There is a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from living a life that looks perfectly fine from the outside while quietly feeling disconnected from it on the inside. The routines become familiar, the expectations become difficult to question, and somewhere between meeting responsibilities and keeping up with the world, the feeling of actually living can begin to disappear. For Mimi of Niis, this tension sits at the heart of the band’s latest record, Play Niis, an exploration of societal monotony, personal upheaval, heartbreak, and the difficult process of finding yourself again.
Play Niis is available for pre-order / pre-save now, with limited edition vinyl color variants available in the Rise Records store.
Known for their confrontational punk energy, Niis have built an identity around intensity and a willingness to challenge what surrounds them. With Play Niis, however, the band explore a different kind of expression. Melody, vulnerability, experimentation, and emotional connection find room alongside the aggression that has always defined their sound. Rather than abandoning their roots, Niis are discovering new ways to channel that same intensity, allowing it to become more introspective without losing its ability to make an impact.
Speaking about the record, Mimi reflects on how easily modern life can become something we experience through a screen rather than something we actively participate in. Social media has made this disconnect increasingly visible, creating an environment where people can remain constantly connected while feeling removed from their own experiences.
As Mimi puts it, “Being alive and living are two completely different things.” It is a simple distinction, but one that captures the uncomfortable realization at the center of Play Niis: existing within a routine does not necessarily mean that we are fulfilled by it.
Yet choosing another path is rarely as simple as deciding to make a change. Financial responsibilities, uncertainty, and the pressure to maintain stability can make stepping away from an expected way of life feel impossible. Mimi recognizes that not everyone has the freedom to pursue the unknown, emphasizing that the decisions people make are often shaped by circumstances beyond their control. The record does not simply encourage listeners to break free from expectations; it also acknowledges the complicated realities that can keep people feeling trapped.
That tension gives Play Niis much of its emotional weight. Through songs that confront control, misplaced frustration, isolation, and the struggle to reclaim personal identity, Niis create space for listeners who feel like outsiders in their own lives. Tracks such as “Bad Aim,” “Big Fish Baby,” and “Take Your Mess” approach these experiences from different perspectives, examining everything from escaping another person’s influence to learning where compassion ends and personal boundaries begin.
For Mimi, the evolution of Niis is not about escaping the band’s past or rejecting the intensity that brought them here. Instead, it is about refusing to let creativity become stagnant. The band’s willingness to experiment reflects a deeper understanding that growth sometimes requires abandoning familiar approaches and allowing yourself to be uncomfortable with the unknown. Even while navigating heartbreak and uncertainty during the making of the album, Mimi found the studio to be a place where those feelings could temporarily dissolve, making room for something entirely new.
Perhaps the most powerful idea running through this conversation is the importance of choosing joy in a world that can make happiness feel increasingly difficult to hold on to. For Mimi, joy is not a distraction from the realities people face, nor does it require ignoring anger, pain, or injustice. Instead, it becomes a form of resistance in itself. Finding moments of freedom, embracing individuality, and refusing to surrender every part of yourself to the demands of the world can be meaningful victories.
In this conversation with LoudHER Media, Mimi discusses the social expectations that shape our lives, the evolution of Niis‘ sound, the vulnerability behind Play Niis, and why choosing joy, protecting your peace, and daring to dream remain acts worth fighting for.
An Interview with Mimi of Niis
In “No Flowers,” there’s a feeling of wanting to break out of a life that looks normal on the outside but feels suffocating on the inside. When did you first realize that simply going through the motions of life wasn’t the same as actually living it?
“I think I always felt that way, who knows. Maybe it was a random day at work. But since the rise of social media it has become extremely present. So many of us are living our lives through our phones. Being alive and living are two completely different things.”
There is something particularly striking about the way social media has changed our relationship with everyday life. We can spend so much time documenting experiences, watching other people live theirs, and trying to keep up with an endless stream of information that we forget to be present in our own surroundings. Mimi’s answer captures the quiet frustration of recognizing that a life can look full while still feeling unfulfilled. Sometimes, the realization that something needs to change does not arrive as one dramatic moment. It develops gradually, through the routines we repeat and the growing sense that we are missing something important. For Niis, that disconnect becomes an opportunity to question what it really means to be alive rather than simply moving through the motions.
You mentioned that many songs on Play Niis explore societal monotony and forgetting to put ourselves first. What do you think people are most afraid will happen if they stop following the path everyone expects them to follow?
