'Everything's Been Hard-Won': Niki Colet on Her EP...

Niki Colet's new EP, "We Only Ever Meet in Strange Dreams," is a collection of songs born from personal challenges and creative exploration. After a five-year break from music, Colet found inspiration in her London life and collaborations, resulting in a unique blend of genres.

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my master's at Central Saint Martins — I studied a post-graduate course in curation so I got to invest my energy in cultural studies and art history, art curation, and supporting artists in mediums outside of music.

Do you think being in London influenced the making of the EP?

Yes and no. Yes, in the sense that I literally would not have met the people who worked on this EP if I hadn't moved to London. No, in the sense that I'm still me at the end of the day, and I would be me no matter where in the world I ended up.

Sound-wise, dance music is really big in the UK. Of course I had my fair share of going out and partying when I was in Manila, but London is a different landscape, and I fell in love with dance music in a different way. I'm not making dance music, but it inspired me to look at mixing elements of different genres in a song in a way I haven't considered before.

Being in London has exposed me to artists like that and widened the range of the music I listen to and enjoy, (which) shaped the music that I make. I enjoy pop projects by artists like Nabihah Iqbal and Avalon Emerson, who are DJs who have released their own original music that isn't electronic or dance music.