Heretic forks and Great Danes – inside Niia’s world of ‘V’ [Interview]

"It's like, I've got that kind of, like, Aeon Flux–Tomb Raider vibe, but I also would love to make you, like, a sweet sausage lasagna. I'm a bit of a homebody, but I'll go out and kill someone if I have to."

It wasn’t clear what to expect from the chat with Niia, aka the ‘Goth Jazz Princess.’ A starstruck conversation seemed likely: her in full idol mode, the other party in pure fangirl panic. Intimidation was understandable. This is a woman with five albums under her belt, over 80k Instagram followers, and a voice so commanding it could cut through any room. Add her strikingly androgynous visuals, and the result is a formidable force.

Yet Niia remains surprisingly relatable. Strikingly articulate, she pairs intelligence with wry, self-deprecating humor, making her feel utterly human.

“I’m an artist because I don’t really know how to do anything else,” she admits. “I’m bad at everything besides maybe dog walking. I’m not qualified for any other job really."

Raised between the improvisational freedom of jazz and the cinematic sweep of her Italian heritage, Niia has spent years refining her voice. “I started in jazz, but moving to New York and LA exposed me to R&B and contemporary styles,” she explains. “I’ve always been compared to R&B artists, but I don’t really sound like that. Lately, I’ve been embracing my strengths and connecting with the modern, experimental side of jazz, which few vocalists explore.”

Though her explorations span genres, from ambient to experimental sounds, her heart remains tethered to jazz. “Artists today don’t need one lane—they evolve, experiment, and keep moving. Jazz will always be the hill I want to die on.”

Yet, her curiosity reaches even further: she’s intrigued by death metal’s raw intensity, though she hasn’t dared to scream into a mic. “I take care of my voice, so it’s hard to reconcile. Maybe someday I’ll explore guttural, raw emotion. For now, sultry screaming in silence will do—expressing intensity quietly.”

Talking to Niia, it is clear that her latest album, 'V', is a product of risk, collaboration, and careful curation.“This record feels the most like me in a long time,” she says. “I took risks, worked with amazing people, and curated songs that truly felt like me.” There is a strong sense of drama and intention that runs deep in her work, a throughline that traces back to her childhood.

“Growing up with an Italian mother, we watched a lot of Italian films and listened to Ennio Morricone soundtracks,” she recalls. “Drama has always been something I love—I can’t escape it.”

This combined inspiration and influence of jazz and film is most evident in the songs “Angel Eyes,” a reimagined version of the 1946 jazz standard by Matt Dennis & Earl B. Brent, and “Ronny Cammareri,” a slow-burning instrumental titled after Nicolas Cage’s character in Moonstruck. There is tremendous emotional depth in tracks such as “Throw My Head Out The Window,” featuring new wave jazz boundary pushers bassist Anna Butterss and Nicole McCabe on saxophone.

Meanwhile, “fucking happy” is a more playful track, accented by sarcasm but layered over melancholy. Each track feels unique, whilst lending itself to the broader cinematic experience of V, one that is “closer to a film score than anything from the Great American Songbook”.

Niia’s cinematic drama bleeds across both her sound and her striking visuals. Bold imagery has become part of Niia’s artistic signature, from her striking androgynous looks to the heretic fork on her latest album cover, an instrument once used to silence outspoken people, especially women, probably witches. “I hate attention, but art lets me hide behind shock and creativity,” she says. “I didn’t want a typical black-dress-at-a-piano cover. I wanted something bold, like a sex-demon, heretic-fork vibe, that you can only pull off at this point in my life.”

Her shape-shifting, ambisexual visual identity becomes another form of self-expression. “It feels natural. Fashion allows me to represent multiple sides. Women often get pigeonholed—sex sells, and I love being sexy, but there are so many ways to be sexy. Sometimes it’s a suit and slicked-back hair, more overt. I trust my collaborators to help me pull it off.”

Those collaborators, like London-based designer Yang Lee, with a background in womenswear, and photographer Dougie Irvine, help her translate that vision into art that feels timeless. “I need art that questions rather than gives easy answers,” she says. “If you can fully understand an artist, it’s kind of boring.” Their work together blurs boundaries between music, fashion, and imagery, creating a holistic creative world where she can experiment freely.

And her influences are just as lionhearted as she is. From Fiona Apple’s raw honesty to Leonard Cohen’s devastating lyricism, Niia gravitates toward voices unafraid to speak the unspeakable. “One line from Leonard Cohen’s last record hit me hard: ‘You want it darker, we killed the light.’ There’s no other way to say it. And yet it’s just… turning off the light. It’s poetry.”

But her influences don’t just come in human form. “I had a Great Dane in New York named Wednesday. She was supposed to be this badass Harlequin Great Dane, like a little witch duo with me, but she was actually the biggest softie. We nicknamed her Winnie. She’s passed now, but I’m thinking of rescuing another—Morticia, or Tish for short.”

Animals, she says, teach lessons humans cannot. “After dropping out of the music conservatory in New York, I rescued my first dog. It taught me discipline and how to be a human, just keeping him alive in the city. Animals are the real teachers.”

From Great Danes to heretic forks, Morricone to Fiona Apple, Niia's world is boundless.

Looking ahead, her ambitions remain equally eclectic and playful, encompassing poetry, music, and, of course, another Great Dane. “I want to explore putting out a body of poetry, then maybe more music, and a Great Dane for sure… Little Tish,” she says with a laugh.

My closing question lands on Halloween costumes (naturally), and her answer is every bit honest and revealing as her album. “I usually go as something dead, but this year, I think I’ll just go as a girl living in LA. That’s scary enough”.

Whether through music or fashion, Niia continues to defy expectations and inspire. She is a disruptor and an artist in the truest sense, and 'V' is a triumphant nod to her brilliance.