“I think what is most frightening about choosing another path is the uncertainty. Most of us don’t have the luxury of choosing the unknown. Having to provide for ourselves in a world where our governments do not help us makes choosing another path feel like an impossible feat. So I respect everyone’s decision on what feels right for them.“
Mimi approaches this question with an understanding that freedom looks different for everyone. It is easy to tell people to leave behind what makes them unhappy, pursue their dreams, or take a chance on something new, but those decisions come with consequences that cannot always be ignored. Financial security, employment, and the responsibility of providing for ourselves can make even the smallest change feel risky. Her response brings an important perspective to the themes of Play Niis: breaking away from societal expectations is not simply a matter of courage. Sometimes, it requires resources and opportunities that people do not have.
Sometimes the things that make us feel alive are also the things society tells us are irresponsible, unrealistic, or unacceptable. Have you ever had to choose between being who you truly are and being the version of yourself that other people found easier to accept?
“I used to water down who I was, or act like some other version I thought might be more palatable. Now, I’m happy with who I am, and who I continue to become.”
Learning to accept yourself can mean confronting all the ways you have previously tried to make yourself easier for other people to understand. Mimi’s reflection speaks to the exhaustion of constantly adjusting your personality, identity, or behavior to fit somebody else’s expectations. When acceptance feels conditional, it can become tempting to hide the parts of yourself that might make others uncomfortable. But that kind of compromise can gradually create distance between who you are and who you believe you are allowed to be. Mimi’s happiness with who she is today reflects a different relationship with personal growth: one that does not require having everything figured out
Your earlier work established Niis as a confrontational, volatile force, while Play Niis explores more melody, vulnerability, and connection. Was there a moment when you realized the band you were becoming no longer needed to prove itself through the same kind of intensity as before?
“I do believe the same intensity is in there, but expressed in a different form. More emotional and expressive in a gentler way, which is very new to me. I really wanted to experiment and challenge myself.“
The evolution Mimi describes is not a rejection of the band’s established identity, but a discovery of what that identity can become. Intensity does not always have to arrive through confrontation or aggression. Sometimes, it can be found in a vulnerable lyric, an unexpected melodic passage, or the willingness to expose emotions that are more difficult to express directly. For a band known for its forceful approach, allowing gentler moments to occupy more space can be its own kind of challenge.
When a band develops an identity around a particular sound or emotional energy, that identity can become both a strength and a limitation. Did you ever feel that your previous reputation was creating expectations you wanted to escape?
“I don’t think I wanted to escape it. But I do believe stagnation is the death of creativity. My favorite bands are the ones whose records are constantly evolving and changing.“
Mimi’s response highlights an important distinction between rejecting your past and refusing to remain confined by it. A band’s established sound can become a meaningful part of its identity, but it can also create expectations about what every future release should sound like. For Mimi, the goal was never to distance Niis from the music that came before. Instead, the priority was to keep creating something that felt genuine rather than repeating a formula simply because it was familiar. That perspective allows Play Niis to exist as a natural progression instead of a deliberate departure.
The title Play Niis could suggest playfulness, but the record emerged from heartbreak, upheaval, and uncertainty. Is there something liberating about giving yourself permission to play, experiment, and make mistakes when life outside the studio feels anything but playful?
“Absolutely, I was going through a lot of pain and heartache while we wrote this. But the second I stepped into the studio, it would all melt away. I love that we stripped away the imaginary things that held us back from experiencing something so new.”
Mimi’s answer reveals the studio as more than a place to record music. It became a space where the difficulties of everyday life could temporarily lose their grip, allowing creativity to take over. Heartbreak and uncertainty were still present, but they did not have to dictate every moment of the process. Instead, making the record offered an opportunity to approach music without the same limitations or assumptions that might have previously held the band back. There is something powerful about being able to create while experiencing pain without requiring that pain to define the entire experience. The freedom Mimi describes comes from allowing experimentation to exist without demanding a perfect outcome.
Punk has always provided space for anger, resistance, and frustration. But your new material also seems interested in joy as something worth fighting for. Do you think choosing to experience joy can be a rebellious act in a world that constantly demands your attention, energy, and emotional labor?
“Choosing joy wherever we can in this world is an insurmountable victory. The people in charge want us divided and miserable, easier to control. To be joyful, happy, and free is absolutely an act of rebellion.”
For Mimi, joy is not separate from resistance. It is one of the ways resistance can take shape. Punk has long offered an outlet for frustration with systems, expectations, and the people who hold power, but Play Niis also makes room for the idea that fighting back can mean protecting the things that make life meaningful. Anger has its place, especially when there are legitimate reasons to be angry, but it does not have to consume every part of a person’s identity. Finding happiness, building connections, and allowing yourself to experience moments of genuine freedom can be just as significant as confronting what is wrong with the world.
The title “Bad Aim” suggests trying to hit a target but missing it. Does that idea connect to misplaced anger, misunderstood intentions, or the frustration of trying to change something you can’t quite reach?
