INTERVIEW: Artist Nikki Lorenzo & Director Bianca Poletti

Originally hailing from Miami and now based in Los Angeles, artist and actress Nikki Lorenzo carries with her the cultural echoes of her Cuban heritage, infusing her music with a blend of Latin rhythms and modern pop flair. Raised in an environment immersed in the arts, Nikki developed an insatiable passion for the profound connection between artist and audience, exploring her own creative expression through her original sound.

For over a decade she’s been sharing her unique creative vision with the world ever since making her entrance back in 2013 with her debut single “Work That Charm.” Over the years since, she’s shared a string of impressive tracks that have confirmed her talent an won over fans around the world.

Bringing us her latest work, she shares her new single titled “LISTA,” this time linking up with the talented Los Angeles-based director Bianca Poletti to bring to life the cinematic music video for the song. Musically, “LISTA” serves up a stunning alternative pop sound that perfectly balances Nikki’s Latin roots with her progressive pop style cut with slick indie R&B vibes.

Bianca Poletti

Flowing from soft vocal lines in Spanish, the intricate rattle of hi hat ushers in her soulful leads before the snap of the full beat sets up a grooving rhythm above which Nikki spins instantly catchy melodies, resulting in a sultry jam full of memorable writing and immersive instrumentation. Brimming with an infectious rhythm and topped by an alluring vocal performance, “LISTA” offers a hypnotic sound that sees Nikki Lorenzo return with a sensational new track.

With Bianca Poletti creating the gripping music video, Nikki is joined on screen by acclaimed actor John Hawkes with the video following the turbulent relationship of a couple caught in the throes of passion and turmoil. Presented via dazzling cinematography, the video pairs direct storyline events with more abstract and metaphorical scenes to serve up an enthralling visual pairing that matches the engaging music in spectacular fashion.

With “LISTA,” both Nikki Lorenzo and Bianca Poletti deliver a mesmerising blend of music and visuals that draws on their respective talents to create an extraordinary and thoroughly enjoyable feat of artistic endeavour. We caught up with Nikki and Bianca to find out more about their collaboration, working with John Hawkes and what they’ve got lined up for the future. Check out our interview with Nikki Lorenzo and Bianca Poletti below

What’s been your highlight of the year so far?

Nikki Lorenzo: Definitely releasing the song and video for “LISTA.” It was such a long journey to get here so I feel deeply grateful and jazzed to have arrived at this point.

Bianca Poletti: There hasn’t been one specific project that’s been the highlight of my year, it’s just been a really incredible year of creating and exploring new and old themes with a variety of artists and agency creatives. I’m also in the middle of creating an art installation / experience with a very talented production designer friend of mine, Sara Fern. I’m really looking forward to that, it’s something different for me, but I love creating experiences and this will be that. Hopefully others will dig it too.

How did this collaboration on ‘Lista’ come about?

NL: Bianca and I have known each other for around a decade now and something that has always kept us closely connected has been our creative hustle. We’ve worked on a few projects together but really wanted to do something music-related for a while. I always knew I wanted her to direct one of my music videos because I trusted her approach would align in wanting it to be a little movie of sorts. When we landed on the right song, we asked John Hawkes if he was interested in stepping into this world with us and bringing the band back together, so-to-speak, since we had all created together before and felt electrified by that experience. To our delight, he said yes.

BP: Nikki and I had been talking about doing a music video together, but wanted it to feel more like a short film. Cinematic, heartfelt, and visual. She sent me the track for ‘LISTA’ after we had chatted about a couple of other potential tracks, and I loved it. It had her beautiful poetic writing, it had a moody cinematic tone to it, I was in. We talked a bit about what inspired her to write this song. It was about a specific relationship she had in the recent past. I took that theme, and ran with it.

What message did you want to get across with this release?

NL: As far as releasing your work as a whole, I’d be excited to show people that you can do the thing you’ve always wanted to do. It was a process to get to this release but I have found that with belief in yourself, persistence, patience and a little bit of the magic shared between you and the universe, you can reach the goal you’ve set out to achieve. I hope that doesn’t sound corny, but it comes from the dwellings of my heart to share that with the world.

How did you find making the music for “LISTA”?

