17 November 2023 - 0 Comments

Ukrainian alt-pop NZ based artist VÏKÆ today releases of the second segment of her previously released Love Games mixtape with Love Games Deluxe. Calling it the ‘ultimate heartbreak mixtape’, Love Games Deluxe includes previously released tracks Love Games, Final Breakdown, Lonely Doll - alongside spacial-electro track Who Would Stay With Me...? and stripped back piano ballad Destination Nowhere. Love Games Deluxe features an additional four songs including Cold - Demo, Liar (remastered), a beautiful alt-pop country ballad S.M.S. and the lead single I’m Better which is a sassy alt-pop track which touches on calling out liars and fake friends that only made the breakup which inspired the record, much worse. ‘Friends are supposed to support you and if you’re not being that great of a person - by all means - call you out. Friends aren’t meant to drag your name through the mud and kick you when you’re already down’.

Love Games Deluxe was created with long-time collaborator/producer Abigail Knudson (Missy) and features additional production from Christian Tjandrawinata (Destination Nowhere), Will Henderson (S.M.S. and Cold - Demo) and Mazbou Q (Liar - Remastered). Most of the tracks from the record were tracked and recorded at Auckland Parachute Studios, aside from additional vocals added remotely due to the lengthy 2021 pandemic lockdown Auckland went into. Love Games Deluxe was then mastered by Silver Scroll nominee Dan Martin (Rob Ruha) whereas S.M.S. and Cold - Demo were mastered by Ethan McLearly.

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VÏKÆ says that each of the nine tracks on Love Games Deluxe represents the different viewpoints of those directly and indirectly affected by a breakup. “I’m a sucker for cathartic writing,” she says, “but I think a huge part of the record is the idea of ‘coming of age’.”

Unlike original Love Games mixtape focused on songs that are the embodiment of loss and the stages of grief associated with heartbreak, Love Games Deluxe features songs that come from a place of healing, acceptance and self love.

VÏKAE had interviews with Newshub and Women’s Weekly and garnered rotation on radio stations like Radio One 91FM, bFM and The Hits and received 5 star reviews from Muzic.NZ and 13th Floor. "Love Games showcases VÏKAE’s skill in vulnerable story-telling" - MMF (NZ, 2022). Lonely Doll has recently started gaining a little bit of traction with the official music video rapidly gaining momentum with views and a few recent playlisting placements.

Genre-cross over was important for VÏKÆ to explore with this record. ‘Breakups are multifaceted and multidimensional oozing in complexities. Each song is a representation of different viewpoints of a breakup and how these can affect each individual differently. I really wanted to showcase my love of vulnerable story-telling alongside a myriad of genres that would be best represented by each different song. I really wanted there to be something for everyone on this record’. Love Games Deluxe transcends through alt-pop, pop, electro-pop, alt-pop x country, ballads and RnB. ‘I don’t want to pigeon hole myself so early on in my career. It’s important that people can see that I have many avenues of self expression and I genuinely don’t think artists should feel bound by the constraints of needing to make a record exclusively in one genre. I just think it’s important for the soundscape to be uniform and match throughout - but you can still have fun and play with genres to solidify the storyline better. If it’s true to the project then it’s true to you - and this record is the truest, most raw and most vulnerable side of me yet’ she says.

Another exciting addition to today’s release is VÏKAE’s stunning new video for S.M.S., which goes live at 7pm Friday 24th November. It was filmed and directed by Chontelle Musson and features VÏKÆ riding her horse on the beach as a representation of finding peace and solitude amongst nature and the stillness of life. S.M.S. has already created a bit of a buzz with multiple playlisting placements for Ukrainian Spotify playlists and the video itself is already highly anticipated amongst fans, friends and colleagues.

In this follow-up to the artist's 2020 Debut EP Finelines. Love Games Deluxe blends pop sensibilities and emo rebellion, with the singer singing for the voiceless and the underdogs. Having grown up listening to the emo bands of the 2000s, it may come as no surprise that her music is pseudo-romantic, unapologetic and sometimes just a little bit brash.

VÏKAE is an exciting artist on the rise - with close to a million streams amongst all platforms, featuring on the NZ Official Charts and an impressive performance resume. With honorable mentions in the NZ Hot 20, Top 20 Charts and The SRN Charts; and performances at some of the country’s biggest music festivals such as Baydreams (Nelson 2020), Mardi Gras (Ohakune 2021 & 2022) , Deep Hard N Funky (2022) , Summer Sounds (2022), AUM (NYE 2022/23) and Soundsplash (2023) only solidifying her performative prowess. Most recently she performed mainstage at Big Gay Out and a few months ago VÏKÆ had the opportunity to sing on live television for the iconic Kiwi TV Show - 7 Days.

It is fair to say that VÏKÆ has a lot of feelings stating ‘it’s our jobs as songwriters to feel things’ and this is certainly not the last that one would hear of this unique artist. With an impressive vault of unreleased tracks that are planned for release in 2024, working on her debut album and reimagining her live show, VÏKÆ shows no signs of slowing down. Entirely self managed and self funded, VÏKÆ continues to make an investment in her artistry and her career with the immediate goal of connecting with fans and sharing her story in hopes that it may in turn, help somebody overcome theirs.

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