Win tickets to see Nikki and Sam at the Cliffs Pavilion - just go to our Facebook and Twitter FOLLOW us and start 'liking', 'sharing' and 'retweeting'!
Compelling singer songwriter with a sensational voice, living out a free-range musical adventure.
Gutsy girl Nikki Loy turned her back on heartache and a life that didn’t fulfil, and now lives on the road authentically living her dream. Snapping up a van she spotted on the way to the studio as a self-build campervan project, Nikki now ranges the UK pursuing an incredible musical journey with a new view from the window every night. While her songs are shaped by both pain and joy; there is a hopefulness and inspiration pervading these tracks which will move and motivate every listener to follow their dreams and take hold of their future happiness.
Nikki’s second single ‘Hold Me Now’ will be released on 3rd March 2017 to coincide with the start of her 33 date UK support tour with Sam Bailey. We will also see the release of a deluxe edition of her latest album ‘Pivotal’ on the same date. The album, produced by George Shilling (Stornaway, Primal Scream) and Andy Baker (Philippa Hanna, Daughter Of Davis) was released in October 2016 and has propelled Nikki into the mainstream spotlight with tours supporting Shane Filan and Sam Bailey. Nikki will also be carrying out her own headline UK
tour in November 2017.
NIKKI LOY’S NEW SINGLE ‘HOLD ME NOW’ OUT 3RD MARCH 2017!
Gutsy girl Nikki Loy turned her back on heartache and a life that didn’t fulfil, and now lives on the road authentically living her dream. Snapping up a van she spotted on the way to the studio as a self-build campervan project, Nikki now ranges the UK pursuing an incredible musical journey with a new view from the window every night. While her songs are shaped by both pain and joy; there is a hopefulness and inspiration pervading these tracks which will move and motivate every listener to follow their dreams and take hold of their future happiness.
Nikki’s second single ‘Hold Me Now’ will be released on 3rd March 2017 to coincide with the start of her 33 date UK support tour with Sam Bailey. We will also see the release of a deluxe edition of her latest album ‘Pivotal’ on the same date. The album, produced by George Shilling (Stornaway, Primal Scream) and Andy Baker (Philippa Hanna, Daughter Of Davis) was released in October 2016 and has propelled Nikki into the mainstream spotlight with tours supporting Shane Filan and Sam Bailey. Nikki will also be carrying out her own headline UK
tour in November 2017.
NIKKI LOY’S NEW SINGLE ‘HOLD ME NOW’ OUT 3RD MARCH 2017!
Hailing from Oxford (although it’s hard to pin her down now that she lives on the road in a freshly converted ‘self-build campervan’) Nikki Loy is a true adventurer. Known for her sensational vocals Nikki’s voice can move you to your very core, carrying such maturity in her tone that coupled with depth and emotion of her lyrics her performances regularly inspire fansto follow her example and pursue their own dreams.
Nikki’s brings a wealth of musical experience that includes busking, festivals, Hillsong music college in Australia, writing a column for The Oxford Times and writing 52 songs in 52 weeks. She has supported a host of stars such as jazz great Janette Mason, Americana artist Lauren Pritchard, Decca Artist Krystina Myles, and Irish pop folk singer Wallis Bird and many more.
With a growing back catalogue of two albums, two EPs and a live album ...and an also impressive resume of gigs including Ronnie Scott’s Bar, London, the New Theatre in Oxford and the Cobden Club, London, NIkki is an established musician well known and well loved across the UK.
She has also co-written for a well know Saatchi & Saatchi ad campaign - and the award winning video for her single ‘Can I Keep You’ was chosen by the BBC to be part of their Music Video Festival, screened on big screens across the UK, also reaching the final of the UK Songwriting Contest.
Nikki’s brings a wealth of musical experience that includes busking, festivals, Hillsong music college in Australia, writing a column for The Oxford Times and writing 52 songs in 52 weeks. She has supported a host of stars such as jazz great Janette Mason, Americana artist Lauren Pritchard, Decca Artist Krystina Myles, and Irish pop folk singer Wallis Bird and many more.
With a growing back catalogue of two albums, two EPs and a live album ...and an also impressive resume of gigs including Ronnie Scott’s Bar, London, the New Theatre in Oxford and the Cobden Club, London, NIkki is an established musician well known and well loved across the UK.
She has also co-written for a well know Saatchi & Saatchi ad campaign - and the award winning video for her single ‘Can I Keep You’ was chosen by the BBC to be part of their Music Video Festival, screened on big screens across the UK, also reaching the final of the UK Songwriting Contest.
