Nikka Costa is back after six years with her third studio album, Dirty Dancing. The singer is deep in her funk bag, and she announces it on the album opener, “Dirty Disco,” which could easily have been a take from Prince’s prime. Costa speaks and sings her lyrics with soulful guitar riffs and Greg Phillinganes’ synthesizer straight out of the Minneapolis’ genius’s Dirty Mind and 1999 eras. She was always a child of the genre, and Dirty Dancing finds her stretching out her influences into a nifty record that keeps its promise of being danceable. “Keep It High” is nothing but good party vibes, and it gets even funkier thanks to the talkbox. “Dance N Forget” serves its purpose with Costa’s fiery vocals and plenty of pulsating groove. The tempo slackens off on “Slow Motion,” an undulating number made for close body-to-body contact.  “All That I R” is another sensual bop with a beat that takes everything it has to show how one can go into a daze while dancing. Costa said in a press release that DD was about escaping the worries of life in a dancefloor retreat, and that is exactly what she has offered with a band of outstanding musicians. The album is available on streaming platforms, and she is currently touring the West Coast. 

                                                                       Tour Dates 

Fri 9.20 – Ventura, CA @ Ventura Music Hall

Sat 9.21 – Bishop, CA @ Millpond Music Festival

Sun 9.22 – Berkeley, CA @ Cornerstone Berkeley

Wed 9.25 – Tacoma, WA @ Elk’s Temple

Thu 9.26 – Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall

Sun 9.29 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues San Diego

Mon 9.30 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom

Nikka Costa grabs hold of a Prince groove for “It’s Just Love”, the third single from her Dirty Disco album. Costa’s longtime love of funk is expressed in her vocal pace, rhythm guitar, and riffs that scream of the late icon’s style. The message is simple and she sums it up in a statement from a press release: 

“It’s Just Love” is “a song about being able to love who you want and everyone else should just mind their own damn business. Period.”

Costa previously shared “Dirty Disco” and “Keep It High”   from the album that counts Brandon Coleman and Greg Phillinganes amongst the personnel. Justin Stanley, who has worked with Prince and Beck, is the producer. Costa’s last album was Nikka & Strings, Underneath and in Between which came out in 2017. Dirty Disco will be released on June 7th. 

Nikka Costa shares the visualizer for her positivity anthem “Keep It High.” The second single from her upcoming Dirty Disco album goes deeper into her dance world with a funk push from the talkbox. Costa’s proper reemergence comes with a group of songs performed by some of the industry’s best musicians including the legendary Greg Phillinganes, Brandon Coleman, Justin Stanley, and more. The visualizer has the kind of kaleidoscopic patterns and movements most associated with style from the ’70s. The singer explained what “Keep It High” means in a statement. 

” ‘Keep It High’….is my personal remedy for the negative energy circling the world right now. It’s kind of like my mantra, what I try to remember and live by on a daily basis. Elevating conversation, deepening connection with people and being aware of the energy I walk around with and put into the world. It’s about doing what I can to stay positive amongst the chaos & grabbing the light wherever I can, then sending it right back out. “Energy dictates the feeling, what you put out there multiplies.”

Dirty Disco will drop on June 7th.  Costa will announce live dates supporting her ninth studio album soon. 

Nikka Costa breaks her six-year hiatus with “Dirty Disco.” In the video she is a shimmering figure framed by disco balls and club lighting. The Prince-styled single celebrates individual freedom and is also the the album’s title. Costa explains,

“Dirty Disco is a song about a place anyone can go to be themselves and let their freak flag fly! It’s about a place where no one is looking, no one cares what you’re doing or what you’re into. It could be a disco, but it could also be another planet or headspace or vibe. It’s dark and sparkly, blue and purple. Gritty, raw and sexy. Whatever you want it to be.‘Everyone is welcome, everyone’s an Avatar.’” 

Justin Stanley produced the album that has Brandon Coleman, Greg Phillinganes, and Kaveh Rastegar amongst the extraordinary band.  Dirty Disco will be released on June 7th, which would have been Prince’s 66th birthday. 

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