Every artist feels pressure, but where is this pressure coming from and does social media suggest a template for the 'perfect artist'?
Molokai is an independent artist who thrives to new heights with his music. With over 60,000 monthly listeners and almost 700,000 streams on 'She Don't Wear The Same Clothes' on Spotify, he really is one to watch.
Within this interview we touched on subjects such as the pressure to promote yourself a certain way, what music means to him and the meaning of 'Molokai'. So without further ado, introducing Molokai!
Hi! Please could you introduce yourself, how old you are, where are you from and what area of the music industry are you are in?
Hi. My name’s Austin, I’m 22 from the Chicagoland area, and I’m an artist that goes by Molokai.
I love your artist name, where did the name ‘Molokai’ come from and does it mean anything?
Thank you. Molokai was the name of my goldfish when I was a little kid. It was a cool fish because it lived 8 years, which is crazy for a goldfish, and I kind of grew up with it. So the names kind of like a connection to my childhood which makes sense because I feel like my music’s pretty nostalgic-sounding.
What kind of music would you say you create?
I create nostalgic guitar Indie music. I try to make things catchy/hooky, because that's what I like. The most important thing in music to me is the melodic element, so that's super important to me.
How did you start getting into singing and releasing your own music, was it over time or did it happen in a moment?
I actually started writing really young when I was like 8. I wasn’t writing songs or anything but I would write little vocal melodies over simple guitar parts. I fronted bands with friends in middle school and high school, but didn’t really get into production until my friend Jordan, who’s still my primary collaborator, got me into it. I actually made hip-hop type stuff for a while because thats what he was into so thats the type of production I started learning. Eventually I wanted to switch things up, which is how I ended up with the Molokai project.
I know a lot of artists usually write music based on personal experiences, would you say this is something you do or do you approach songwriting differently?
I don’t really write about personal experience. I mean I’m sure some concepts come out subconsciously, but I just try to write good songs. For me everything starts with a melody and progression I really like and I build around that.
Your most recent EP was 'Always Something’. Are you able to talk through the creative process of creating this EP? Did anything significant happen that influenced this EP or a song?
My favorite track on that one is Maria, which was one of those songs that just randomly hit me when I was working on something else and I just had to stop everything and work on it. Those are oftentimes the best songs, the ones that kind of flow out naturally and spontaneously. You really can’t force it.
Has anything happened in your career that has been an amazing moment for you?
I can’t pin down one specific cool moment to be honest. Just getting meaningful DM’s from fans on Instagram about the positive impact’s my music has made on them has probably been the most fulfilling thing though.
What is the most useless talent you have?
I can juggle a little haha.
Who is your biggest influence or inspiration and why?
My biggest inspirations are probably the same as my favorite artists: The Beatles, Kanye, Bob Dylan, Drake, The Smiths, Frank Ocean, Oasis, Mac Demarco, Nirvana… the list goes on.
Do you feel any social pressure from the industry? Do you feel like you have to be a certain way or promote yourself in a certain way?
Even though I’m fully independent, theres definitely a good amount of pressure to do things a certain way. Right now theres a lot of pressure on artists to make a ton of content and post about whatever’s trending and everyone else is talking about. Even though that stuff can and does help artists promote themselves, the most important thing long-term is always going to be having a good product just like in any other industry. I mean look at Frank Ocean, he doesn’t post at all on social media and Blonde is still one of the most streamed albums 5 years later just because it’s so great.
Putting yourself out of your comfort zone is a scary experience to anybody. Have you ever taken a leap of faith to get to where you are now?
Creating music and putting it out into the world is always a leap of faith. Music is subjective, you never really know how people will react to it, so you’re always taking a leap of faith by sending it out in the world. It can be intimidating, but its been rewarding for me at least.
I feel like there is a lot of expectations on where you should in life at a certain time. What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone younger wanting to do what your doing?
I agree. Giving generalized advice is hard because I think every person is different and needs to hear different things at different times. The biggest thing I’d say is to think long-term. Think 5-10 years in the future when making life choices. Work hard but don’t take yourself too seriously, have fun.
Possibly the most important question! Have you got anything new and exciting on the way? Anything we need to look out for?
Always working on new music, so there’ll be something good coming sooner or later. Releasing my first music video really soon, so stay tuned for that!
A big thank you to Molokai for taking part in this interview! It has opened my eyes to the different ways of taking on the music industry and I'm sure it will change yours to. Below are the links to finding Molokai:
Apple Music - https://music.apple.com/gb/artist/molokai/1475540538
Twitter - https://twitter.com/Mol0kai
Molokai Shop - https://molokai.shop/
Stream 'Always Something' EP - https://songwhip.com/molokai/always-something
If you want to be the first to hear about the next blog post or any behind the scenes, just enter your email at the bottom of the page! Look forward to talking to you more - Amy
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