Asia’s cozy apartment just 10 minutes walk from Nakano station in Tokyo welcomed me with beautiful plants and photographs, colors and texture; the smell of incense lingered in the air, “Can I sit on the bed?” Asia was wearing a sheet facemask and wearing her Pjs smiled and welcomed me into her space. I took some film shots of her room which through its essence already introduced the spirit of Asia’s creations.

Before meeting Asia at a tech startup event in Omotesando (as far as I have noticed this event was sort of irrelevant for us both but a mutual friend and invited us each) I had already previously been following her instagram, finding a lot of touching inspiration from her lyrics and photos that she shared. I could see Asia’s vulnerability in just her social media and as soon as I had this opportunity to speak to her directly I found that understanding more about her creative process and performance would be a valuable thing to share.

I asked asia about her journey which essentially led her here to this home, she explained to me that she had been living in Thailand first for two years before coming to Tokyo. “I wanted to try a lot of things creatively, in Thailand I found a lot of opportunities and a relatively inexpensive lifestyle.. I decided to go to Thailand first to get my feet wet from trial and error.” In Asia’s mind Tokyo was always a destination she would end up in, but she needed to explore other options abroad in Asia before travelling here.

“What do you love about the lifestyle here?” I questioned, I could hear some sentimentality in Asia’s voice when she spoke of Tokyo. She explained that the dynamic is so different from that in the USA, very structured lifestyle, very cosmopolitan. Looking at her wall behind her pillows were vintage photographs;

“Can I know more about your family and does family hold importance in your music?”

“Both of my parents are from Massachusetts, they were born there and then moved up to NYC, then moved down to Atlanta and bought a house… family is.. Important” she explains in regards to the concept and influence of family in her upbringing and lyrics, “I was raised in a Jamaican household by my grandma, it was me and my grandma, I asked her to send me pictures and yes that’s my grandma” she pointed to a photo of a woman smiling in one of the photos on her wall.

“Do you miss your grandma?”

“Of course i do, but I had to do what I had to do, you know? “ Even though Asia left her grandmother in the states, the understanding between them that Asia needed to follow and make her own direction through moving to a new country; It doesn't affect the connection between the two.

“Who are some musical icons of yours?”

“I respect so many artists but only a few have actually had the pathway that I aim for, I can’t think of anyone who has gone in that trajectory, Like I love Beyonce but I don’t compare myself to that kind of artist. “ Asia breaks down for me various influences for her creations both musical and in terms of writing and sound; she appreciates musicians who are capable to create music that moves her, very emotional such as James Blake for example.

“Also Erika Badu, I love her; as an example of a woman's voice which is vulnerable about things.” Asia also explains the influence of Andre3000, his writing style and charismatic approach to sharing deeper meanings to the public which has inspired her. Outkast has also been a huge influence, as well as enjoying Trap and mainstream songs. Overall though, she emphasizes on how she wants to create music which is based off a new narrative, she doesn't want to make a song just to dance to or a catchy hit’ she wants to make vulnerable songs which reflect her unique narration and perspective of the world; this includes sexuality, violence, family, and many other avoided song topics in mainstream.

“Through Music I can connect and Release, I can release any negative energy and become more expressive”

I spoke to her about one song that she had shared lyrics too on her instagram in the previous month, the song tbh. Which I could connect to myself on a personal level, but hearing her perspective on the music I understood more the complex themes about protecting herself and her sexuality. She emphasized how through music she feels it is so important not to judge one another or become offended from sharing these vulnerable perspectives.

Due to really falling for the art of Asia from social media like instagram, I questioned what influence she finds instagram to be playing in her music and lifestyle.

“Social media is so important to me, I try to be vulnerable, playful and having a lot of fun… sometimes I think about going off it for a weekend or something but that would be intense.”

She describes social media as a great advantage, she expresses gratitude for the internet “I am grateful to embrace the full opportunities of being online”

Regarding social media and the internet, I asked Asia about her opinion on the foreign music scene in Tokyo.

“I feel like it is so scattered, but I'm doing my best to connect it and grasp at the links which can bring people together; with this internet generation there are more means and capabilities to put it on the map, that's what we gotta do now.”

Asia is actually the creator of a culture brand and creative agency going by the name of 81Sauce, without even realizing it I had even attended one of their events from back in March by the name of “Cozy Boys” which was essentially a performance event at a club in Shibuya. Asia describes 81Sauce as a plan to create events in Tokyo and is her means of connecting the foreign music scene in Tokyo (she’s so ahead my questions).  I asked if she ever performs at these events, she explains that she hasn't really yet but she is actually headlining some future events and is really looking forward to it.

“How do you describe your creative process?”

Asia allows herself to create music as she feels, for a long time she had felt some pressure of needing to create “song songs”, now she has grown to let herself be free in the means and process in which she undergoes to create the music.

“I’m literally just creating music all the time, thinking, writing and singing all of the time; its so random; I could come up with a nice line in the shower or be freestyling and whatever catches I just go from there.” One obstacle she has overcome along with this was embracing what she describes as her personal weirdness and using that to her advantage in creating new narratives within her music.