Father Koi (Kara Lu)

Interview by Nia Blankson

Photography and Editing by Nia Blankson

Nia: So let's start early on, so you started off playing piano if I remember correctly! Was music something you were always interested in, or was it something that was put onto you and you ended up liking it? Tell me about your musical history!
Kara: So I’ll be real for a sec, a lot of Asian people make their kids do music, and I feel like at certain points the kid decides if they want to keep doing it, or not. I was one of those people who kept doing it. I think that I was very involved in classical music, just because people said I was good at it, so I just kept doing it. I think that my love for songwriting started when I was 16, and I was like “I like writing, I like music, I can express myself through both of these mediums,” and then I just kept going with that. When I was in college, I decided I wanted to major in music. I still love music theory, but by the time I exited college, I stopped doing as much classical piano, and I focused more on music production. I wrote a paper on music theory in electropop, and started really honing in on those passions. I feel like with a lot of musicians, you ask them what they listened to growing up, they'll say their parents showed them Bon Jovi, and all of these 80s bands. But for me, my parents listened to church music! That’s what I grew up on! A lot of church music is actually very cool. I heard a lot of stuff from my parents day, so 70s and 80s gospel rock. They use sick music theory techniques like pedal points, and a lot of that made its way into my music and helped fuel my passion for songwriting and production.

N: Was there a specific artist that led you to start songwriting and producing? Inspired you to get into that? Also with picking up guitar and bass)When did you transition from just playing music to songwriting, and learning guitar and bass etc? What led you to that?
K: Lorde. I think I was listening to Melodrama and thought that the way she expresses herself through the music and her lyrics was sick, and wanted to try doing that. I feel like I wear a lot of my personality on an outward level, in the things I wear, in the things I put on my walls and I feel like that’s an extension of that. I like expressing how I feel, which relates to the album! I grew up playing piano, and when you grow up playing piano it’s so much easier to pick up other instruments, because you have your 88 keys in front of you, and you can very visually see how the music works. So the guitar was easy to pick up, I just picked it up and I could play Mary Had a Little Lamb, and then I just kept playing it!

N: What was it like doing university and also being an emerging musician at the same time? It was good that you got to do music in college so that you could work in tandem, but doing math as well, and just general college stuff, and also being a musician.
K: My first single, Halloween Dancer, came out in 2019 when I was in college and I had never put anything out on spotify before. I was in this band, and they liked the song and said, “let's record it!” To answer that part of the question, I’d say collaborative work. Then my next single Boxer came out, which I produced myself. You have to find pockets of time between school work. Then I made my album Late Afternoon National Anthem during the pandemic, so I had time! It’s harder to do music now that I’m out of college. I know what was coming when I exited college, and I knew I’d have to work a 9-6 and make music around that but we’re trying!

N: Let's talk about your new album, “everything is a dream, but it is your dream.”what are your top three songs from the album, and tell me why / about them! How did you start your new album?
K: A lot of the songs on that album were pre released as singles. It all started with the release of Dream Girl, which was the very first song I put out that’s on this album. It was a very pivotal time for me, because prior to that, I had just been making indie pop. Dream Girl came to fruition because I was writing a song for my electronic music class, and my friend introduced me to hyperpop, and felt like this could be really cool! I found my producer on Tik Tok by searching up #hundredgecsproduction, and asked if he took commissions, but he wanted to work together! He took what I produced and made it into such an amazing song. Then I started making more hyperpop tracks. I feel like I always had this idea in the back of my head that I could make a whole album out of this, but that didn't happen until this summer, when I finally graduated and I had more time. It grew into the album in the last few months. I like to think of my albums as journal entries, and this is the second journal entry. It documents my life from mid-college to a year out post grad, which I feel is a very pivotal time in most people's lives. I just wrote songs about how I felt, and I hope that other people can relate to them too!

N: Can you tell me about the process of making the album? Where did the initial ideas come from, and how did you start this process? Or what is your process of sitting down and writing a song? How do you translate your ideas and emotions into music?
K: All the songs come together in very different ways. For some of them, I’m feeling a certain way and I’ll write some lyrics on my notes app and I want a melody to go with this, so I’ll pull out my guitar and will make it come together. But this album in particular was a very collaborative album, so a lot of the songs I made with my producer Aaron, like Silk and Soft Spot. He’ll make a track and I write the lyrics on the spot. With Silk, one of my most personal songs, the lyrics just flowed out of me. Sometimes it takes me so long to write the lyrics, but that was one that I just came up with just unspoken thoughts that came out. I produced other ones by myself, like vitamin c and emo girls!