“Bad Aim” is a song about escaping from under the thumb of someone trying desperately to control your every move. So definitely channeling a deep frustration there.“
The frustration behind “Bad Aim” comes from the experience of having someone else attempt to dictate the direction of your life. Control can take many forms, from direct demands to more subtle attempts to influence how someone thinks, behaves, or makes decisions. When another person constantly tries to determine what you should do, even ordinary choices can begin to feel like battles for independence. Mimi’s description places the song firmly within the album’s wider exploration of autonomy and personal freedom.
The phrase “Big Fish Baby” can suggest power, importance, or being the dominant person in a small environment. Is there a commentary here on ego, status, or the way people measure their own importance?
““Big Fish Baby” is really a love song to anyone listening who feels like an outsider within their own life. Who feels stuck in the monotony but dreams big. I think anyone who dares to break free is a big fish.”
Rather than using the idea of being a big fish to describe superiority over others, Mimi turns it into an expression of encouragement for people who feel out of place. The song speaks to those who carry ambitions that seem incompatible with their current circumstances, particularly when everyday routines make it difficult to imagine a different future. Feeling like an outsider in your own life can be an isolating experience: you may be doing everything expected of you while privately longing for something that feels more authentic.
An earthquake doesn’t just shake the ground; it changes how safe that ground feels afterward. When life changes unexpectedly, do you think the hardest part is surviving the disruption or learning to trust your surroundings again?
“Learning to trust your surroundings again, without a doubt. The scars on your mind take the longest to heal.“
Mimi’s answer recognizes that the consequences of difficult experiences often continue long after the initial disruption has passed. Surviving a painful event can require immediate strength, but rebuilding a sense of safety is a different process altogether. Once something has changed the way you understand the world, returning to familiar surroundings does not necessarily mean feeling comfortable in them again. Trust can become more complicated, and even ordinary situations may carry reminders of what happened before.
“Take Your Mess” sounds like a boundary being drawn. How do you recognize the difference between supporting someone through their struggles and becoming responsible for problems that aren’t yours to solve?
“I think offering support but never with overextension. Showing up is huge, but it’s all about balance.”
The distinction Mimi makes is an important one: caring about someone does not mean taking responsibility for everything they are experiencing. Supporting another person can involve listening, offering reassurance, and being present when they need help, but those gestures do not require abandoning your own needs. When the desire to help becomes an obligation to fix every problem, the relationship can become unbalanced, leaving one person emotionally depleted while the underlying issues remain unresolved. Mimi’s emphasis on balance suggests that meaningful support must leave room for both people to exist as individuals. Boundaries do not have to mean indifference, and protecting your own well-being does not mean you care any less.
Finding Freedom in the Things We Choose
Throughout Play Niis, Mimi and Niis explore what happens when the life we are expected to live begins to conflict with the life we actually want. The album’s themes move between societal monotony, personal identity, emotional upheaval, and the complicated work of establishing boundaries. Yet the record’s underlying message is not simply that everyone should abandon their responsibilities or pursue change without considering the consequences. Instead, it encourages a more honest examination of the routines, relationships, and expectations that shape our lives.
Mimi’s reflections reveal an artist who has become more comfortable with personal evolution, both within the music and beyond it. The willingness to experiment with melody and vulnerability reflects the same openness that informs the album’s lyrical themes. Just as individuals can become trapped by the versions of themselves that others expect them to be, artists can become confined by the identities audiences associate with their work. Niis‘ decision to explore a gentler, more emotionally expressive side of their sound demonstrates that growth does not require abandoning what came before. It requires giving yourself permission to discover what else is possible.
The conversation also highlights the importance of recognizing that freedom is not equally accessible to everyone. Mimi understands that uncertainty can be frightening when financial responsibilities and the need for stability leave little room for risk. That acknowledgment gives the album’s message a grounded quality. Personal change is not always immediate, and choosing a different path does not necessarily mean being able to leave everything behind. Sometimes, it begins with recognizing what no longer feels right, finding small ways to reclaim your independence, or allowing yourself to imagine something beyond your current circumstances.
Perhaps most importantly, Mimi reminds us that joy deserves to be taken seriously. In a world that constantly competes for our attention and energy, happiness can feel like something we must postpone until everything else has been addressed. But waiting for life to become perfectly manageable before allowing ourselves to experience joy can mean waiting indefinitely. Finding moments of freedom, embracing the people we love, making art, and protecting our peace can all become ways of reclaiming our lives.
With Play Niis, Niis show that intensity can take many forms. It can be found in anger, but also in vulnerability. It can emerge through confrontation, but also through connection. And sometimes, the most rebellious thing a person can do is stop living according to everyone else’s expectations and begin creating space for a life that feels like their own. As Mimi’s words remind us, being alive and truly living are not the same thing. The challenge is finding the courage, within the circumstances we have, to make room for the difference.
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