It is the day before iKeda’s sophomore EP, Bangs N Braces, is released, and her new music video is still in the edit. “I’m a perfectionist,” she admits after apologizing for the chaos surrounding her during our conversation.
Filmed earlier in the week for the single “Tiger Tiger,” the video is easily the rising star’s boldest offering yet: a sexy, desaturated Rococo tea party shot like a particularly editorial snuff film. And as for the song—in this business, a lot of people will send you links to music. Every so often, one of these links will contain a song so balls-to-the-wall batshit insane that you find yourself beaming, locked into a giddy, open-mouthed grin, pacing, then dancing, then sprinting around your railroad-style apartment. “Tiger Tiger,” a bratty post-electroclash number with Alice in Wonderland nods and a vague relationship to tonality, is one of those songs.
PAPER got the chance to sit down with the “bubble riddim” star amid her rapid ascent, following a clutch placement opening for PinkPantheress’s tour earlier this year and the virality of her recent single “Go!” We also got a sneak peek at the “Tiger Tiger” video and some exclusive BTS to boot. Our cups runneth over!
What is your headspace typically like before releasing music?
It’s different because this is the first build-up to a release that’s actually been with a label; it’s the most serious I’ve ever been. I’m a perfectionist. I’ve been trying to make sure I have everything. I don’t know, it’s very exciting. There are so many things attached to this EP. There are so many videos I’m doing, there are different characters and people… Yeah, this time has been very chaotic. This is like a little machine. Before, it was like, I’ve made these songs, and I’m just going to put them out, and we’ll see how they do.
When you say “characters and people,” is that your verbiage for all the cooks in the kitchen, or are you thinking of characters and people in the world of the project?
I think a little bit of both. Obviously, we’ve been making videos and stuff like that—one video really intensely for three weeks and then another. But all the songs I made before; I haven’t been putting any songs on it at the last minute. But I feel like it’s also the characters in the record as well. It was inspired by so many different things that have been happening in my life.
Thinking about Bangs N Braces, how would you describe the core sound and vibe?
I always struggle with this one because I feel like all of my songs are inspired by a lot of different genres and sounds. I've made my own genre in my head, which is bubble riddim, and I'd say this EP embodies that. Recently, when I spoke about bubble riddim, I think people attached that just to “Go!” but it’s super ambiguous as well. It's just like a mishmash of different genres that would be completely impossible to name. It’s the feeling that I feel like my music gives to people.
Could you go a bit more in-depth on the term “bubble riddim”? It's so evocative.
You know how people say “bubblegum pop” and stuff like that? Like this super sweet, shiny sort of version of something. “Riddim” being the sorts of sounds I’m writing on, and all of my music is always going to have that “bubble” element to it just because of the type of energy I bring to my music. Whether it’s my voice or the things I speak about, it’s always slightly coy and playful.
I wanted to jump into “Tiger Tiger”—this is such a bold single choice. Could you talk to me about the genesis of this song?
It’s actually such a funny story. Basically, me and Tailtiu, my producer and close friend, made “Go!” the day before. As soon as we started that song, we were like, Oh, this is the hit. We were so gagged that we were just like… Do we even go to the studio tomorrow? We made “Go!” but we had two days booked, and I was like, Yeah, let’s just go and have fun, whatever.
We spent the first two hours in the studio just talking, gossiping, being really silly, pissing about. And I started talking about The Tiger Who Came to Tea, this really old English children’s book I used to be obsessed with. I always have random little things in my head—some people might call them “stims.” I won’t remember important things, but I remember stuff like that, so I started talking about it.
And then Tailtiu opened up this beat that she’d started, which was the beat of “Tiger Tiger,” and then I’m toplining: “Tell me, are you coming to tea with the tiger?” It was like an avalanche. Suddenly, it became this thing of, We need to make a song about a secret club no one knows about. It was a really weird two days where I was just like, Oh my God, we made the best two songs on the EP in two days.
Before we made “Go!” and “Tiger Tiger,” “Mapz” was my favorite, and “Pyramids.” When I was supporting PinkPantheress in Brixton, those were everyone’s favorites. And then people started leaking “Go!” and “Tiger Tiger” on Twitter, and it was like a little mini frenzy!
How validating has it been having these out in the world and catching fire online?
It’s been really affirming—like, Okay, good, people actually understand the energy I’m trying to bring and the story I’m trying to tell. They’re understanding my influences and the sound. I can be very self-critical, but also, at the same time, I’m like… I know these are hits. I know that I’m meant to be doing this and that people are going to understand; it’s just about having visibility. I have my people now, you know? I have my gyal dem.
Pivoting to the video for “Tiger Tiger,” it has such a distinct look that wasn’t what I would have expected upon first hearing the track. What references were you pulling from as you were ideating it? How did you arrive at the look of it?
