After releasing their extraordinarily produced EP Ascension in July, Nikitaa is back with a new, stripped-back single. “Snail Mail” dives into the complications and confusion surrounding young, queer love in a vulnerable manner, bringing out a new side of Nikitaa’s sound that listeners should be excited to hear more of in the future. This is the most personal they’ve gotten in their songwriting to date, but “Snail Mail” feels like a natural progression from Ascension, especially for an artist who clearly has much more to show as time goes on. I talked to Nikitaa about this single’s inspirations, their musical transitions between genres, and how releasing such honest music feeds into their identity as an artist.

Last time we talked, it was after your EP was released over the summer. With that being said, congratulations on your new single! How does this single differ from your earlier release?

“Thank you so much! I think this single—as well as the next few releases—reflect softer, more bittersweet and sensitive pieces of me and my artistry. There’s been a lot of pain in my life, and not many places to put it, until recently. I feel like I’ve processed enough of it to share more of my story through my art—and ‘Snail Mail’ is the first of many releases in this vein.”

Can you tell us a little about the personal inspiration behind the lyrics of “Snail Mail”?

“‘Snail Mail’ was inspired by a conversation I was having with my co-writer Lily Lyons. We were discussing how so often queerness that isn’t obvious or fits into a binary gets discarded—even in queer spaces. And that led to conversations about my first girl crush and kiss, and Lily’s own experiences. And we took those tween and teen stories and turned them into ‘Snail Mail’! There’s a lot more personal details in this song than I’ve put into songs in the past.”

How did you come up with the title? How does the idea of snail mail play into the song as a whole?

“‘Snail Mail’ as a title came through based on something Lily said—about how she would exchange actual typewritten letters with a crush. And also because, back when the two of us were kids, everything was slow. You couldn’t text a crush, you had to wait to see them, etc. It’s a representation of that tentative slow burn that could be something but also couldn’t, because so much gets left unsaid in a world where girls aren’t even allowed to think of each other romantically. So you read between the lines, and you wait and wait for the next love note or letter. Hence ‘Snail Mail’!”

This single feels a little more stripped back than what I remember hearing on your EP, but still holds the grand instrumentals and sweeping harmonies common within your music. How do you decide which instrumental sound to give different songs? 

“Yes, the EP was a major production with all the bells and whistles! But I wanted ‘Snail Mail’ to be a stripped back, honest ballad. I think when I’m picking what I want to hear in a song I just go with my gut. I ask myself—‘what do I want to hear right now? Does it complement the emotions for this song? Does it create an emotional impact?’ And I go from there! I don’t worry too much about a through line—because I am the through line. It’s all my art, and it holds that signature.”

What do you hope this single conveys to listeners who may have experienced similar situations or feelings?

“I think at this point all of my music is a way to create community and safe space for people to have complex feelings. But specifically for “Snail Mail”—I hope that AFAB folks listening to it everywhere feel seen—so many of us have experienced the feeling of having to hide our queerness, and how confusing and strange it can feel growing up in a world that tells you that you can’t be your true self. I think this is one of those songs that validates that experience and gives it a place to live—and that’s exactly what Lily and I wanted for ourselves in writing it.”

Your openness and honesty towards sexuality and identity is something I adored about your EP. Does this single tap into any new areas of those kinds of topics? How does that honesty help your own evolving identity as an artist?

“Thank you so much… And yes! This single holds a very tender space for me—I’ve never talked about my attraction to women and fems. I’ve been shamed often enough for it by straight folks who didn’t understand me, by a society that didn’t accept queerness at all, as well as by queer folks that don’t believe me because most of my exes have been men—which is something so many bisexual, pansexual, asexual and gender nonconforming people experience. As a demisexual, pansexual nonbinary person, this is a deeply personal story for me. It’s something I never thought I’d feel comfortable enough to address or write about, but when we started writing this song in January of this year I felt an ease in talking about it with Lily that really helped me, and I’m so glad to share it. I think being honest in my art on deeper and deeper levels has been very freeing for me. It’s made me a better artist, storyteller and songwriter. It’s made me more fearless in my artistic choices, and I can tell you for certain that is what every artist seeks with each project and even with each song.”

What other styles do you hope to tap into after this release? 

“Oh, we’re going into a lot of different spaces moving forward! Some of it has a similar ballad-like appeal…others harken back to my childhood filled with Y2K music, and others lean into a similar kind of experimentation as heard on ‘Elevator,’ but far more vulnerable. I’m excited for you to hear all of it!”

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Stream “Snail Mail” below,