NL: It started with my friend Bernardo Aguilera, who I co-wrote this with. I told him I really wanted the next song we did together to be half in Spanish/English since I wanted to showcase how I’m Cuban and this is a part of me that I hadn’t explored much in my own music yet. Something to also make my family back in Miami proud of, maybe. He’s a super talented Ecuadorian musician and producer (who also grew up in Miami like me) and we’d always start our sessions with conversations about what was going on in our lives at the moment. I shared with him how I knew someone I was seeing wasn’t the one. Me and this person were both addicted to, or prisoners of, feeding our own demons, but I kept going back for more and calling it love out of hope and then putting myself through fire because of it, and that part of me was like, “Maybe love is bloodshed. So what?”

He showed me this idea he had on his acoustic guitar that started with, “Yo necesito tu aire, tu ritmo” and immediately I connected with it and quickly came up with the next lyrics, “en la guerra de tu amor, estoy lista.” Those lyrics translate to, “I need your air, your rhythm. In the war of your love, I’m ready.” Once we finished writing/producing the majority of the song, it was dormant for a while. We later had this incredible artist/producer I met while living in Iceland, Salka Valsdóttir, who came in to wrap up the song for us and give it that extra pizazz. Working with Salka was such a poetic blast and she moves so quick, I loved every minute of it. Her artist name she releases her own music under is “neonme” and she’s quite the creative genius.

What was it like bringing it to life via the moving image?

BP: Oof.. It was so much fun honestly. It’s always really interesting when working on music videos, because you need to find a way to support and illustrate the song, without it being a literal interpretation. It should complement it. I brought on an amazing cinematographer, Kayla Hoff, and we talked about wanting each frame to feel like a moving painting, I particularly had Edward Hopper in mind for lighting and David Lynch’s production design. When diving into our dreamworlds.

What’s the main thing you want people to get out of the “LISTA” film?

NL: With “LISTA” being about the malignant cycles we put ourselves in for the sake of “love”, I’d hope for it to inspire people not only with some sort of self-reflection on the role that they play in their own suffering, but to really be moved by the visuals and editing (which was beautifully executed by our editor, Dusten Zimmerman) and the way you could tell this kind of story – how you could share it in the form of something beyond a “music video” which is why we call it a film.

How did you find working with John Hawkes?

NL: John is such a pure example of what it is to be an artist. The amount of dedication and commitment he puts into everything he does is so stimulating to be exposed to. I’ve worked with him a few times and his process is always thrilling and equally motivating. That really added such a layer to this piece. He can tell a whole story with just one look. It energises you to be on your A-game at all times.

BP: What a dream human and actor. He’s beyond kind, patient and obviously a consummate professional. He really dove into the material, got what we were going for immediately, and was fearless. For instance we had a limited amount of time, and he learned all of the choreography in under two days. Dream actor.

What are your favourite things about the creative scene of Los Angeles?

NL: LA has such a history of dreamers you can’t help but feel it vibrating everywhere you go. I love that everyone goes there with a purpose and whether it manifests or not, you end up gravitating toward the kind of energy you put out. So if you’re trying to create something, there are other like-minded creatives ready to tell that story with you. It’s where I first met amazing artists like Bianca and John, for example, so I’m forever indebted to the art gods for aiding to that. I think also getting out of LA and traveling to different places is important and necessary for a wandering soul. Life informs art so you need to get out in order to go “in” sometimes, you know what I mean?

Who would be your dream artist to collaborate with?

NL: As far as music, Hozier and Florence Welch. Hands down. Sprinkle in some Rosalia as well.

Do you have plans to work together again in the future?

NL: Yes! Bianca, John, and I have a feature we’re currently in the works with that I’m writing. I don’t want to share too much, but I will say it entails a lot of music.

BP: We’re developing the idea together. It’ll include some original music from both Nikki and John. I cannot wait to work on that with them.

Finally, what do you have lined up for the rest of 2024?

NL: I have a few more singles I’m going to release, some visuals along with them, and then planning to follow those with an EP. I’d also love to start performing again and get out on the road so that’s on the radar as well.

BP: Thankfully, many things! The feature I just mentioned with Nikki + John, another feature, that’s a coming of age story about a first-generation teen girl finding her voice. I’m also working on a short film about my experience of anorexia. It’s something I dealt with as a teen. I was in treatment for a year and a half, and really want to explore that experience via film. And that art installation that I already mentioned. Lots of fun stuff in the works!

Watch the music video for LISTA below