Interview
Nikki what do you love about music? A strange question as clearly you have dedicated your life to it and it is integral to your character - but what is it that drives you to write and perform and where did that come from?
I love how it moves the soul... Firstly mine and then my listeners. I love how it has the power to channel and change your emotions, and transport you to other places, and bond you with other people. I grew up with music in church and it was always connected with my emotional and spiritual journey, I eventually left the church but music carried on being tied to my way of processing life.
‘Pivotal’ is your third album - and your life has seen some pretty dramatic changes too in the last few
years - how has that influenced your songwriting - do you feel your songwriting matured or changed over the last few years?
Well if you don’t have some epic adventures either in the world or in the heart, what is there to write about? And songwriting is an expression of the heart so it’s impossible for my songs not to be effected by the major changes that occur in my life.
Massive things have happened in the last few years. As well as turning my whole world view on it’s head and getting a whole new set of beliefs, I’ve had my heart broken, and I have broken some hearts as well. I’ve gladly given up a well paid job, and sadly given up my home. I’m building a new life and writing about it as I go. No matter what happens I usually end up saying to myself ‘Well at least you got a song out of it!’ I believe in constant never ending improvement so each time I write I strive to make it better and more authentic than the last time. But I have noticed that that’s not necessarily the case. When I look back over the entire collection I see that they track my emotion and physical well being, up when I am up, down when I am down. And if there’s
nothing to write about, it’s time for a new adventure.
So living in a campervan, touring the UK, blogging about it as you go; as idyllic as that sounds to most artists, is it all you hoped it would be? Do you get lonely at all?
Well I only just got going but so far yes, it’s all I hoped it would be and more. Right now I am parked up with my back doors open to the
beach, sun streaming in - I love it, love it, love it!!! No I don’t get lonely, in fact, so far I have seen more of the people I love than I would have
if I had been still in my cottage, and for longer because I don’t have to drive home at the end of the night.. Home is on the drive outside!
Where did you come across your van - and was it a very technical project to convert it into a liveable space? What’s your favourite thing about your campervan self-build?
I was on my way to the recording studio one day and I spotted it for sale by the roadside. This was just after I started entertaining the idea
so I went for a test drive, it was perfect, and so the silly idea suddenly became reality. The whole thing happened very fast!
Yes it’s quite a major undertaking to convert a panel van to the spec that I have - With shower, loo, hot and cold running water, fully functioning kitchen, a dining room, solar panels, electrical circuits that run my PC, and wi-fi etc. It was a steep learning curve and I obsessively planned every aspect of it for a month leading up to the build. I’m not without useful skills, my father is a master carpenter and joiner, and my friend owns Kustom Revival, an automotive restoration business, so between us we had all bases covered. My favourite thing? That it’s exactly how I want it, like a tiny house. But also, the ever changing view outside, that home is indeed where you park it... And
that I can never go to a gig and accidentally leave something at my home!
You do love a good challenge don’t you? Tell us about the 52 songs in 52 weeks challenge; has it helped you develop as an artist?
Oh wow the 52 week song challenge, yes, that was epic. I learned the art of self discipline, that song crafting is mostly work, not inspiration and that creativity can be tapped on demand. I learned how to craft a lyric so much faster. I also learned that it doesn’t really get easier (as I hoped it would) you just get better at recognising the good songs and discarding the bad ones.
You’ve done everything from busking town centres to playing the BBC Music Videos Festival, and from Ronnie Scott’s Bar to the Northwall Theatre, Oxford...What can someone coming to a gig of yours for the first time expect?
Ooooh, well whether I’m performing solo or with a 7 piece band, I give it my whole self. I want to bring the listener on the musical journey that really touches their soul. Whether to dance or to cry, or anything in between. I want to be able to sing the things they struggle to say; life is a roller coaster and so is my music.
Lastly, you are set to support Sam Bailey on a significant UK Tour this autumn - do you feel ready for your music to reach a national mainstream audience? Is this a sign of where you are headed in the coming years?
Hahah, I used to think I was born ready until I learned what ready actually is.. But after 8 years cutting my teeth on full time gigging on a smaller scale I have been itching to bring it to much wider audience. I’m so pleased that it’s finally happening and I hope is an indicator of greater things to come. I’m certainly planning it that way!
Photographs by Photocillin Photography
Words by Ian Griffiths
I love how it moves the soul... Firstly mine and then my listeners. I love how it has the power to channel and change your emotions, and transport you to other places, and bond you with other people. I grew up with music in church and it was always connected with my emotional and spiritual journey, I eventually left the church but music carried on being tied to my way of processing life.
