Gabriella Geneva is the Bulgarian-born chanteuse under the alluring alias NIIVA, oozing with a new age sensuality that reigns vigilant over her captivating melodies and ground-breaking productions that she seldom performs without.
Her musical catalog infuses the intoxication sounds of R&B with a Contemporary New-Wave balance and attracts attention through the magnetic hooks this now Canada-based songstress conjures up through the most profound depths of her velvet sounding sentiments.
With her last release "Love Games" landing just late April, NIIVA saw a massive wave of adoration throughout the music industry, and it's not hard to see why this budding melodist is continuing her trajectory upward on her newest Dark Pop single, "Trigger," as its anticipated release flusters even the most casual listeners.
No one wants their heartstrings torn and strained over a bunch of manipulating love games, and in this track, Geneva's not singing to any past lover—she's addressing a former aggressor.
The habit of playing the dangerous game of love in the first place was the synopsis for her aggression, piercing through when she sings: "Ooo it's gonna be bad for you, everything little thing that you do has got me, feeling like I wanna get back at you." As the magnetic words leave her lips, its clear she's attempting to find contentment without drowning in her own overpowering emotions over trifling amidst the cryptic semantics of love.
The production here echoes her zesty cantor; a saturated sub-synth yields way to the buzzing intoner's lush topline and swelling harmonic ostentations as she emerges with fleshy energy throughout the punchy play-back, which seems to endlessly lift as the succulent shapeshifting twinkles and coos dissolve along the edges of this expansive mix. She doesn't know how much pain she's going to inflict or, in what manner, but she's hell-bent on manifest those dark sentiments over this adhesively addicting dark-pop single.
Hello NIIVA, thank you for joining us at BuzzMusic. We are thrilled to have you with us to discuss your latest release "Trigger." Where do you draw your creative inspirations from when it comes to the adhesive melody you render effortlessly with your voice on "Trigger?"
When it comes to my writing I draw inspiration from a lot of things, but mostly things
that are close to me. So, either a friend’s experiences or my own. For "Trigger" specifically,
it was from personal experience and my own personality. I wanted it to feel like a little
bit of a dare to the other person. Pull my trigger, light the match, set me off, let’s see
how it goes.
What's the story behind this song? Was this based on real experiences or a just vivid
imagining brought on through your captivating storytelling skills?
I love a good challenge in a relationship, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy a not-too-
serious confrontation. I think it’s incredibly attractive when my partner can match wit
and intelligence. I think tension can be really sexy. I actually tracked this song in the same vocal booth as one of my favorite songs, “Havana” by Camila Cabello, with the amazing Matt Beckley, who also recorded “Havana”. A lot of the flavor and feel within “Trigger” are thanks to him, actually. Our vibes and sense of humor really clicked which really pushed me to give the best performance possible in order to capture the right feel for the vocals.
Where do you see yourself in the next few years now that the music industry seems
to be embracing your latest singles with open arms?
I have a lot of goals and dreams, but really what I want is for every new release to reach
more and more people. I want to be able to share a stage and space with people all
across the world. I love reaching people online, but being able to perform and share my
music live with people in other cities and countries and continents in person is one of
my biggest goals.
If you could impart a few sentiments onto your listeners to enhance your audience's
experience before they dive into your catalog's newest portions, which would you
pick and why?
I want you to feel empowered in every emotion that you experience. My favorite thing
about music that’s honestly written is that it makes the listener feel like we’re not alone
in the situation we’re living in. You’re never the first or the last person to feel what you
feel, and I find that so comforting.
Where do you see yourself taking your music for the remainder of 2020? Do you have
any advice for fellow artists that may be having a hard time finding inspiration throughout these difficult times?
My debut EP is coming this year! It’s my baby, and I’m very excited to bring it to people.
I’m excited to bring something new and fresh to the music scene, I’m incredibly proud of
the songs that are going to be on this EP.
When it comes to advice, this is definitely something I need to listen to and internalize
as well, but we can’t rush or force creativity and inspiration. And we have to learn to
accept that fact and not let it be an added stress. Everything comes in waves, and
maybe it’s just time to rest - rest for the soul, the brain, the voice, whichever. Everyone
has a different process too - I know people who thrived creatively for the first few weeks
of quarantine, had sessions every day, and then took a month’s break. I know others -
myself included - who needed the first while to just breathe and settle into this new
normal before being able to channel creativity. There’s no right or wrong, so don’t
compare your process and journey to anyone else’s.