What is the first thing that comes to mind about Yin and Yang? Duality. Niki Tonik is the real-life version of Hannah Montana, except for the part of concealing her second identity. The American-Israeli finds balance in life and sharing positivity through her dual identities as a recording artist and a Taoist Tonic Herbalism master. Both identities fulfill and satisfy different areas of Niki’s life and her needs for different reasons. Follow Jejune and dive in together in our exclusive interview with Niki on her perspective from the “Yin” (Israeli–Palestinian conflict) to the “Yang” (her exciting double life).

Where are you based?
L.A/Mount Shasta.

You are proclaimed as a Taoist Tonic Herbalism master. What is Taoist Tonic Herbalism? Can you tell us about its origin?
It’s one of the oldest forms of Chinese Medicine and uses the principles of Yin and Yang in a preventive measure to help restore balance, vitality, and youth to the body, mind and spirit.

With your specialty in Tonic Herbalism, you started a business where you curate Toniks and other wellness beverages. Serving them from notable vegan restaurants in L.A. such as Cafe Gratitude and Wild Living Foods to high-profile customers like Jason Mraz, Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, Colin Farrell, Travis Barker, etc. What got you into launching this business? How are these vegan beverages made?
I got into “Toniks” by getting into raw/vegan food. I met my herbal master teacher at a raw food festival in Santa Barbara around 2009 and from there began apprenticing with him. My curiosity for knowledge about the herbs led me to start making them in tea form myself, now known as Toniks, and eventually, after I learned how to make them taste really good I began serving them to others as well. The traditional hot Toniks are made with a base of hot brewed tea which you can then add to a blender (Vitamix preferably) and then add a healthy fat of choices such as ghee or coconut oil if you prefer plant-based. Then you can add whatever herbs, superfoods and/or natural sweetener you desire depending on what flavor you’re going for, and you have yourself a custom-made Tonik.

Toniks are superfood tea lattes. Can you share with our readers what are the benefits of Toniks? Why is it important for people to try it?
Toniks are a great way to get all kinds of beneficial herbs and superfoods into your body. A lot of people wake up and drink coffee as their go-to beverage for waking up. But there are a lot of other herbs/foods that can give you energy and actually feed your adrenals instead of depleting them. Cacao (raw chocolate powder) is a great flavor to pair with herbs to mask the bitterness of the herbs and also has incredible health benefits like being super-rich in magnesium and also theobromine which is a natural stimulant that has a similar effect to caffeine but isn’t as acidic. There are also Toniks you can make to have a relaxing and replenishing effect on the body as well, by adding flower extracts or tea-like lavender, rose and chamomile. Even Matcha latte can be considered a Tonik, although the word Tonik in the way that I use it comes from Taoist Tonic Herbalism. It’s basically just a fun and tasty way to get herbs and other beneficial ingredients into the body.

Where can we get your specially curated drinks?
Since Covid, I have actually shifted my focus more to music but am hoping to get back into the field of Toniks in the near future when the right opportunity arises to serve them again.

Covid-19 has affected a lot of businesses negatively. Has it affected Toniks? If so, how? What changes did you have to make to keep it running?
Yes, at the moment that is still on hold.

Apart from being a successful businesswoman, you are also a songwriter and recording artist. How did you first get into music? Who do you draw inspiration from for your songs?
I began songwriting when I was about 12 years old. I think that my genuine love for music naturally carried me over into making my own music and I was definitely inspired by artists like Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, Alanis Morissette, and all the other major female pop artists of that era. Also, Stevie Wonder and Jason Mraz are some of my favorite singers/songwriters as well.

You recently released a new single, “Equinox,” a duet with TMGMusic in the spring season. Can you tell Jejune what this song is about and what drew you to create this song?
The song was written by TMGMusic and we ended up recording it as a duet. It really is just a beautiful ode to springtime, growth, love, renewal, and the cycles of nature that influence just about everything in our lives.

We like how comforting Equinox is. How do you hope people interpret this song?
That’s great to know, thank you for sharing that. We hope that people will have a spiritual experience when listening to this song, as in that it lifts their spirit and resonates with them in some way. Singing about nature is like singing about God so we appreciate knowing that this song is comforting and others have described it to us as being relaxing as well!

