Niina Soleil – Heliophilia

Niina Soleil shares today “Irish Goodbye,” the first single off of her upcoming full-length album Heliophilia (out May 15th).  The track is a spirited ode to the pursuit of thrill- that moment when your new lover becomes your partner in crime; the need for a little danger for fun.

Soleil illustrates the creation of an insular world that keeps the real world – with its rules and conventions – out, while keeping the love world – what’s only known to Niina as her truest truth – safe within. The song’s lyrical depth is candy-coated with an inspired musical backing that evokes influences like Lana Del Rey. “Irish Goodbye” excels as a Heliophilia album track and will no doubt excel as a playlist mainstay of 2024.

On May 15, Niina Soleil will release her debut full-length LP, Heliophilia, a free-spirited love letter to the unique summertimes that decorate The Cradle of Cool, Southern California. The album is a gentle meshing of her previous singles delicately interlaced with new additions, expressions each as dynamic as her landscapes.

With Heliophilia, Niina Soleil has completed her “cosmic puzzle” –a term she invokes to better define the craft of songwriting.

She explains: “When I’m working with other writers, it’s like a game that we’re all trying to solve; how do we make this story both fabulous and sensical? But when I’m writing by myself, it sometimes feels like a benevolent form of haunting. Like I’ll get a piece of an idea—a scrap of melody or lyric— and it’ll just… haunt me until I finish it. An unfinished song is a bit like a beautiful spirit with unfinished business if that makes any sense at all— I just try to interpret what the song wants to be until I’m satisfied that I got it right.” If each cosmic puzzle is one of Ms. Niina’s ghosts, then Heliophilia is her Winchester Mansion. Each apparition telling of the bright days of life, the human pleasures, illusive love, and the feeling of sand between their toes.

Soleil has a keen spirit for collaboration, finding her truest expression of herself invigorated by those she shares her studio with. This has led to numerous fruitful partnerships. “[I worked with] almost as many producers as there are songs,” she quips. “First, with Fred Ball on ‘Lonely in Love;’ then with Phil Davidson on ‘Make it Summer.’ I worked with the Penultimates (Eric Janson and Jeremy Ruzumna) on ‘Beautiful Nowhere,’ ‘Flowers on Fire,’ and ‘Psychedelic Sunshine;’ with Matan aka Paper Idol on ‘Happy Pills;’ with Erik Jansson on ‘See Red’ and ‘Whiskey Valentine’ (co-produced by Andrew Ampaya); and with Tim Anderson on ‘Irish Goodbye.'”

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