...WHO IS SHE?
VÏKAE is a Ukrainian-born, Aotearoa New Zealand-based dark pop artist, songwriter and vocalist whose work sits between cinematic pop, electronic music and theatre.
Part musician, part provocateur and part Dark Pop Oracle, VÏKAE has built a career around songs that are as technically considered as they are emotionally charged. Formally trained with a Bachelor of Music in Contemporary Performance and postgraduate study in music pedagogy, she brings a deep understanding of melody, vocal arrangement, composition and performance into a sound that is dark, theatrical and unmistakably her own.
Her live career has moved effortlessly between intimate songwriter circles and large-scale festival stages. VÏKAE has performed at Bay Dreams, Mardi Gras, AUM, Soundsplash, Deep Hard N Funky, Dunedin O-Week and Big Gay Out, alongside independent headline shows and a headline performance at Out Loud in 2026. Whether stripped back to a room and a song or surrounded by a full live production, her strength lies in the same place: presence, musicianship and the ability to make an audience pay attention.
Her recorded work carries the same weight. Her 2020 EP FINELINES reached #5 on the Official New Zealand Music Charts, while SWIPE RIGHT was recognised by Rolling Stone Australia/New Zealand as one of its Best Releases of the Week.
Beyond her own artist project, VÏKAE works in music education and creative development, teaching music technology, songwriting and production to people with disabilities. That work has become another extension of her musicianship, combining technical knowledge with collaboration, accessibility and a belief that music should belong to more people, not fewer.
Her current era, WELCOME TO THE END OF THE WORLD, is the clearest expression of the VÏKAE universe yet. Through cinematic dark pop, electronic production and theatrical storytelling, the project explores power, technology, queer survival, war and Ukrainian identity, turning the unease of the present into something melodic, confrontational and built for the stage.
VÏKAE’s world may be theatrical, but the foundation is real: musicianship, discipline, instinct and a refusal to make art that says nothing.
Dark pop with teeth. Pop for the disillusioned.
No label. No plan B.