Erika Prihadi
Class of 2024
Is there a specific moment you knew that music was your passion?
As corny as it sounds, I don’t think I could live without it. Music is not only about singing and song-writing / production but also many aspects of performing arts such as acting and dancing and those are also my side hobbies. Music is just so endless, it always inspires me and I can’t imagine myself doing anything else.
How would you describe your sound?
I honestly don’t know yet. I still find myself venturing between different genres but I know that I love layers and harmonies. A genre that I always find comfort in is R&B. I’ve explored EDM Punk / Pop recently and I like that sound a lot. I would say my sound is like a chocolate layer cake with strawberries inside.
Your latest music video "Hold On" features some of our CA students (Hunter / Divya). How do these collaborations come about?
Hunter was amazing to work with, she is so talented and we’re good friends so that helped the process. She was very professional and I loved every part of her choreography. Divya was also so great - I texted her last minute asking if she could be one of the dance-doubles for the acting scenes. Although she came in not knowing much about the story, she reenacted everything so perfectly.
Still from Erika's Hold On Music Video
Can you tell us about the journey of your song Cherry Trees? Where did the idea come from, and what was the process like creating the video?
I made Cherry Trees in our Technology in Action class. The assignment was to make a track on Ableton and add visuals to it. I decided to make a song with a music video! The music video on Youtube is not what I made for class but a collaboration later that year with other NYU Tisch students— Film & TV, Collaborative Arts and MCC. I really liked what the song became and so I decided to make a much more thoroughly planned out music video for it. Watch the full music video here!
What are you working on right now?
I’m currently working on making an album, and an accompanying short film. It’s a big project and I’ll probably be releasing one or two songs from the album this year.
What are you listening to right now?
I listen to a lot of Dominic Fike, Aminé and FKA Twigs.
If you could learn something new, what would it be?
The Technology in Action class kick-started my interest in producing music. If I could learn something new, it would be to create music for film - a class I’m taking right now so I’m very excited!