself, which made the process feel natural and fluid. Recording vocals over that living, breathing musical texture – it just worked.
Soul music, to me, needs to feel alive. That’s what live instrumentation gives you – that human pulse you can’t replicate any other way.
You co-wrote ‘Sunny Days’ with Liz Rodrigues, who’s worked with some huge names. How did that collaboration come about, and what did you take away from it?
I worked with Liz in 2024 on my single “Down to Earth”. That was part of a songwriting program with “The Songwriting Academy”, and that’s how we met. The process felt so easy and natural, and what struck me was – here’s this incredible professional who’s worked with massive artists like Eminem and Celine Dion, and yet I felt completely equal in our sessions. We were genuinely creating together, and that was amazing.
After releasing “Down to Earth,” I knew I wanted to continue working with her. When I told her I wanted to make an EP with several of our co-writes, she was immediately on board.
We wrote each song in a single day. Some moments flowed effortlessly, others we’d get stuck on a line and spend ages finding exactly the right words. But what I loved was that we always started with a seed – an idea that resonated with both of us, something meaningful. Then we’d build the song from there.
I’d mostly written alone before, so co-writing with Liz showed me how magical that shared process can be. The joy multiplies when you can share it with someone who truly gets it, who lives and breathes this work, who’s been doing it for years. The excitement when we’d land on the perfect line or melody – that feeling is incomparable. It’s something really special that only we experienced together in that room.
And watching someone so deeply in love with their craft, even after all these years – that was inspiring. That’s what I want to take with me: staying that open, curious, and passionate about songwriting, even ten or twenty years from now.
What do you hope listeners, whether they’re long-time fans or new, take away from ‘Remember Why’?
I think this EP works on two levels. It can be the soundtrack to your morning run, your breakfast, making coffee, walking your dog – those everyday rituals we don’t always think about. But it can also be a companion for bigger moments, for important decisions you’re facing. Maybe a little ray of light on days when the sky feels heavy.
I want this music to be a soundtrack to real life, to actual moments as they’re happening. Everyone will take something different from it, and that’s beautiful. But I hope what comes through is the warmth, the love we all poured into making this, and that spark I sing about in “Remember Why” – that thing that lights you up from the inside.
I hope listeners feel that spark within themselves and ask, “What lights me up? What’s my spark?”
The last track, “Freedom,” feels like the end credits of a film with a good ending. Not a fairy tale ending, but one you actually believe in because it feels real and earned. I hope when people listen, they feel like the director of their own beautiful film, with this music playing as their credits roll.
And how do you see your evolution continuing from here, what’s next for POLI NIKA after this chapter?
I’m already working on the next album, actually, and I’m really excited about it. I’m exploring this idea of what “ordinary” means in our lives – not ordinary as in boring or nothing special, but ordinary as in the things we love most about being alive.
Watching ordinary clouds floating across the sky. Waking up next to someone you love. The joy of running into a friend you haven’t seen in ages. A cup of coffee that warms your hands. The simple, warm words we say to each other. What are these everyday things we treasure most?
The other theme I’m diving into is human connection – what makes our relationships truly close? What do we value most in how we connect with each other?
I don’t know yet exactly what this album will become. I’m still discovering it myself, which is honestly exciting. The warmth and tenderness you already know from my music will be there, but what comes next is still unfolding. I’m curious to find out too.