min.a Talks Musical Upbringing, Her Recording Process, and New Single "Patient" [Q&A]
Photo: June Hucko
Korean-American, New York based artist min.a returns with another futuristic and forward thinking pop track titled "Patient." min.a has been pushing the artistic envelope for the past few years with tracks such as "Tape It Back Together" and her EP's Hi-Fi and glitch. "Patient," co-produced with Jack Laboz, is ethereal and psychedelic and features some of min.a's most experimental vocalizations to date.
We got the chance connect with min.a via email and learn more about "Patient" and what's to come.
Ones To Watch: What are some of your earliest musical memories?
Playing the violin with my grandpa. My grandpa was a violinist and my hero growing up, so I was naturally inspired to get involved with music. I'm not exactly sure how I got into singing, but it's been something I've pursued ever since I can remember!
How have you been spending your time during quarantine?
Lots of arts and crafts, making music, and watching an unhealthy amount of Buzzfeed Unsolved/Supernatural videos. Are ghosts real?!?!? We will never know: that question remains...UNSOLVED.
How did "Patient" come together? What was the creative process for that track like?
I wrote and started producing "Patient" at the beginning of quarantine. I was overwhelmed with anxiety and quite honestly depression from having everything I had planned for the future being at a standstill. The song itself is about trying to be "patient" when you feel like nothing is falling into place; I was feeling insecure, comparing myself to artists I thought were prettier, more talented, had more potential...but when I started making "Patient" I had started to focus solely on myself and was trying to forget about anyone else.
I saw that you were on a South Korean singing competition! Has that experience influenced or shaped your current music?
Definitely! It's an experience that I'm very grateful to have had. It was difficult managing that universe as a 15 year old, but it taught me the importance of manifesting my own artist identity. I was so young and impressionable that I didn't understand what kind of artist I wanted to be, let alone who I wanted to be. Deciding to pursue a music career via a college experience in arts school was a major catalyst in the discovery of my identity as not only a person but also an artist. It's also what helped me develop my role as a producer/songwriter.
If you could tour alongside anyone, who would it be?
BTS, Rina Sawayama, or Billie Eilish. Those three, while very different in genre and artist personality, all have an incredibly distinct and important stage presence. I'm a huge fan of all of their music and I think it'd be an amazing and probably life altering experience to learn from them firsthand.
What's next for min.a?
Lots of collaborations with producers, visual artists, and artists! There's so much I have planned and I'm very very excited to show it to the world.
Who are your Ones To Watch?
Role Model, Tiffany Day, and Audrey Nuna.
Listen to "Patient" by min.a below:
