AMYKITA Channels Heartbreak in New Video for Debut Single ‘Golden Days’

Indie pop/folk artist Amy Nikita aka AMYKITA was born in the U.K. to British parents who settled in France, where she grew up. Brought up in a household that loved music, the artist was heavily influenced by the likes of pop singers such as Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson and Avril Lavigne. “It was a bit of practice for me,” she says.  

After going through a rough heartbreak, the musician decided to travel the world 18 months ago. She hopped across 19 countries, mostly in Europe, where she played busking gigs. Passing through Turkey and Jordan, AMYKITA also wound up in India recently to begin the Asia leg of her trip. The singer-songwriter even played shows at beach bars and cafés in Goa during her two-month stay. Recently, she released her melancholic, yet dreamy debut single entitled “Golden Days” off her upcoming debut EP. The track is also accompanied with an eye-catching music video, and Rolling Stone India caught up with the artist. Read excerpts our interview below.  

When did work on your debut EP begin?  

I began working on my debut EP in August 2020, when the man I loved the most decided to leave. But I was holding on like I had never held on to anything before and all he could do was repeat that he didn’t want to be with me anymore. I couldn’t even understand it. It didn’t make sense to me. How could our love be destroyed? All of the agony then came out in an artistic form as he was not coming back home. I would wake up in the morning and cry while playing the piano, and then I would have lyrics naturally coming out of my mouth and my fingers would naturally compose things. It was quite magical when I think about it because I didn’t have to try. We all know that pain and heartbreak are a big source of inspiration. Well, I definitely experienced it the hard way. I went through hell but I discovered a deep artistic soul in me. That was a beautiful thing.  

I wanted the EP to be called Inconsolable, because that’s how I felt and also because it’s a word that can be understood in English and French. But perhaps I’m going to call it Golden Days as I feel like it sums up this first part of the breakup, which is losing the golden days, the happy days, the love.  

There will be five songs on this EP, which have been recorded at the same time. I recorded them all at home and did a premix, and then I paid a sound engineer to polish the entire EP. I really loved working with him. He understood me so well and I think that can be tricky with music because it’s about feelings, too. Something invisible lies under the music. 

The EP’s lead single is out now. What can you tell me about the song and the music video? 

My new song is called ‘Golden Days.’ The idea of the video clip is: I am walking in a forest holding my heart, with a scar on my chest. It is a metaphor of me trying to continue to give my love to someone who doesn’t want it anymore, and all of the heartache and pain. And then at the chorus you see the golden heart, the heart I had when we were both in love, which I also created myself, painting in gold a real pig’s heart bought at the butcher’s… And that sounds gross because I’m a vegetarian, but I really did it!  

I created a whole system so that black paint came out of the golden heart, covering it in black. I like to work with symbols and metaphors. I guess art is all about that – expressing ideas and feelings through creative images and metaphors. 

When will the EP be released in full and what can folks expect from it? 

Because I’m doing all the marketing and releasing myself, independently, I don’t know when exactly all the songs will be released. I just know that I have four songs left and I want to release them one at a time, ideally with a music video that I will create, too – so it can take time. I really enjoy the whole process, so I try to stay relaxed and tell myself that it’s okay if it takes time. Maybe it’s my healing time, too. 

Watch the music video for “Golden Days” below: