Riiki Reid Announces New EP ‘Drench’ + Shares New Shimmering Single ‘What If’
Aotearoa alt-pop artist Riiki Reid (Ngāti Porou) announces her long-awaited new body of work, Drench, arriving October 10, 2025, alongside the release of shimmering new single What If out today.
The five-track project captures the feeling of an endless summer – romance, nostalgia, and escapism, while also acknowledging the comedown that inevitably follows. Pairing atmospheric dream-pop with alternative and dance influences, Drench is both Riiki’s most conceptual project and her clearest artistic statement to date.
“I knew that this EP Drench needed to be the missing piece of the puzzle in the grand finale of introducing who Riiki Reid is and what Riiki Reid sounds like,” she explains. “It’s a balance of alternative, pop, dreampop and dance music. It’s diverse but consistent. It is clear.
It is Riiki Reid.”
At the heart of Drench is new single What If, written with longtime collaborators Josh Fountain (BENEE, Ruel, Ladyhawke) and Shungudzo Kuyimba (Jessie Ware, Kylie Minogue, Little Mix). The track became the catalyst for Riiki’s new sonic era, fusing the diverse influences of Dua Lipa, The Cure, and Suki Waterhouse with her love of nostalgic pre-2000’s organic pop/rock).
“With What If, I knew straight away this was the sound I’d been trying to find since the beginning of my project,” she shares. “It painted a very strong visual image in my head of this warm, moody romanticized sunset… That’s when I knew this was the new Riiki Reid aesthetic and direction I needed to chase.”
What If is about the fragility of summer romances and the bittersweet possibility of “what could be” when real life intrudes:
“The song is about two people who are unsure if they are right for each other but want to believe they are. Maybe love is only for a time and place… but you’ll always be thinking ‘what if’ if you don’t see it out.”
Since debuting with her trilogy of mini-EPs (Newer Oxygen, Crash & Collide, and Home With Me), Riiki Reid has crafted an eclectic artistry that spans dreamy pop, theatrical dance, and intimate songwriting. Along the way she has supported Lorde, Benson Boone, Ashe, and L.A.B., fronted global campaigns with Maybelline, performed with Fly My Pretties, and graced festival stages including Jim Beam Homegrown, Sound Splash, and Electric Avenue.
Now, with Drench, she unites all facets of her artistry into one bold, sun-soaked vision – a project she describes as both a “happy pill” and a “form of escapism”:
“This music was made to bring me and everyone around me absolute joy. It’s supposed to be an endless summer of endless possibilities and sun beaming straight into your heart.”
Catch Riiki Reid on tour, supporting Mallrat:
Thursday 11 September: Meow, Wellington
Saturday 13 September: The Tuning Fork, Auckland
