niko was born and raised in seattle, washington. half japanese, spanish, norwiegen, german and philipino, her parent’s record collection was as rich as their heritage and from a very young age she was obsessed with music, spending hours at the piano every day, singing in a gospel choir and staging musical theatre perfomances in her backyard. by the age of 16 she was singing at prestigious jazz festivals across america with her prize-winning high school band.