Having spun the wheel of weird-pop to create Smoochies, her most personal body of work yet, Ashnikko is relishing the prospect of taking her raucous second album on the road throughout 2026.
‘I kind of word-vomit all my wild ideas, but the people around me are really dedicated,’ she tells M while on the way to another eight-hour tour rehearsal. ‘It’s been an absolute dream. It’s been a huge challenge, switching my brain from album mode into tour mode. It engages a completely different part of my creative brain — I feel like a little fairy playing in my little imagination tree house. Being a [performing] artist nowadays, you have to be this true multi-hyphenate while creating a whole new world for people to see.’
Ashnikko has amassed a dedicated international fanbase since her music career began in earnest just under a decade ago, with numerous sold-out shows and big festival slots at the likes of Coachella, Primavera and Reading & Leeds under her belt. With the Smoochies tour, the alt-pop artist has created a ‘school-like play for people to get swept up in and feel a little disturbed [by]’.
‘We’ve been working super-hard on the set-up,’ she adds. ‘It’s very whimsical and absurd, with more storytelling than I’ve done in the past.’
With the Smoochies tour set to touch down in Glasgow tomorrow (11 February), M caught up with Ashnikko to hear, in her own words, what it’s like to tour in 2026.
Ashnikko: ‘The Smoochies tour is visiting North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand in 2026, as well as six shows in the UK and Ireland. I love playing live in London. I’ve spent a decade in the UK and London is my favourite city in the entire world, so it always feels like a hometown show for me. I’m playing two gigs at O2 Academy Brixton, including one on my birthday and another that sold out really quickly — [the latter] is really affirming, as it makes me feel like a Londoner. I also really enjoying playing in Scotland — those crowds can be feral.
‘[With the Smoochies live show] I want people to feel sexy and like they can be a little creature. Honestly, the show is so cool: there are so many gags, cute moments and drama. The most important thing for me is that there is a sense of community and safety — I want people to feel comfortable making friends and talking to new people.
‘I used to be concerned with how I looked and how I was being perceived, but now I don’t give much of a fuck. I’m having more fun on stage: I’m going full hyena, or broken zombie, just sprawling on the floor. I get into a real flow state when I’m performing, which is one of my favourite parts [of playing live]. Sharing music in a live space is really magical and awe-inspiring — it’s such an incredible experience. I always cry when I’m at other people’s gigs!
‘Sharing music in a live space is really magical and awe-inspiring — it’s such an incredible experience.’
‘I’m feeling so confident in myself to be this ever-evolving artist who’s able to take my fans, who I call my Demidevils, on a journey with me and build real-life experiences. My Demidevils are with me for the long haul. I’m really proud of myself, and of my team, for being able to translate the internet frenzy [that greeted Ashnikko’s 2019 breakthrough with TikTok smash STUPID] into something that’s real and tangible. That’s really hard to do as it’s so ephemeral; internet frenzy is not even real. It’s about finding out who you really are, and remaining a steady, constant person and artist. The past six years have been a massive test for me, particularly with learning to be grounded.
‘I’m feeling happy and content, and that I can pull inspiration from this very peaceful moment in my life. In the past I was relying solely on chaos and stormy seas for me to write anything, which is neither an incredible place to be mentally nor very sustainable. But now I’m feeling very grateful, and that’s affecting my work in a very positive way.
‘I’m writing from a more authentic place too. I’m really allowing myself the freedom to play with my work while putting the blinkers on a little bit — not watching the outside world or my peers, and trying not to be influenced by the internet, which is impossible. I’m constantly trying to feed my creative mind and the whole world around it to create a very weird, dimensional experience for myself.
‘I’m not going to work myself to burnout any more — that’s not something I want to do.’
‘My advice for songwriters? Don’t play the algorithm more than you invest in creating your own art. You see people putting way more energy into reaching new audiences than they actually invest in the art itself, and I think it’s a damn shame that the modern world is forcing artists into that. The landscape for music creators has changed drastically in the past few years: I feel like I wake up every day and something new has changed. It’s like having to bend yourself into a brand new shape when you’ve just learned the previous shape.
‘There’s no set formula for building your career. The one thing I’ve done in the past few years is create a workflow that works for me and my brain, which makes me feel comfortable and safe. I’m not going to work myself to burnout any more — that’s not something I want to do. I want to be happy and have friends — that’s good advice that I had to learn the hard way.
‘I’ve been so grateful [for PRS support], particularly how I’m able to take money [from royalties] and invest it straight back into my business — like building these really strange shows with tentacles, crows and tiny portal doors. I get to actualise my dreams, and for that I’m eternally grateful.’
The UK and Ireland legs of Ashnikko's 'Smoochies' tour kick off in Glasgow tomorrow (11 February).
Playing live? Find out how you can earn royalties from your gigs by reporting your setlists to PRS.
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