Miki Ratsula – suffocate

By starrymag | December 22, 2021

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

 

 

Q) How would you best describe your sound?

A) I’d say dreamy bedroom alt-pop with some influence from R&B

 

Q) Tell us the story behind the song “suffocate.”

A) “suffocate” is about feeling burnt out in a relationship where you give more than you receive. I wanted to use an analogy of driving a car to meet up with a friend, but the car is full of stuff and low on gas. You’re doing your best to make it there on time.

 

Q) On your Instagram page you posted pictures and snippets for the upcoming music video for “suffocate.” How did you come up with the concept for the video and when can fans expect to see it?

A) My fiancée was the production designer for the music video. Between her and the director, Evers Pund, we decided we wanted to explore a bunch of different ways to use water to imitate the feeling of suffocation. We thought it’d be too simple to follow the analogy of the road trip in the lyrics, which is why we opted for me singing underwater instead.

 

Q) For “suffocate” you had the chance to work with Lauren Sanderson. How did that collaboration come to be? 

A) Lauren and I have known each other since 2017, so a collaboration has been a long time coming. After I wrote “suffocate” I knew this would be a song from the album that would thrive with a feature. I love Lauren’s deep tone, which is exactly the sound I wanted to have on that second verse. I texted them and they loved the track, sent me her vocals, and the feature was born!

 

Q) What message do you hope fans take away from “suffocate?”

A) It’s crucial to take a step back and take care of yourself. It’s easy to get lost in being there for everyone you care about. But don’t let that take away from making sure you and your mental health are okay.

 

Q) Over the summer you had an online release party for your single “reeboks.” With the release of these singles, is there a full-length album in the works and if so, when can fans look forward to hearing it?

A) Yes, I am so excited that these singles are all of my debut album. This album is my baby and I’m so proud of it. It’s dropping early next year!

 

Q) As a nonbinary artist, how has music helped you and provided you a platform in your own self-exploration and expression?

A) Music has given me the opportunity to share my experience and struggles as a non-binary artist, as well as the platform to be able to make a difference and speak up for those who aren’t able to. Like in my single, “second,” I openly talk about the anxiety around getting top surgery, which is something that I know resonates heavily with a lot of my fans.

 

Q) Your music focuses heavily on the topic of mental health. Why do you think there is such a stigma on this topic and how does music help to address it?

A) I think we’re taught that being vulnerable is a sign of weakness. That makes people not want to open up about their mental health. It’s amazing to see so many artists being more open about their mental health in their music and seeing them open up about more disorders than anxiety and depression. Breaking the stigma comes from people talking about it, so I can definitely sense some sort of shift happening with this conversation.

 

Q) I absolutely love some of your covers on YouTube, especially the one of “Big Jet Plane.” In your opinion which do you consider more challenging: performing a cover or an original piece?

A) Thank you! Performing a cover can be difficult, especially when you’re wanting to transform it from its original state. But for sure an original piece is more challenging. There’s a whole other sense of vulnerability when it comes to an original piece and making sure every single piece of the song is doing the song justice can definitely be tricky sometimes. I go through so many different versions of my songs just making sure that I end up with the one that the song deserves.

 

Q) Who would you most love to collaborate with on music in the future?

A) Oh my gosh, I have a list of artists. Off the top of my head, I’d say Jeremy Zucker, FINNEAS, Adele, Phoebe Bridgers, SG Lewis, Claud, girl in red – just to name a few.

 

Q) What artists are you currently listening to?

A) Adele and Adele only. She’s truly the reason why I started writing music. I remember being in middle school when her album, 19, came out and I listened to it 24/7. I even got a DVD of one of her concerts that I would rewatch religiously for months. She is my hero.

 

Q) What would you like to say to your fans and supporters of your music?

A) It means the world to me that there are people out there who listen to my music. I don’t think I’ll ever wrap my head around that I get to do this every day. It’s all because of you who listen and support me.