Erika [Kamano], who directed the video and is my creative director as well—we both went to a sex shop in London that has loads of amazing photo books. Erika collects a lot of photo books, so we were looking through all of these, trying to get some references. Because obviously, “Tiger Tiger” is like you’re taking something and you’re in a dream state, so we were like, Okay, how do we emulate that? But in an interesting way—we like doing stuff where it’s not just what people will like or expect. We want to challenge that a little bit. We wanted to go for this vintage Rococo absurdist feel, with these sorts of Neo-Goth-inspired costumes.
I love that you say Neo-Goth because one thing that weirdly crossed my mind was Panic! at the Disco—this sort of Baroque emo sensibility.
You know what? It’s so true. I loved their costumes, their sets, the album cover art. It’s kind of Rococo—I only learned about that term in the last couple of years, but I’ve always been like, What is the name for that? Like the deer heads on the wall, very swirly wallpaper. As soon as I found out the word, it literally changed my life; that’s the world I always want to live in.
We were also really inspired by Lady Gaga’s video for “Beautiful, Dirty, Rich,” how they have the flashlight on the camera. It adds to the perverse, voyeuristic perspective, like you’re invading people’s privacy.
I’m interested in the way you’re pulling from children’s books on the song, both with The Tiger Who Came to Tea and Alice in Wonderland. What sparked you to mix those reference points with this secret society vibe?
I wanted it to teeter on the edge of that, to be the place that, say, Alice would go when she falls into the hole. I didn’t want it to be too, like, Eyes Wide Shut vibes—not too dark, because it does have that playfulness about it. It’s more like a sadist sort of tea party. I feel like it’s pulling from the way those books make sense when you’re younger. Like, afternoon tea with a giant tiger sitting at the table makes sense. Anything is possible when you have that big imagination; I’ve never really grown out of that.
You mentioned your perfectionism earlier and this being a moment of you saying, Okay, I’m a serious artist. Did you find it hard to trust that imaginative spirit?
I definitely did. Everyone says you’re your own worst enemy, and I’ve been there a lot before, where I don’t trust my ideas enough and then someone else will do it. And then I’m like, Oh my God, I should have just fucking gone with that! I had to discover it through really trusting my ideas, pushing for them, being really strict on them, and seeing the benefits of that.
When I was younger, I used to write poetry, but I always thought it was really bad or cringe. I’ve really had to get over cringing at myself, but now there’s no turning back for me. I don’t cringe when putting myself out there anymore because I feel like it’s something that I deserve and that somebody will always understand and relate to.
Cringe is the enemy!
It’s so true. I have way more respect for people who just put stuff out and trust their ideas than people who really overthink everything, to the point of, like… it wasn’t even worth that in the first place. I don’t ever want to give the energy of being super pretentious.
I have to ask, of course, about PinkPantheress. You opened at her Brixton show, as you mentioned, and then earlier this year on her UK and Europe tour. What would you say you learned or took away from watching her?
I mean, so much. I’ve never seen the behind-the-scenes of those huge venues. She’s on a tour bus, her sets are so long, she has so many songs—I have a lot of respect for PinkPantheress. She puts on such a good show, and you know she’s probably so exhausted, but she still manages to connect with people. It doesn’t show in her performance, and it’s pretty flawless. So I really learned about having resilience even while you’re really tired and you’ve been traveling.
Also, I was really putting myself out there because a lot of the songs I performed were unreleased. And there are people there who don’t know who I am. Like, Okay, maybe we like her because PinkPantheress has got her and we love Pink. But it’s a scary feeling because I remember when I would go and see my faves live for the first time, and I would be like this [crosses arms, scowls] until they would come out. I definitely got my karma for that. I'm so happy that I put so much effort into that tour support because people respected it, and they see that I'm hungry.
Who were some of those foundational faves?
I remember seeing AlunaGeorge live when I was really young. I didn’t see that many people live because my mom was really strict. I saw Paramore—Paramore supports are always really good, though! I was really obsessed with them when I was younger.
Thinking forward about what your own show would look like, how would you describe your energy as a performer and what people should expect?
I’m really inspired by plays—that cabaret sort of influence. I want it to feel quite intimate, with lots of storytelling. Sophia, one of my dancers, choreographs everything and really works with my lyrics to make the choreography coincide with that. Because I feel like nowadays, people need the visual to understand the story you’re trying to tell.
Lots of storytelling, lots of cute set design. I’ve never done a show where it’s just people coming to see me! But you’re going to see tigers and little tea party-inspired things, showing people the iKeda world, basically. The rabbit hole.
One last question, I have to ask—do you have a favorite Paramore song?
Oooh. Okay. That’s so hard… but I feel like maybe “Emergency.” I love “Emergency.” That was my first Paramore album I ever had, with the red sofa.
The first one! All We Know Is Falling.
Yes! I love that album cover. Something about that photography style. And, I mean, Hayley Williams… I was obsessed with her when I was younger. One of the best voices in pop music.
Amazing pull, “Emergency.” I’m gonna play some Paramore in the car today.
I’m literally going to listen to it after this.
Photography by Erika Kamano
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