Above and beyond, you produced an album - Write on Time - last October. What is the meaning behind this album? How was the creative process like to bring this to life?
TMGMusic actually produced half of the songs on my album as well, but I definitely co-produced and wrote all of the songs. In terms of the creative process for the album, it was a long time in the making, having some songs that I recorded in like 2012 so it’s definitely been a building process that took me some time to figure out exactly what I wanted to say and in what way. Some of the songs I re-recorded a few times because I was unsure of what mood/vibe I wanted to go for. Overall, I believe the album has a flow to it that has a good variety of songs that are both “light” and “dark” kind of reflecting that same concept of Yin and Yang. I also describe the album as being a musical rainbow of sorts because there are many different genres on there ranging from Pop, R&B, Rock, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Alternative.

Jejune loves how colorful and artistic the album cover is. We learned that you draw inspiration from reflecting upon the different colors, feelings, and themes of life. Can you expand on this?
Thank you so much. Yes, kind of how I just described my album as being a musical rainbow of sorts, I wanted the album art to reflect that.

There are a few collaborations in Write on Time like Kamasi Washington, Miles Mosley, and Tony Austin. How did the collaborations happen? What was it like to collaborate with other artists, especially during COVID-19?
I actually worked with Kamasi, Miles, and Tony back in 2011-2012 so that collab took place quite a while ago but I ended up putting the song that features them on the album. I met them at the former Piano Bar in Hollywood when they had their residency there so that’s how that collaboration came about. In terms of collaborating with artists in 2020, the only person who I worked on songs with last year was TMGMusic and we live together so that definitely made it easier to do!

You’re American-Israeli. How has your identity shaped you, your music, and your business?
That’s a good question. I think that growing up in Israel definitely exposed me to new cultures at an early age as well as different kinds of music. I definitely feel that living abroad as a child really opened my eyes to a lot of things and made me more aware of things happening around me and around the globe. I’m very grateful to have had that experience which has expanded my awareness and feel that it was invaluable to shaping who I am and allowed me to become interested in/accepting of different kinds of people and cultures.

How important is representation in the music industry? Did representation - or lack of - impact your growth as an artist?
I guess that’s not really a question that I know how to answer because I don’t have experience being represented (yet) so I cannot speak on what the impact of that or lack thereof would be on me. I just know that I am where I am and doing what I am supposed to be doing which is making and releasing music that feels important to me and I trust that it will keep finding the right ears.

There is the ever ongoing Israel and Palestine war. What are your thoughts on this? What do you think artists should do to raise awareness of this issue through their platform?
Another great question. My thoughts on that are that I think it is very sad and I do not support the actions of the IDF in the killing of innocent people. I know that that is not their goal but that has unfortunately been the result of their actions too many times. And I’m not saying that Palestinian terrorists do not exist because they clearly do, and so it is a very convoluted situation when peace has not been the priority for some time. I am hopeful that a change in Israel’s government will allow them to finally prioritize peace and be more existing of the Palestinian people and vice versa. In terms of what I’ve done with my platform regarding this issue, I made a post on Instagram stating how I felt about the situation, which is ultimately wanting peace between Israel and Palestine. In terms of what I think other artists should do is to keep speaking their truth about anything and everything that they feel passionately about.

Jejune adores that you are a huge supporter of giving back to the community. You are currently donating 10% of your streaming revenue/sales from the album, Write On Time, to a charity through DistroKid's platform “Artists For Change”. How did you get involved with “Artists For Change”?
Thanks! I had previously released my first single “Delicate” through Distrokid so I was already on their platform and I got an email one day from them talking about the Artists For Change program and immediately thought what a great opportunity it was to give back through people listening to my album!

Moreover, you would always give 10% of your drink sales to Agape International Spiritual in L.A. where you served Toniks at. Can you tell us a little bit about this organization and why you got involved?
Yes! I love Agape so much and still listen to Reverend Michael Beckwith’s sermons on a weekly basis through their live-streaming platform. Agape is such a high-vibrational community and Rev Michael’s teachings and Rickie Byers’ (former choir director) music really have changed my life and helped me in so many different situations over the years. It felt natural to serve my drinks there and give back to them and to the community in the way that they contributed to me and my life.

What other projects are you working on right now? Is there going to be new music or beverages from you anytime soon?
Yes, on new music! I have a song coming out very shortly this summer and as far as Toniks, you’ll just have to wait and see!

How have you been staying positive during the shelter in place?
I was in Mount Shasta when that took place so that didn’t really have an effect on me personally.

Lastly, what is your motto in life?
I don’t really have a personal motto that I live by, but I do believe in great mottos like “The pain pushes until the vision pulls” “Seek and he/she shall find” and “God will work through an open heart.”

To keep up with Niki Tonik, follow her on the platform listed below:
www.NikiTonik.com

Niki Tonik on Finding Balance With Double Life