A CONVERSATION WITH... ENA MORI
We sat down with ena mori, funky-music-creating artist about her performance at SXSW, identity, and the beauty of being open in her art. Stream her latest song, ‘ICHIGO MIRUKU’, now!
ena mori on stage (credit: ena mori on Instagram)
WHEN DID YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH MUSIC?
I started music when I was six, but at that time I didn't really understand what music was yet. When I was ten, I started playing classical piano, and then I started experimenting, and that's when I fell in love with music. Because with classical music, you have to play exactly what's written. So when I'd get too comfortable with a piece, I'd want to experiment. That triggered me to start creating my own music instead. And now, I'm really just experimenting and having fun until I fail!
Who would you say that you are as a person and as an artist, and how do those overlap?
Every artist has their on-stage character or persona, and I think it's natural to have that switch. When I'm making art, I'm a lot more open, because that's where I connect with people, and I try my best to be as vulnerable as possible. Especially when I'm performing, I try to show that side of me so the audience feels something, too. But in my personal life, I'm more in the middle of extrovert and introvert. Whenever I hear my pre-show introduction, that's when the extroverted artist mode switches on.
How would you say that your experiences and roots as a Filipino- Japanese person have influenced your music?
The majority of my childhood was in Japan, so my roots are much more in Japan and the Japanese culture I experienced growing up. It's such a different culture than the Philippines. But I always had Western music playing when I was growing up because of my dad's mixtapes of music. He was listening to like Queen and Tupac. That really opened my eyes to a world beyond the local Japanese music that I was listening to and getting to experiment with the Western sound. That's why musically I'm drawn to the Philippines as well. And using English in my lyrics instead of just Japanese — honestly, a lot of the things here inspired me. Both cultures really influenced me, honestly.
Do you feel like there's any pressure for you to be seen as a representation of your people in the Asian music sphere, but also just in music in general?
As an Asian artist and having two countries to "represent," there is a pressure to give honour. That's the best way to put it. I think I experienced that a lot here in the Philippines because it's exciting for an artist to go to a big field and kind of represent the country. That happens a lot with many Asian artists, especially those going to like Western countries. It's exhausting for an artist to be in that box of just representing.
Sometimes it gets in my way of trying to kind of grow as an artist beyond that flag. I struggle with that a lot, especially when I have these big opportunities that I could showcase my cultures, but there's just a lot of pressure. It's almost like gatekeeping. I'm not just going there just to represent, I want to showcase my art and art can be from anywhere. It's heartwarming sometimes because people are rooting for you, but you also don't want to JUST be representation. It's not the Olympics, so I wish there would be limits when it comes to categorising all the time like that.
So speaking about your music, who would you say that you write music for? I know in one of your songs, ‘King of the Night,’ specifically, you said you wrote for your 12-year-old self. Does that happen with your other songs too?
You know how some people find journalling, like that physical commitment writing has on paper, therapeutic? That's how I find writing songs, it's a physical commitment but it's also out of my head and now in the world. But all of these songs connect to me, but sometimes it's connected to my healing process and sometimes it's just cool songs that I wanna make. So, like with ‘King of the Night,’ I wanted to write a tribute song for my teenage years when I wasn't very confident with who I was and what I wanted to do. So it was my way of journaling what I felt when I was twelve and trying to figure out how, and who, I am as a person.
That makes a lot of sense in your music. You have that whimsy, eccentric danceable music with these vulnerable lyrics. So, how do you strike that balance of fun and vulnerable in your songs?
I've always been a fan when it comes to the gap between very sad lyrics, but a happy-sounding song. That's my weakness when it comes to songwriting. The playfulness of the sound helps me get through it without only dwelling on the emotions. I don't want to be feeling down when I'm performing that song, you know? I want to approach it with an open mind and work within the challenge of having a funky and whimsical song but the cathartic lyrics.
How do your unique singing style and musical abilities help you work with that challenge?
Like with ‘DON'T BLAME THE WILD ONE,’ it was heavily electronic, so I wanted the vocals to be human-sounding. That doesn't mean taking out all the effects, but it was about telling a story through the vocals and those raw emotions. On the production side, it's more about how to make it sound good. But when it comes to vocals, I just wanted to sound like me. If'm screaming, it's ME screaming. I really believe that You're the instrument of your own self. And I want that to come through every piece I perform, too.
It does. And speaking of performances, SXSW! How are you feeling?
In a word? Shocked. My label and I were worried about getting there financially, especially because we're kind of an indie label. It's a lot harder to visualise something like this happening until you're literally there. The fundraiser we had was so successful, and I'm so grateful. For a while, I was so scared that because I'm halfway around the world, I could've lost out on this.
I'm not only excited to perform but also to see artists that inspire me and get inspired by more. This is like Disneyland for musicians. It's my first time playing in the United States too, so it's just so many new experiences all rolled into one week. It's part of my bucket list, for sure. And I can't believe that we're going to perform at SXSW! Honestly, that's something that I didn't think was possible in my career, especially now. I'm just so excited, I wanna spend the week with no sleep and no stopping, just all SXSW. If people need to tape my eyes open so I can stay awake, so be it.
What's a moment of joy you want to share that you normally don't get to?
So after the fundraiser, a fan that's a crochet artist came up to me with a custom SXSW hat with my name on it and it made my day. She gave me an incredibly sweet letter and that honestly made me cry for like 20 minutes. I love my fans. Fans... they're artists, songwriters, creators in every way and they're so talented. So when they tag me on Instagram with a doodle of me or a sticker or anything, it's wonderfully overwhelming. My fans are really cool and I really appreciate them, every single one of them.