Princess Chelsea

Based in Auckland, New Zealand, musician and producer Chelsea Nikkel operates her whimsical indie pop and electronic solo endeavor under the Princess Chelsea name. After issuing her first release, Lil' Golden Book, in 2011, she has sustained a practice of blending ambitious theatrical ideas with introspective synth textures and chamber pop structures.

A pianist with formal classical training, Nikkel contributed to the self-described “circus punk” group Teen Wolf during the mid-2000s before joining the touring lineup of indie pop band the Brunettes. During periods away from the stage she composed music for a local recording studio, simultaneously sharpening her abilities in songwriting and production. Her initial full-length under the Princess Chelsea banner, Lil' Golden Book, appeared on New Zealand imprint Lil' Chief at the close of 2011. The record assembled childhood-themed material framed by guileless melodies and ornate baroque instrumentation to evoke a sonic fairy tale. Numerous tracks received video treatments, among them “The Cigarette Duet,” whose clip accumulated more than 20 million views. Former Brunette Jonathan Bree supplied vocals for that duet and would appear prominently on Nikkel’s subsequent Princess Chelsea project.

A technology-driven sci-fi opera depicting a future society incapacitated by depression, The Great Cybernetic Depression emerged on Lil' Chief and Flying Nun in June 2015. Between her own releases Nikkel frequently tracked cover versions to experiment with fresh production and arrangement methods later incorporated into original work. The 2016 album Aftertouch gathered such reinterpretations of material by artists ranging from Marianne Faithfull to Interpol. She returned to original songs with 2018’s The Loneliest Girl, further developing her theatrical fusion of synth and chamber pop.