Ones2Watch Home

Photo by Juliet Farmer

As the light pours in through the massive windows across her room, Mike Kota joins the video call, sitting cozily in the A-frame cabin built by her grandfather in Minnesota. In between recording demos and practicing for her upcoming string of solo gigs, Mike took the time to sit down with us at OnesToWatch to share about the Minneapolis music scene, her creative process, and animal symbolism in her music. Her latest EP Through Fire is a lush and vulnerable exploration of love, betrayal, and healing.

OnesToWatch: Let’s start with where you’re from - Minneapolis. I’m curious what the music scene is like there. How do you feel it’s shaped you as an artist?

Mike Kota: So I was [actually] born in St. Paul, grew up in St. Paul, but they're basically the same city, although Minneapolis is cooler. I think this Minneapolis/Twin Cities music scene is super special, eclectic and super supportive. There are a lot of DIY spaces happening, at least when I was growing up. In high school is when I joined my first band, and then [I] got to meet other bands from around the scene just starting to play shows locally, and then it kind of lifts you up from there. It's just very interconnected. I found all my bandmates by being in the same rooms and spaces as them. So, yeah, it all starts from a good, supportive and eclectic community.

That’s awesome. Do you have a musical family? 

My mom played guitar a little bit - I mostly associate it with camp songs - when we were younger…and then piano. And my dad used to play violin way back when, but it's not really a musical household. But they did definitely force us to take piano lessons, which I'm grateful for in the end. 

I read you weren’t into piano lessons as a kid. Do you still have some of that piano knowledge?

No, not at all. I didn't retain any music theory, and I never tried after that. But I did really enjoy using piano and then later guitar, which was more available to me in high school. I did a year abroad, and I didn't have as much homework to do as my host siblings, because I was just taking the class as pass/fail. I was just trying to survive in Italy. But there was a guitar and so I just spent my time [playing]. That was when I turned to guitar.

So cool – where in Italy were you?

I was placed in Torino (Turin), so in the North…I just wanted to sing along. I just wanted to sing some like Justin Bieber, or Michael Bublé. I had very interesting taste.

Well so speaking of guitar - I have a question specifically about your tones. I feel like your music is very warm. I always describe it to people as sounding very lush. I’m wondering what you think makes for a great guitar tone?

I appreciate that. I do think that because the band is relatively new compared to how long I've been making music, I wanted guitar that felt strong enough for a solo act. And then later I ran into the issue of like my first electric [guitar], which is a Jaguar, felt very, very bassy in the context of the band. But by myself, it was that low E string [that] could really envelop and take up space, so that it was just my voice cutting on top, and then the guitar that would just fill up this warmth around it.

But I also don't know anything about gear, really. I'm just learning about tones. So it's really exciting to hear that somebody appreciates my tone.

I’d love to hear about your work with Henry Breen on this record. Was this your first time working with him? Correct me if I’m wrong but did you solely produce your previous EP Turning a Corner?

No, but my very first EP Rift - I produced the majority of it and recorded most of it, but I had [other] people mix it. Then I went [and did] in-studio recording with Zach Zurn for Turning a Corner in Rochester. And he also mixed and produced that. Then with this guy, Henry - we were kind of in a studio-ish situation…anyways, he's a genius.

How did you guys meet? How did the relationship develop?

I think I met Henry years ago, when he was like 13, and I always thought he was, like the coolest, humblest [guy] and secret prodigy type. And I've been supporting him through his band stuff. He's in a band, WHY NOT, and also participates in a lot of different collaborations, and plays instruments in other bands, as well as produces for a bunch of people. He's just really cool. And I love him, and I'm just stoked to know him as well as work with him. He’s just always been a genius in music.

That’s awesome. Yeah you can definitely hear it on the record. Speaking of different bands in the area...I’ve read a bit about your transition from being part of a band to being a solo artist and also just about your start with music in high school and learning a lot from friends and peers. I’m curious how your relationship with music as a tool for connection has evolved from those early high school days. 

I still feel, and it still holds true to me that music is very personal for me when I'm in the writing process. Then when I bring it to other collaborators who are musicians, then I begin to release this control, and it starts to open up in a different way. But I still feel like the meaning is kind of this secret, personal thing. It’s really fun to do music with other people. Then it's another thing to release the music to the world, and people are listening to the lyrics and not just like, “Okay, what's the chord change? Are we going to do a cool fill or whatever?” But now they're experiencing it, attaching their own meanings to it, and so that's really cool when people reach out to me and explain how this touched them, or they bonded with [someone]. Somebody said that they bonded with their girlfriend from Germany over “Glimpse” and so I need to put that back in my set. But anyways, it's really special, and I also honor this desire - and I think that maybe it's just the sacred nature of writing the music and using it as healing for me - that it's also just personal, and there's a part of it that's just for me too.

