Q&A: Michael K
THE MUSIC SCENE IS CONNECTED LIKE NO OTHER TIME BEFORE - and individuals like Kristin Robinson are making the best of it. Known as her artist name Michael K., Robinson has tapped into our social media age to fuel collaboration and support up and coming artist. In addition to studying music at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and pursing her own musical career, the artist also runs Amplify, a platform designed to promote and connect fellow USC students. Robinson is putting her all into both realms of her musical career and today drops her latest single "Haircut", a track centering around the story of Samson and Delilah. Read on to hear how Robinson's background has shaped her into the artist she is today, the role of social media in her career and what the rest of the year is looking like for Michael K. and Amplify.
LUNA: How do you think the Fort Worth, Texas music scene shaped you as an artist if at all? How about moving out to Los Angeles?
ROBINSON: I think that the "Fort Worth music scene" actually shaped me a lot because there actually isn't one at all. It doesn't really exist. There were the occasional loud, high school rock bands, but they definitely didn't want to work with a girl. I lead me to be really self-reliant and entrepreneurial to get people to hear me and take me seriously. It led me to create my own benefit concert series involving the smattering of other teen musicians around purely so there was an opportunity for young people to perform. It was great. We raised thousands of dollars for suicide prevention, and it's still going on today.
Sometimes I can get really down when I talk to my friends who went to arts high schools or who lived in vibrant music cities, but ultimately, I was shaped by the fact that I had to work alone and that I had to create my own opportunities. I like to think my voice as a songwriter is unique because I was forced to be so independent.
Now, living in LA, I've really had the chance to learn from collaborations. That's been huge for me. It's really taken my music to the next level. It was hard to realize, after so many years of making music alone, that I could benefit from other people and that they could benefit from me.
LUNA: What value have you found in studying music professionally?
ROBINSON: Music is kind of a bottomless pit. You can never know enough about it... the knowledge can continue forever which is so cool. I've always been a rule breaker with my songwriting, I love crazy chord progressions, random time signature changes, etc. It's really important that I've had the opportunity to learn what rules I've been breaking this whole time without even knowing it. I guess what I'm saying is that it has helped me understand myself a lot more as a writer.
LUNA: How would you compare your upcoming single "Haircut" to your previous music?
ROBINSON: Haircut was written and recorded while I was studying for the semester in England. I think there's a definite British influence on the sound, especially since the producer of this track, ONUR, is from London. I've always been into a lot of the experimental electronic artists from England, so I think this song really reflects that.
I've written all three of my released songs with just my voice and a synth alone. If I were to play all my music for people with just that, I think they'd really see how similar the writing is even though the directions I've taken with the production are pretty dissimilar.
LUNA: Can you tell us a bit more about the biblical story behind "Haircut”?
ROBINSON: So in high school I read the story of Samson and Delilah. It's an Old Testament story about Samson, the strongest man in the world, who can only be weakened or defeated if someone cuts his hair. It's like a biblical Achilles' heal. Delilah, Samson's lover, betrays him by cutting his hair while he is asleep.
I have been toying with the idea of this story since I was 17. I wrote a song called "Delilah's Haircut" my senior year of high school which included the line "Did you cut my hair because I cut yours?" The song took the biblical story one step further and added the idea of Samson hurting Delilah back because she deserved it in a way.
While I was in England I revisited that song and realized I was really onto something with that line. I changed 90% of it in the end, but the story and that line remain in tact. I'm really proud of this song because it feels like I've come full circle.
LUNA: Your platform, Amplify, supports developing artists and serves as a music discovery source as well. How do you think social media has played a role in collaboration within in the music industry?
ROBINSON: Social media has really changed things for musicians. Ever since MySpace got into promoting music, it's been essential for many artists' successes. That's what I'm trying to do with @Amplify.USC: use a platform that people already spend hours a day on and use it to promote USC's music scene. The hardest thing for a new artist to do is purely to get the word out there, so I try to help people as much as I can. I want Amplify to connect artists together so that they can create new work together or play gigs together, but also I think that social media has played a huge role in connecting an artist with potential fans. That's another interest of mine for Amplify. I like to consider the page as the middleman between a fan and their next favorite song.
LUNA: As the year winds down, what does the rest of 2019 look like for Michael K?
ROBINSON: I'm going to be working towards an EP for the rest of the year so that I can begin releasing songs again in early 2020. I am also preparing right now for a music competition. The winner goes to SXSW, so you know I'm getting really competitive about it.
I'm also working really hard right now to expand Amplify way beyond where it is right now. Besides making music, my biggest passion is promoting and developing new artists. So just expect that I'm always thinking of new ways to help artists. I can't wait to share what I have in store, but I can't disclose it quite yet!
