Words by Thiên Ân Therese Kunz, Photography by Sara Westergaard Karlsen

In Conversation with MOYKA about the Moon, Folklores and Creating a Universe

Do you ever look at the sky and feel so small yet so big at the same time? And wonder about the universe and imagine something magical? Moyka does. On October 16, she released her newest album BULLSEYE: an album on inner conflict, transformation and the courage to face yourself – her most personal one yet, which she calls an “ugly self-portrait”. Moyka is a Norway based electronic pop artist whose music is driven by hypnotic beats, shimmering synths and beautiful, intimate vocals. In our conversation she told me about the stories behind the songs, how she loves to connect them and build a bigger universe with them. We talked about the moon and the universe, folklores, fairytales and the trolls in the Norwegian mountains, and how sometimes you have to sit in the uncomfortable in order to become a braver person.

Thiên Ân Therese Kunz: Are you currently in Norway? 

Moyka: Yes, I am currently somewhere on an island on the west coast of Norway. I’m just writing some songs at a camp that I set up with my friends.

Which song of yours should someone listen to first to get to know you? Which song portrays you the best? 

Just one song is so difficult to choose. On the new record, I’d say DUST U OFF is good.

How would you describe your new album BULLSEYE? 

I would describe it as super focused, a bit aggressive, and also vulnerable. But also dark and a bit uncomfortable.

Why uncomfortable?

When I worked on it, I had all these experiences leading up to those feelings. I felt like I had to really dig deep and get uncomfortable to write these songs. I was very focused on making sure that these emotions, all these songs, were coming from a true place.

So during that process I got a bit uncomfortable, but I think that’s important for artists to go to places that scare them a bit.

BULLSEYE is also about transformation, escapism and the courage to face yourself. Have you noticed a transformation yourself? 

For sure. I was way more afraid than I thought I would be before going into this process.

I don’t know how to describe it, but there were some songs that I could feel within me, something unsaid. Songs that kind of manifested in the body and I could feel it trying to scratch its way out.

I tried to ignore it for the longest time. I didn’t want to write about it, I didn’t want to face it, I tried to avoid it and run away from it. Then suddenly I realized, What the fuck am I doing? What kind of artist am I if I’m not facing it? That’s what made me realize, okay, there are some songs I just need to write, that’s my mission right there. I learned so much on this journey, I feel like a braver person and I feel braver in my music. So that’s the biggest change that this album has given me.

You've also described your album as an ugly self-portrait. What do you mean by that? Why ugly? 

Some of these songs made me really uncomfortable. It was kind of like looking in the mirror after you’ve cried; it’s horrible and confronting in a way. I think that’s what makes it an ugly self-portrait for me. In ICARUS, for example, I talk about my insecurities surrounding my career, which I’ve never dared to do before. It’s like admitting that maybe it’s not going as well as you’re trying to portray it on Instagram. Sometimes I struggle to pay rent and it’s not glamorous like you see it on social media. But talking about that would imply admitting that you’re not in this glamorous place. It’s fascinating to dive into that, and ICARUS was so scary, but it was also such a relief at the same time.

There’s a song on the record that kind of portrays my complicated relationship with my mother, which is also something I haven’t talked about. Even some of my friends don’t know anything about it, but it was so important to me to write that song, because I know how much it helped me. It has kind of opened up my brain and made me realize that even though it’s something that can make you feel so alienated, you’re not alone. It’s good to share that sorrow sometimes.

I’ve read that for VILLAIN OF YOUR STORY, you were exchanging thoughts and opinions on heartbreak with other artists. What was the most memorable thing someone said to you during that time?

I was crying so much, bawling my eyes out and texting this person to break up with them, while having my partner console me. A lot. I felt like the worst person in the world sending these messages and kind of breaking up with the person, but at the same time I had my partner consoling me and saying, You’re doing the right thing; this is the right thing for both of you. But in that moment it just doesn’t feel right, it’s like a conflict, all of these flashing images of everything that we used to do together. I still feel that sometimes when I listen to that song.

In general, what inspires you the most when you work together with other artists?

What I love most about working with other artists is that it’s a chance for me to get out of my head and to listen to other ideas. I’ve been making music for quite a long time and sometimes I just feel like I have so many boring ideas, because I already know everything that’s going on in my head. I know every musical melody that I want to go to, I have my patterns. When I work with someone else I feel so inspired because to me, what they do is so unexpected, I would never come up with that myself. That’s so beautiful. I just love working with other people; it feels like play, you know? We’re literally in a room together making up stuff.

Which female artists inspire you at the moment? 

So many, oh my God. I’ve always liked listening to Robyn, I love her new album. I also love Gilly’s new album. Another Swedish artist I like is Tove Lo, really cool. I listen to so many, like Rosalía, or Oklou, a cool French artist and producer. I currently listen to a lot of Spanish music. There’s also this duo called Smerz from Norway, which I really love as well. Lorde has always been a favorite of mine, I love what she’s doing. There’s also this electronic experimental artist from Colombia called Ela Minus, love her energy.