There must be a lot of trust that goes into deciding who you work with. Can you tell us more about how you choose who you collaborate with?

I'm always open [to collaborating with new people], but I've learned that it is very wise to not over-commit to anybody, let things play out. I really, really love my collaborators, and I have chosen them wisely, and I feel really comfortable delegating and opening up, releasing control to these really special people who are masters at that thing that I want to give them the reins on.

Without getting too speculative or specific, I’m curious how the feelings you express in some of your songs have maybe changed with time, specifically songs like “Boy” and “Protect Your Peace” that are essentially breakup/betrayal songs. I imagine it’s cathartic to write those songs and share them with the world. How do you feel about those experiences you wrote about now? Do you still feel that today?

I think a lot of it was [the fact that] I couldn't release it until I was out of the relationship and and so when I finally made that decision, and we finally broke up, that allowed all that forgiveness to come in, because I was just so tired of fighting and being sad or angry and feeling. I already did that for so long. Now I can finally let go. And that's what the case was for me. 

I think the music really helped me let it out and let me process it. I also am scared of writing songs that are like this, because I don't want to continue to put myself [in that space] and rile myself up in that way. But I do think as I was processing post-breakup, allowing myself to, in the song, just let that little gross feeling out and then keep pushing was very, very helpful.

“Protect Your Peace” is such a vulnerable and powerful song. Something that I find really beautiful about that song in particular is just how expressive and unrestrained your vocal is. When I think of an actor playing a really heavy scene - that kind of emotion that you have to pour into something like that can feel exhausting. So I’m curious for that song in particular, how was it recording that?

Oh, yeah, I mean, it's really fun. I appreciate acting. In another life, I would like to act, but it's super cringy, and that's why I record my vocals by myself. I have to do really weird things and I'll be not hitting notes, and my voice will be breaking and there is a hidden, scream in that song. And so I don't want anybody to witness that because even when I witness it, I'm like, “Maybe, let's not do this.” But yeah, sometimes I cry. I was just looking at this really embarrassing video of myself that I had filmed while I was recording “My Love Is Free” and then just trying to make it super present, and I feel the music and I feel what I'm saying, and I feel the way that I felt in order to write the song. And so, yeah, it's embarrassing. But it's got to be done, because it's art and it's a good performance, and it's cringy, sure, but with all of the reverb and ear candy magic, it smooths over the cringiness, I think.

Speaking of “My Love Is Free.” That’s genuinely one of the most beautiful songs I think I’ve ever heard. That and “Corner” are two my favorite songs ever. Not a particularly specific question here but what comes to mind when you think of “My Love Is Free” now?

First of all, I love that you say it's one of your favorite songs, because to me, I'm scared that it's like almost seven minutes. It's a weird thing to think about [but] it sometimes crosses my mind as an artist that I need to make something more catchy or whatever. But I love how that song really slows things down and takes its time. 

It just makes me feel really good. I love that song. It's really sweet. And then, because I left it kind of intentionally open…maybe that's not true. I think I meant one thing when I said “My love is free.” And then when I kept saying “My love is free” in the song and while I was writing it, I realized there are a lot more things than I can mean by saying “My love is free.” 

And then somebody in my life was explaining to me their situation and their partner was dying, and then I was listening to that song, and I'm saying [the lyric] “We can't stop the coming of the wretched morning,” and it just gave a whole new meaning to “My love is free.” And I just, I love that song. I don't know, I don't know what I'm saying about it, but I really do love that song, and I like that it's sweet and it applies to a lot of situations.

You and your band seem to be playing a lot of shows recently. How is it bringing these songs to live audiences? I feel like I’ve seen some artists say their album doesn’t feel finished until they’ve performed the songs. Do you feel that way? How big a role does live performance play for you as an artist?

I feel like if I was on a track with a label, it would feel that way. But I feel like I've been playing some of the same songs for years, like I was playing “Corner” – “Corner” like blew up on TikTok, blew up as in had, I don't know, 100,000 views or something - that was like two years before it ever came out. And so I'd been playing that song for at least a year before that. And so I'm still playing “Corner” and I'm still small, so I don't know, I think I have to play the ones that are my absolute bangers that also have the message that I want to give to every audience, like “Little Tugs” and “Corner” - I really always try to play those. But otherwise, it's kind of a balance between serving the event and the vibes versus what am I really excited about? And I go in cycles. So maybe I'm writing a new song and I'll fit that into the new set, or I'm just re-falling in love with another old song that I have to put back in there. But it's also not about me sometimes.