‘Pivotal’ is your third album - and your life has seen some pretty dramatic changes too in the last few
years - how has that influenced your songwriting - do you feel your songwriting matured or changed over the last few years?
Well if you don’t have some epic adventures either in the world or in the heart, what is there to write about? And songwriting is an expression of the heart so it’s impossible for my songs not to be effected by the major changes that occur in my life.
Massive things have happened in the last few years. As well as turning my whole world view on it’s head and getting a whole new set of beliefs, I’ve had my heart broken, and I have broken some hearts as well. I’ve gladly given up a well paid job, and sadly given up my home. I’m building a new life and writing about it as I go. No matter what happens I usually end up saying to myself ‘Well at least you got a song out of it!’ I believe in constant never ending improvement so each time I write I strive to make it better and more authentic than the last time. But I have noticed that that’s not necessarily the case. When I look back over the entire collection I see that they track my emotion and physical well being, up when I am up, down when I am down. And if there’s
nothing to write about, it’s time for a new adventure.
So living in a campervan, touring the UK, blogging about it as you go; as idyllic as that sounds to most artists, is it all you hoped it would be? Do you get lonely at all?
Well I only just got going but so far yes, it’s all I hoped it would be and more. Right now I am parked up with my back doors open to the
beach, sun streaming in - I love it, love it, love it!!! No I don’t get lonely, in fact, so far I have seen more of the people I love than I would have
if I had been still in my cottage, and for longer because I don’t have to drive home at the end of the night.. Home is on the drive outside!
Where did you come across your van - and was it a very technical project to convert it into a liveable space? What’s your favourite thing about your campervan self-build?
I was on my way to the recording studio one day and I spotted it for sale by the roadside. This was just after I started entertaining the idea
so I went for a test drive, it was perfect, and so the silly idea suddenly became reality. The whole thing happened very fast!
Yes it’s quite a major undertaking to convert a panel van to the spec that I have - With shower, loo, hot and cold running water, fully functioning kitchen, a dining room, solar panels, electrical circuits that run my PC, and wi-fi etc. It was a steep learning curve and I obsessively planned every aspect of it for a month leading up to the build. I’m not without useful skills, my father is a master carpenter and joiner, and my friend owns Kustom Revival, an automotive restoration business, so between us we had all bases covered. My favourite thing? That it’s exactly how I want it, like a tiny house. But also, the ever changing view outside, that home is indeed where you park it... And
that I can never go to a gig and accidentally leave something at my home!
You do love a good challenge don’t you? Tell us about the 52 songs in 52 weeks challenge; has it helped you develop as an artist?
Oh wow the 52 week song challenge, yes, that was epic. I learned the art of self discipline, that song crafting is mostly work, not inspiration and that creativity can be tapped on demand. I learned how to craft a lyric so much faster. I also learned that it doesn’t really get easier (as I hoped it would) you just get better at recognising the good songs and discarding the bad ones.
You’ve done everything from busking town centres to playing the BBC Music Videos Festival, and from Ronnie Scott’s Bar to the Northwall Theatre, Oxford...What can someone coming to a gig of yours for the first time expect?
Ooooh, well whether I’m performing solo or with a 7 piece band, I give it my whole self. I want to bring the listener on the musical journey that really touches their soul. Whether to dance or to cry, or anything in between. I want to be able to sing the things they struggle to say; life is a roller coaster and so is my music.
Lastly, you are set to support Sam Bailey on a significant UK Tour this autumn - do you feel ready for your music to reach a national mainstream audience? Is this a sign of where you are headed in the coming years?
Hahah, I used to think I was born ready until I learned what ready actually is.. But after 8 years cutting my teeth on full time gigging on a smaller scale I have been itching to bring it to much wider audience. I’m so pleased that it’s finally happening and I hope is an indicator of greater things to come. I’m certainly planning it that way!
Photographs by Photocillin Photography
Words by Ian Griffiths
WHAT THE PRESS ARE SAYING
“The Voice of Nikki Loy. Smoky, sensuous and soulful. I absolutely love it”
Bill Heine, BBC Radio Oxford
“A fabulous voice and some really classy pop!”
Tim Smith, BBC Radio Oxford.
“Blues belle, soul diva and pop princess ...artfully rolled into one.”
Richard White, Music Journalist, The Sun
“The Voice of Nikki Loy. Smoky, sensuous and soulful. I absolutely love it”
Bill Heine, BBC Radio Oxford
“A fabulous voice and some really classy pop!”
Tim Smith, BBC Radio Oxford.
“Blues belle, soul diva and pop princess ...artfully rolled into one.”
Richard White, Music Journalist, The Sun