N: In your Spotify bio, you say that you like “nostalgia and cool sounds,” which is evident in songs like emo girls! and soft spot, which has a hyperpop-garage feel reminiscent of PinkPanthress’s Just for me. Are there any artists that you draw influence from?
K: Nostalgia will always be such a big part of both my personality and my music, I’m obsessed with it, it’s so comforting. Both my lyrics and my music will always have a nostalgic element to them, whether it comes out in the lyrics, or the music theory, like the minor iv, I love using the minor iv! With influences, it really depends on who I’m listening to at the time. I feel like you can't really call this album pure hyperpop because of songs like New Years, and Just to see you, which was inspired by In Your Room by Airiel.

N: Tell us about your musical style, and your favorite sounds you like to play with, both with instrumental synths and vocal effects! What drew you to this style and what do you like about it!
K: That’s a great question, I’ve never gotten that question before! I’ve always really liked reverb! I was also thinking of OTT (Over The Top compression) but that’s the opposite of reverb as it compresses, but I put them on top of each other. One of my favorite things to do are glittery and shiny arpeggios, they're so fun to play with! They come in at the beginning of Promise Ring, and I put some in vitamin c. I like anything with sparkles! It’s been a while since I’ve looked at the production! I also like risers, and a good ascending bassline... I wish I was better prepared to answer this question! I could talk for so long about my production process!

N: Your style has really changed from your first album, late afternoon national anthem, definitely more of an acoustic feel. What changed, and tell me about your development as an artist since then! You touched upon it before, but what led you to making that indie pop type of music before, and how you’ve developed as an artist from then to now.
K: From 2016 to 2020 I was in a deep Beatles rabbit hole. It goes back to nostalgia! I just love the way they wrote music. The Beatles are a huge influence on me and I think they always will be. I love their harmonies and the way their chords move! I think a lot of Late Afternoon National Anthem has to do with that. While I like The Beatles, I didn't want to remain pure 1960s. I liked a lot of Lorde’s music, and a lot of Indie Pop at that time. Like I said before, Dream Girl was the catalyst! Prior to that, I released my songs “Drown” and “Mind Crossing,” those in the indie realm, but Dream Girl took a turn, and I’m glad it did! It brings another side of nostalgia! I like the 60s, but I also grew up in the 2000s where I feel like a lot of hyperpop elements come from, so it touched that side of the nostalgic experience.

N: You’ve also really blown up over tiktok over the past few years, can you tell me how that’s helped your music, if at all? Has it led to exposure, and getting to collaborate with other artists? How has it helped with your career as a musician? LIke you said, you found your producer by looking at the hundred gecs hashtag
K: I started Tik Tok because I really like fashion, but recently, I’ve been wanting to leverage it for music. It’s a great tool because your video can blow up and you can get a lot of exposure to your music. I kind of feel weird about it because it's like, all my followers are seeing the same video of me being like “Hi, if you like this artist, you might like my music too!” I wish there was a less random way of doing it because Tik Tok decides if they like your video or not. But it’s a lot of fun because I can think of a lot of creative ways to market my music.

N: What has your experience been getting to tour and play at a lot of live shows recently? With a lot of musicians, transitioning from creating music in your room to playing live is a big step, but how has that been and how do you think you’ve developed as a live performer?
K: Dude, I love playing live. It’s so fun. I just love doing it so much. I remember sitting in the back of my drummer's car thinking about how I’m traveling to a college that has paid me to play my music for them! I’m in this car with three other people who like my music and who want to be in this place with me. I just felt very fulfilled, grateful and happy! It honestly felt like a dream come true. And people are so sweet! After a show people will tell me how much they liked my music, and I’m like, I don't even know you guys! It just makes my heart full. It's very sweet. That being said, I sent out around 75 emails to colleges, but the payoff is great!

N: Who would you like to collaborate with next, or in the future? Any dream collaborations?
K: The first people that come to mind are producers. I want to work with A.G. Cook. I loved his work on How I’m Feeling Now. He can do so much with so little. I also remember hearing Lorde's Melodrama and thinking, Jack Antonoff is so cool, I really want to work with him! Another dream collaboration would be Grimes, I love her stuff! She also produces her own music which is very admirable! She's one of my inspirations for sure!