Sorry, I think I have to let my cat outside really quick.

You’re good. Speaking of animals, I can’t help but notice your cover art is often animal-centric - a crow, a lamb, a cheetah. What is it about these animals that speaks to you, your music, your experiences?

Well, so for the lamb - My childhood favorite stuffed animal was a lamb. And so that, for me, as well as the symbolism of the lamb being sweet and naive and a child, is the inner child for me.

Then the crow with the ribbon around it - the woman Lou Benesch who designed that, the Turning A Corner cover art…she decided the color was yellow. And then I looked that up, and the ribbon [stood for] suicide awareness. And I think that really related to “Shutter Speed” and the “try another day” message. 

And then I forgot what the crow symbolizes, but it's like death and rebirth type. 

And then the cheetah was one of my favorite animals as a kid. I really liked, I think it was the movie Duma, [which] was a cheetah. I don't know. I was just like, ‘big cats are really cool.’ And then also, I looked up the cheetah symbolism, and it's like adaptability and strength, agility. And so that's with Through Fire, [it’s about] changing, being changed and adapting and growing from whatever you had to go through.

That’s awesome. Do you feel like you’ll continue on with these animal themes?

I love symbolism. I think it’s so cool and also, I think animals are just sick…like, what are those truck stop shirts? I was always in one of those, I don't know, a manatee or a shark [shirt].

Yeah, in the same vein of symbolism and visuals - I read you went to film school for two years! The storytelling you do with your songwriting is so cinematic. I’m wondering how film school has maybe shaped you as a musician/artist.

Ever since high school, I really enjoyed music and film, and it was just a tie between those two. And I was like, ‘well, I already kind of got the music thing down, so I'm not going to go to music school. Plus, I don't want to become a music teacher. I don't know what I would do with a degree. I just want to be a rock star.’ But my parents wanted me to go to film school. So that's why I went I guess. But eventually I did drop out. But since high school, I would listen to music and see visuals and stuff…I would just want to write and make music videos. And throughout my solo career, I've written a bunch of music videos. I have only made one but I have gotten really close with like three [others]. It just comes down to not having the funds, essentially, because they’re expensive and they don’t…but that’s the dream. I don’t know if film has shaped [the] music, but they are somehow linked in my brain. Sometimes, the visuals just come, like it sounds or feels like I’m underwater. But then somebody told me the song that I thought was underwater was like totally ‘desert’ [to them].

So does this mean we won’t be getting a Mike Kota video soon?

Well, there is one for “Sttss Reprise.” We did shoot one, but I had nothing to…well, I had some things to do with it…but I’m excited for it. It’s pretty cool looking.

Let’s talk about this cabin you’ve been posted up in, the A-frame in Minnesota. So your grandpa and his buddies built it. I’ve seen you’ve been posting a lot there, writing and rehearsing some new stuff. Is there anything you can share about what’s on the horizon for you?

Yeah, the dream is an album, but I don't know where the funds are, so maybe it's another EP. I've just been recording a lot of demos here so I guess there’s music on the way but I mean, it's just such a slow going process for where I'm at.

We did get over the last full band show on the books. And so what I wanted to do was get through that, and now I can send them the demo so they can start learning the new songs and then go into recording in the winter. But there's not really much to tease.

Well, fair - good things take time. Still thinking about the cabin…can you talk a little bit about how that space maybe contributes to how the music comes out, your writing, your recording? How do you feel influenced or inspired by the space?

Yeah, it's spacious, and there's massive windows, there's trees, there's water, the lake right outside, and then there's sunlight. And so I can kind of just zone out into this beautiful, calm, still energy. And then comes in the conditioning of every time I was up here since I was a kid, we never had Wi-Fi. So it feels very removed from the world. So it does feel like I'm in this little dream world out here, and I can really energetically forget the rest of the world exists. There have been a lot of really cool songs that I did most of the work here, but the one that I'm excited about for the next project is a love song to this place and how it makes me feel, and it's kind of country…I don't know, I'm really excited about that song.

We’re excited too! Last but not least, we love to ask this question at OTW. Who are your ones to watch?

My bestie Josephine from Chicago - absolutely incredible. Obviously, my bestie Lutalo. Let’s see, I need to go to my Spotify… Other underrated geniuses I look up to: Ariel J, Dori Valentine, Hannah Cole, Mercury.