Many people might have come to know Audrey Nuna this past year as one of the leading vocalists in Netflix’s hit film “KPop Demon Hunters,” but the rapper, singer and songwriter has dozens of hits in her catalogue that fans in Milwaukee packed bleachers to see on June 27 at Summerfest.
The Journal Sentinel caught up with Nuna ahead of her show to chat about the record-breaking, Oscar and Grammy-winning success of the movie, her most recent album “Trench” and new songs that she debuted during her Summerfest show.
Question. You are such a beautiful experimenter with samples and finding fresh, new sounds on each project. Who are some of your artistic inspirations?
Answer. I’ve been inspired by so many different people from so many different walks of life. Lately, I’ve been super inspired by Daft Punk, but I think coming up, Childish Gambino was a huge influence. My producer was obsessed with Sadé, so she was a huge influence, MF Doom, and the album he has with Madlib, just like the crazy use of sampling, Elliot Smith, and Dieter Rams … and just grandmas on the street who are swaggy.
Q. Yes! You sampled the Brandy and Monica song, “The Boy Is Mine” and “Pop Lock and Drop It” on “Trench,” your most recent album. How hard is it to pull hits like that and, when you’re pulling those pieces, is it usually you listening to that song and then saying I’m going to riff off of this, or kind of reversed, where you have inspiration, think it’d be cool to add this piece?
A. Actually, for “Locket,” it happened very organically, it wasn’t planned. Then, for “Mine,” “The Boy is Mine” was very intentional and wanted as an ode to ’90s R&B. There are just so many amazing women in ’90s R&B who kind of brought this like attitude, but also a sensitivity and a softness that I really loved. It is very hard to clear certain samples, but I mean, God bless, because my team they were able to get it done.
Q. Now we have to talk about “KPop Demon Hunters,” of course. You’re the singing voice of Mira in that movie. You’ve talked a lot about growing up and not having a lot of Korean representation in the media you were consuming. So, what was it like to bring a Korean character to life in an animated form?
A. It means everything, honestly. I feel like it’s not only a response to the journey I’ve had as an artist in this industry, but also just a human on this earth. Growing up in a pretty non-diverse town in New Jersey, I never really felt represented. I felt like, you know, it was such a dream to be a part of the movement, not just Asian American people, but anyone who feels like they might not fit into any box. Mira is a character that is just a dream to lend my voice to and channel, because I think she’s so human. There’s so much duality in who she is, and I feel like I’ve just related to that, and also pink is my favorite color, and her hair is pink.
Q. You talk about your upbringing in New Jersey quite a bit. We are hometown paper, so we love a hometown story. What elements of your upbringing made you the artist that you are today?
A. I think the boredom, for sure, not really having anything to do, and having to use your imagination, and to kind of fight the boredom. I could kind of just be an introverted homebody weirdo person who just liked making random stuff at home, and I think that the balance of those two is everything for me. Also, not having a lot of diversity, I think, was formative to who I was and what I wanted to see more of growing up.
Q. You talk a lot about wanting the younger generation to have access to more resources to be artists and to pursue creative opportunities. In what way do you find past pathways to do that through your work?
A. I think one is just speaking your own truth, and hopefully you can inspire other people to do the same and to not be afraid to do that. Then, I think giving resources and using your platform for something good. I’m blessed to have a team that’s really about that and is really down to support those types of endeavors. We’ve been doing a fundraiser for Luminos Fund, which is an amazing organization that helps kids in sub-Saharan African countries gain a second chance at education, which is incredible. Also, working with kids in need of legal defense who are dealing with immigration issues, keeping families together. I think it’s amazing to do that through art, but it’s also trying as hard as you can to put money and resources behind the things that you believe in.
Q. I can’t continue to ignore this incredible outfit. You’ve spoken a lot about how your family’s lineage and arrival in America is linked to clothing and fashion. Would you say that’s been a part of your style and expression?
A. I was really shy growing up, and even just talking to people was really hard for me. I think that fashion was one of the first outlets for me, in tandem with singing, maybe even before singing. I remember I’d pull up in the craziest outfits as a seven-year-old. My mom would be like, “Why are you wearing orange pants with a purple top?” But I think that that was just like my safe space, especially being around a family that was able to make a new life for itself in a new country through clothing manufacturing and supporting designers’ visions. I remember going in on Saturdays to my dad’s work and just making things and trying things and touching fabric and having fun.
Q. One last question, for anyone who wants to pursue music or art, or even is just trying to channel a little pop star energy in their everyday life. What is the way that you get in that mindset and empower yourself to create?
A. I think, honestly, something that’s helped me a lot in my life is like silence. A lot of times, when you don’t really know how to express yourself, it’s not because you don’t have a personality, but it’s just because you don’t have enough time to be still and hear what that person inside sounds like. I think the more silence and the more time you can spend some time just sitting quietly gives you a lot of clarity for the voices in your head that are trying to speak to you.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Talking with ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ voice Audrey Nuna
Reporting by Tamia Fowlkes, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tamia Fowlkes, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
