I lived abroad most of my life in insular international communities.
MITSKII lived abroad most of my life in insular international communities.
MITSKIWhat I have a problem with is when it becomes another form of tokenization, of shrinking me into a symbol instead of a multilayered, female Asian artist.
MITSKII have this thing about being acknowledged and accepted by institutions.
MITSKIWhenever I’ve tried to ingratiate myself to an existing community, I tend to give too much, to become whatever it is they want me to be. It’s something I do automatically – I’ve learnt to immediately adapt.
MITSKIAll the time. I feel like I’m not taken seriously.
MITSKIIt would actually feel forced or unnatural to try to do a different singing style or to try to change my sound completely.
MITSKIAs a woman of color, I always have to be at 150 percent and better than everybody in the room to be considered competent.
MITSKII was a film major because, for some reason, I thought that that was a creative job that had more job opportunities. I don’t know what logic I was following, but that was my impression at the time.
MITSKIIn my first few years of being in New York, I had a major identity crisis because I’d never stayed in one place for so long.
MITSKIWhen you’re an adult, things mellow out. I think when you’re a teenager and you are sad and the world is ending, everything is about that one sadness.
MITSKIPop artists work really hard, and they might not work for the same things that indie artists do, but they’re still musicians, and they’re still making art.
MITSKIWhen you are a minority, it’s your job to bend, and when you love someone, you really want to make it work.
MITSKITour isn’t good for writing, but it’s good for inspiration.
MITSKII think the pressure gets to me when I play shows and there’s more people in the audience than I’m used to.
MITSKII couldn’t wait to get out of school, but once I did, I didn’t actually know what I wanted to do with myself. I don’t really know how it happened, but I just started writing music and realized that’s what I wanted to do.
MITSKIWhen I started making music, I was like, ‘This is something I can believe I was meant to do.’
MITSKI