Ashnikko brings 'dystopian fantasy,' environmental themes to Coachella 2023

Bringing blue hair and post-apocalyptic vibes to Coachella's Gobi tent late Friday night is Ashnikko, marking her Coachella debut just a week after releasing title track "WEEDKILLER," the latest single out of her new album coming out on June 2.

The album is a mix between "compelling dystopian fantasy" and "poetic commentary on environmental disaster and the rapid evolution of technology," following the story of a faerie protagonist in a dystopian future where nature and AI are at war, according to a press release from Warner Records, with Ashnikko's sound "combining elements of trap, pop and metal with an almost childlike vocal delivery."

The Desert Sun spoke to Ashnikko about the inspiration behind her new album's themes. The below conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

DS: What inspired the themes of environmental destruction on WEEDKILLER? 

A: I feel like we just like have lost our connection with the earth. Over the past few years, as I've been getting older, I've done way more psychedelics, and my relationship with the outside world and with the plant world has just deepened. And so it definitely informed a lot of themes, not necessarily in the lyrical world, but in the visual world. And I'm also writing a graphic novel based on a short story that I wrote that inspired the album. . . There are a few songs on the album that are very much in-concept. But also WEEDKILLER is not necessarily only about that, it's like the WEEDKILLER wears many different faces, like personal adversaries in my life, like taking away my bodily autonomy.

And technology has also been a big theme for you — what's inspired that?

I'm just thinking about that constantly, endlessly, all the time — why do I have to be a cyborg to work? I wish I could just be outside, doing long walks in the hills, hugging trees. So I feel very sad and hopeless some days about the future, but it's not all hopeless.

Do you think of yourself as an optimist about the future when it comes to the environment and these other themes?

I think it depends on the day. I'm hoping we can just live in a kinder world, and that we don't get to a place where it's too late to actually take care of our home planet.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella 2023: Ashnikko brings 'dystopian fantasy,' environmental themes