Biography

I'm not the kind of artist who makes a thematic record. When I first start writing, I'm never thinking about the whole album concept - I'm just writing.

Growing up, I struggled a lot with control because I felt I had none over my own life and surroundings. I was shuttled from one place to another and never felt like I belonged anywhere. I was never a part of any community. So, I think a lot of those things fueled this eternal question for me about control and power, and what it means to be powerful, and what it means to be powerless.

Even though I don't write prose, I find using a character or using a narrative that didn't happen to you is better equipped in telling your story and expressing your feelings than what actually happened in your life, so that's kind of how I go into writing songs.

I'm an artist, and art in and of itself can be political. All I can really do is talk about my experiences - for myself and for others like me.

I'm half Japanese, but I'm also half white. I can't represent everybody. But it's funny to be in the U.S. and be called an Asian-American, and then be in Asia or Japan where I'm just a colonizer.