N: What is your dream venue that you’d want to perform at!
K: I was just talking to my drummer about Bowery Ballroom! I think that would be fun! I also want to play at Elsewhere Zone 3, but we might get Elsewhere Zone 1 this summer!

N: What are your goals within the next year, next 5 years etc? Short and long term goals
K: I want to tour more. I think we want to open for some bigger bands because I want to support other artists, and I want to play with other artists that have similar music to me so we can put on a good show. I also want to put out another single for sure in the next couple of months, and maybe that will develop into an EP.

N: How do you balance a full time 9 to 6 job and also being a working and performing musician?
K: I’m pretty lucky, my parents live in New York so I live at home, I still pay rent, but I live at home. A lot of things that are easier, like you don't have to be an adult quite so much. My mom makes dinner so I don't have to think about that, which has been really nice. But you do what you can, and I honestly think it's just ingrained in me, I just have to keep going. At this point, it's autopilot, but in a good way. I just have to keep making music! At least as of right now, that's how I feel about it, and I enjoy doing it! I keep myself motivated..

N: You kind of talked about this before when you were working with your producer and the lyrics were just coming to you, but are there any life experiences that have stood out or influenced your lyrics in any specific songs? Do you draw your lyrics from your life experiences? Are there any experiences or stories that you’ve written about that stand out?
K: First thought that comes to mind is Silk, which I talked about before. I feel like, I don't know why, this has been a recent development but January and February months are like... Silk was written about a period of time ... I was in my senior year of college and all shit was just getting thrown at me! It was ba! I had this thing with this guy that just didn't work out, and I had this thing with my roommates and I had this other thing that was going on where people were saying stuff about me and it was just like, so much shit! And I was like, I need to write about this in a way that’s just cathartic to put your thoughts into, or just explain how you're feeling. When Silk was done, I remember being like, I feel a lot better about the situation because I was able to articulate it in this way with the words and the music creating this composition about how I was feeling at the time. Silk is a lot about realizing like for example this is a line from it, “realize you can't pick and choose when to cure your weekend blues,” you just gotta roll with it. A lot of it is gonna suck, but this is life.

N: What advice would you give to other up and coming musicians for writing, producing, and putting yourself out there?
K: Something I learned a lot is collaboration. At first I thought I could do everything by myself because I wanted control over everything, but other people have such good ideas! It's totally worth it! Even if you're just jamming with another musician! Even if they're not good! You can learn so much about other people which is such an important thing to do especially in music because it's so collaborative. I’d also say don’t be afraid to be yourself. Just have confidence in who you are because I think that people are drawn to people who are authentic. Create things that bring you joy and it'll be expressed in your music, and at least some people will like it! It's something you have to learn.

˚˚˚˚˚ Father Koi’s newest album everything is a dream, but it is your dream is available to listen to now on all platforms!˚˚˚˚˚

N: Who do you play with live, and how did you come to play with those musicians!
K: So I have a rotating band, and I didn’t intend on it being like that, but people have obligations, especially with the transition out of college. I will talk about my drummer, I’ll shout him out right now! He was the one who started this band, his name is Ben (well he didn't start the band but we met in a jazz band) and after dream girl came out spotify liked it so a lot of people on campus were like you made it to spotify playlist that's that song! And I was like yeah thats me! But he told me, I like this song so much I think we could play it live, and I wasn’t sure, how would I do this? He told me about backing tracks, so we do this thing with our live setup where we play with a backing track: it's like our fifth instrument, but over that we layer drums, guitar, bass, synthesizer and then me. It’s really cool because the audience gets double the sound. And the guitarist and bassist and drummer can all go off and do their own musical interpretations. To go back to the question! Bens been with me for the longest, and then currently, my bassist who i normally play with, she’s on tour with the 1975! It’s so crazy! Wallace is this artist and they are on tour with the 1975 and they're opening for the 1975, and she plays bass for wallace! So she's hung out with Matty Healy and everybody! But her partner plays guitar for me. And I found my bassist Violet by putting out a frenzied instagram post about when Alina (bassist) told me the news and I was like, I need a bassist!