On the topic of inspiration, when I see your visual world it reminds me of the moon, you also have a song named after it. What do you associate with it? What fascinates you about the moon?

I’ve always been drawn to look at the sky. It doesn’t matter if it’s day or night; looking at the sky gives me this sense of awe and the feeling of being so small and insignificant in the universe.

If I’m filled with anxiety, it’s good to just look up and get this feeling; it eases me. It becomes this symbol of something unknown and magical to me. I think the moon is very magical, there’s something unexplainable and so beautiful. How can you not believe in the mysteriously magical – we’re on a spinning ball in the universe, we’re so tiny and we have a moon, it’s just incredible. So yeah, the moon has always been super magical to me. I love looking up at it at night or day or whenever.

Many of your song titles are inspired by the mystical world, like BLACK SWAN, ICARUS, MOON, and GEMINI. What is it about that world that draws you to it? Do you see a connection to Norway?

Growing up in Norway, there’s always been a lot of folklore and fairy tales, a very big tradition. I know it gave me a very lively imagination. Learning about the fairy tales and then going into the woods to play with the other kids as you grow up definitely sparked something in me.

I’m very drawn to the magical and mystical, sometimes unexplainable world. I like to paint something where you maybe have to look a bit further, where you have to connect the dots yourself and see how it’s all connected.

I really love making a bigger universe with my songs.

Especially with this album, you can see how some songs are almost like sister songs and one song mentions or references the other song. It’s kind of like a whole world that you can live in and find new things in. I really love that and I’m very fascinated by stories that are not totally clear or where you can at least have room for your interpretations and to figure out the mystery yourself.

Do you have one favorite folklore or fairy tale?

I’m actually not sure what my favorite would be, but I think it would be something with the trolls in the mountains. We always learned that when we were children, that trolls live in the mountains and stuff like that.

You were just explaining that your music is like a whole world and that songs are connected with each other. If your artistic vision were a physical space, what would it look like? 

I think it would be a big house with multiple rooms that have different moods. If you wanted a break from the rave at some point, maybe you would go into a garden with some water, a little fountain or a little waterfall, or something with lots of plants and wild plants. Then you would maybe go into a really cozy place. But maybe there’s fog, like no lights from above, just a really calming atmosphere, maybe something nice and something you can lie down on. Just a big house with lots of different rooms for different moods and a garden.

That sounds so beautiful. When you write music, what do you imagine? Or what do you want someone to feel or imagine when listening to your music?

I hope they see themselves or their life in it, and find their place in the music. I hope they can feel some kind of connection, stay there for a while, and feel at home at some point. But you can also never tell anyone how to feel or what to imagine. That would be a dream though, if somebody felt like this is one of their places.

What made you start writing music? Was it a childhood dream? 

That’s kind of something I revisited on this record. It’s this need to express something and to create something. That’s why I started in the first place, After that, it’s just been about practicing and keeping at it. And suddenly it became something that I feel very connected to, this world that I’ve created now. I wasn’t naturally talented or anything. Since English is also not my first language, it took a lot of time and practice. It’s just coming from the love of creating and the love of expressing something.

You released your first EP in 2019. What has stayed, what has evolved during those seven years? 

Oh my God, so much. First of all just growing up, in 2019 I was 22, now I’m 29. Growing up and learning so much about myself, learning so much about the world. Before making music, I had never really travelled, so everywhere I’ve gone in my life up until now has been because of music. It’s such a blessing and it feels so cool to grow up with the music that I’m making. Every time I go to a new place, I feel like my brain is just opening up so much, and I realize that my world in Norway is just so small. It’s incredibly small and I don’t know anything, it becomes smaller and smaller, but also so much bigger at the same time. In the past, I was also filled with anxiety, now I’ve gone to therapy so I’m much less filled with anxiety, which is nice.

If you could make a promise to your future self, what would it be?

I would promise myself to be braver.

Braver about what? 

To be brave in everything: to be brave in my art and to speak up when there’s something important to say. To be brave to sit in the uncomfortable things because I think that’s how you grow and become a better or more of a solid person.

You're just about to release your new album, so you're probably really busy with this chapter right now. Where do you want to go next? Is there something you haven’t been able to express yet that you want to show in future projects?

I have this fantasy of creating a band because I think it’s so much fun to work with other people, to create worlds together. I just really have this love and passion for creating stuff. I also have a name for my band already, but it’s a secret.

I would also love to create a visual project, maybe a short movie, which would be really cool to do. Or a book would be really cool, maybe a poetry book.

I often dread that we only have this one life. I want to do everything, I want to do so much, but it’s just impossible. You have to choose in this life, which is a curse and a blessing. There are so many things I’d like to explore and luckily, life is long. It’s so important to stay curious.

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