Indie-pop artist POLI NIKA returns with her luminous new EP ‘Remember Why’, a deeply personal collection of songs that radiate warmth, introspection, and hope. Blending jazz and soul influences with gentle pop sensibilities, the record invites listeners to slow down, reconnect, and come home to themselves.
Drawing inspiration from artists like Jordan Rakei, Lizzy McAlpine, and Emily King, POLI NIKA’s music balances vulnerability with strength through thoughtful lyricism and delicate, emotive vocals. Each song is an intimate exploration of love, grief, and self-discovery, shining a light on the beauty found in both the darkness and the dawn.
Since moving from Russia to Portugal in 2022, POLI NIKA has become a beloved presence in Lisbon’s close-knit music community. Her songs have been described as “a ray of musical light that breaks through inner doubts” and as “evoking the atmosphere of watching a heartfelt movie.”
After a string of single releases in 2025, ‘Remember Why’ marks both a culmination and a new beginning. “Every bright song on this EP comes from knowing its opposite first”, POLI NIKA shares. “Freedom from being trapped. Love from heartbreak. Sunny days from years feeling dim. That’s what makes these bright songs real. The light comes from knowing what the darkness costs.”
Opening track “Sunny Days” sets the tone, a luscious, sunshine-infused jazz-pop single that flows with quiet, glowing energy. Co-written with acclaimed songwriter Liz Rodrigues (Eminem, Celine Dion), the song captures the joy of letting light back in after years of feeling numb. “It’s about finding that spark again, music, songwriting, my artist path,” POLI NIKA reflects. “That’s when everything shifted, when the colours came back.”
The EP’s title track “Remember Why” anchors the project, a tender yet powerful reminder of purpose and passion. With lush brass, warm keys, and POLI NIKA’s radiant vocals, the song feels like a gentle awakening: a return to the reasons you dared to begin.
Produced by Theodore Lion, ‘Remember Why’ features entirely live instrumentation, from trumpets and flutes to drums, keys, and guitars, performed by an ensemble of exceptional musicians. “It was important to me that this album has a human touch,” says POLI NIKA. “That you could feel the breath in the brass, the fingers on the strings, the soul in every note.”
A masterful blend of jazz, pop, and neo-soul, ‘Remember Why’ captures POLI NIKA’s evolution as both an artist and a person, one who’s found light by embracing the shadows. This is music for the heart, for the healing, and for remembering what truly matters.
