The rising Seattle-born singer-songwriter talks rhythmic roots, underground community, and learning to build a world of her own on a changeable feast
Seattle-born singer-songwriter oktehya is an artist still in the process of defining her own sonic boundaries – and she seems perfectly comfortable keeping them fluid. Drawing from an upbringing shaped in part by her father’s background as a funk drummer, as well as her formative experiences within underground music communities, she has developed a deeply rhythmic, genre-resistant approach to songwriting that pulls from alt-pop, rap, R&B, indie music and beyond. Her latest EP, a changeable feast, offers a compelling snapshot of that evolution, pairing confessional songwriting with an increasingly distinct musical and visual identity.
We caught up with oktehya to discuss the instincts behind her songwriting, finding independence at an early age, and what it means to build an artistic world while still figuring out exactly who you want to be within it.
You grew up with the influence of having a father who was a funk drummer and then found yourself involved in the underground rap scene. I’d love to know how you were able to fuse those worlds as you found your own musical voice.
I think my father being a drummer sort of lent itself to my approach in making music which sort of naturally migrated towards a more rhythmic style and genre, like rap. I would never say I’m a rapper, though, by any means, but melodic. It informed my pockets when it comes to writing. And then I feel like I can compensate for my lack of confidence in my actual singing voice by finding unique pockets that other people might not think to try or pockets that might, you know, feel more like something for a percussive element of the sonics rather than your voice. So, like, putting it there instead of on a top line, like, run of the mill, top line kind of vibe.
At just 16, you left home and found a community in Capitol Hill. What was it about that scene that resonated with you and how did it impact your growth as a person?
I mean, I definitely wouldn’t be who I am today without that sense of hyper independence. At an early age, I got very creative with my means of staying alive. In those formative years, having to sort of think differently. Like, oh, I gotta be good at school, I gotta graduate high school. I gotta think about what I want to do for college. I was like, oh, I gotta, like, eat something. I gotta figure out what my next job is gonna be because technically I’m underage and no one can actually hire me, you know? And in terms of the creative being in an underground house impacted me and sort of shaped me as a person in music. Just seeing the sort of lifestyles that were being lived, it was informative. Like a different perspective of life that I feel you wouldn’t get usually.
So you play the guitar, keys and drums in addition to producing and writing. Does knowing so many physical instruments change the way you build a song?
I mostly play rhythmic instruments and that definitely helps in terms of structure. I feel like I probably approach songs differently and then more, you know, like how we were saying earlier about just how to play these different instruments, like, my dad being a drummer, myself being a drummer. I find odd pockets or more rhythmic functions for my voice. And that’s definitely something then in terms of producing. Cameron, my main producer, does most of it, but it’s nice to be able to join in and have a sense of direction and where I wanted to go and stuff.
So your song “Complicated,” it’s about the tension of a forbidden attraction, while Catch/Release explores being unable to let go of someone that can hurt you. Do you see those songs exploring different versions of the same emotional experience?
Yeah, a bit. They were written about two different instances. There is a through line in it. I guess those are both very intense and passionate states to be in. Sort of agonizing states to be in, maybe is the better word for that. And that’s definitely a through line of it.
Your music can be extremely personal and you also have a strong visual identity. Do you see the visual world around your music as another form of storytelling? Do you feel like there’s like a genre with your visuals?
I’m trying to get there. I feel like I’m still like such a baby, and I’m still figuring out my sound as an artist and then exploring how to build out a world. I feel like, aesthetically, I want to have a pretty uniform world to welcome people into, but I don’t have that yet. We’re figuring it out.
You spend a lot of time of your life figuring out your music. What’s something you’re still trying to figure out about yourself right now?
At this current stage of life something I’m trying to figure out about myself is how to be healthy, how to be a responsible human. It’s like, I finally started to figure out the music stuff. Obviously it’s still a learning curve, but the second that I started figuring that out, my just human existence started to crumble. I’m either consumed with this thing or I’m consumed with that thing.
And I don’t know how to find a normal middle. And I’m actually really happy with, like, if my music is baller. I don’t give a fuck about my health right now. One day maybe, but not right now.
