Putting Into Context: An Interview with Okay Kaya

A few months back, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Kaya Wilkins, better known as Okay Kaya, a boundary-pushing artist who has continually redefined herself across music, modeling, and visual storytelling. Known for her ability to juxtapose light and dark, whimsy and melancholy, Okay Kaya’s work invites listeners to embrace complexity while still finding joy in the unexpected.

In this conversation, we delve into the inspirations behind her latest album, Oh My God – That’s So Me; a project that takes a bold leap into R&B and disco influences while maintaining her signature introspection. Kaya opens up about writing music during Norway’s isolating winters, finding humor in vulnerability, and her fascination with loneliness as embodied by characters like The Groke.

From her early days of songwriting to working on soundtracks like Death Stranding, and exploring filmmaking, Kaya shares how her creative processes are shaped by solitude, whiteboards, and a playful alter ego. With her unorthodox approach to visuals, a deeply personal yet universally relatable lyricism, and a willingness to let others reinterpret her vision, Okay Kaya continues to evolve as a multifaceted artist.

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Nick Bianco: So starting from the beginning, what attracted you to music over another creative medium?

Okay Kaya: I think songwriting is a really good way to juxtapose different moods. You know, music carries its own sort of feeling, and then words can carry another. And I think it’s fun to experiment with those two things. 

 

NB: How have your creative influences changed over time, with who you are as a person, and where you are musically?

OK: I have a really hard time seeing things in hindsight. This path for me has been so organic, so it’s hard for me to look back and find these moments. I don’t know if I can answer that, there’s no big moment. 

 

NB: This new album sounds like it’s going for a new and exciting sound that we’ve seen hints of before in your past work, but this seems like a really big shift. How has your workflow and process changed over time?

OK: Well, I moved to an island, I moved back to Norway, and I think I’ve had a lot more time to live in solitude, that’s really helped the songwriting process. I also had a lot of time to record. And I think by making different records, I make an intention of how it’s going to sound different next time. This was just the feeling of this album, I suppose. And I think it came out how I wanted it to feel.

 

NB: Your discography has shown a lot of vulnerability on your part. Was that vulnerable state something you had to hone in on, or did it come naturally with making music?

OK: I think writing songs is a pretty vulnerable place to go anyway, putting yourself out there in that way. It’s not something I hone in on. But it’s also kind of inevitable when you’re working with that medium. I think it should be inevitable because music is so special in that way.

 

NB: You’ve been able to conquer so many creative endeavors, whether that be making music, acting, or scoring films. You had a song included in the Death Stranding soundtrack which is so exciting. Was that included in the game after you made it, or did you write it specifically for the video game?

OK: It was written specifically for the video game.

 

 

NB: How was that process?

OK: It was great. I just remember getting a bunch of stills from the game. And I can’t remember the group who actually produced the music, something poets. Oh God, it’s a little while ago. But I got sent an instrumental and I just started grinding over that.

 

NB: I do personally have to say, I’ve played the game, and I think while the game itself is incredible, the soundtrack is just on its own level, to the point where they’re pressing the soundtrack on the vinyl. So that’s a huge accomplishment. Tying into that, how do you sit and organize all these pursuits?

OK: It was my birthday in August, and my mom asked me, “What do you want for your birthday?” And I said, “I actually need a whiteboard.” And she said, “You actually left a whiteboard here at the house,” and she gave me my whiteboard back. I basically just need time and a whiteboard and then try to figure out what is of the essence to do at that moment. I’m really lucky having done a lot of fashion modeling as work so I have a lot of time. You know, not having a nine-to-five job. I start making calendars and stuff, but that’s more in touring, very sort of practical ways. I think, feel blessed with having time and then take it from there.

NB: Are you a big list person?

OK: I like lists, but then will I start one list over here and then my whiteboard…

 

NB: You’ve modeled for high fashion brands like Bottega, walked-in fashion shows, etcetera. How does fashion play a role in your life outside of modeling?

OK: I’m going to be honest with you, it kind of doesn’t. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a lot of really interesting, creative people, and that’s obviously inspiring. But, I consider my work to be extremely insular. Well, obviously, I work with visual expression as well, but I’m not sure if I draw so much from fashion. I probably draw more from films.

 

NB: You released a short film called “2000”. How was the process of making that?

OK: Yeah! So it was found footage from the year 2000, when I borrowed, or stole my mom’s camera and started filming my house and annoying all of my brothers, I can’t remember where it was shown. I think it was shown in Chicago. I think this was COVID times as well. I wanted to make something eerie but could stand alone, and I could play with scoring it. Insert these live performances from my brother’s bedroom. I was traveling around in Norway a lot of the time, so just working with footage from the present and the past that captured what I thought would be the mind of a 10-year-old. 

 

 

NB: So after doing some research into The Groke, as scary as this mythical creature might look, she’s actually a personification of loneliness, which is really heartbreaking. On the flip side, your song titled after her sounds upbeat, and the lyrics almost come across as sympathetic towards the creature. What was your thought process in writing that track?

OK: Well, I grew up with The Moomins and Tove Jansson. I think Tove Jansson was a great fighter, first and foremost, and painter, I think she would have liked me to say first and foremost. Her brain was just so great. After moving back to Norway and spending a winter fully encapsulated in -25 for the first time in 14 years, I didn’t see her, but I was feeling her. And I was like, “This is groky outside now.” It’s really hard to get around. It’s icy, it’s dark. I just wanted to not feel that way, I suppose. Therefore, the track is very upbeat, and, it’s like, “Wait, this character is also so interesting and does need that, you know, like she, she needs a little cheerleader.” I think, you know, it all goes back to sort of personification of loneliness, but also personification of Mother Nature being weird. 

 

NB: There’s a very retro sound to it, which, again, sounds like a big sidestep for you musically compared to some of your past stuff. What led to this?

OK: A lot of the lyrics were quite eerie and based in fiction. So it was a choice to make in contrast because I felt like on SAP, maybe there was a similarity between the production and the lyrics, which I also really liked, and that got, kind of, creepy in that way. I think when I wrote “The Art of Poetry”, which is quite an airy track, I knew what I wanted the album to be. And I knew I wanted strings. But then I was like, “Okay, well, there’s oh so many genres and also many things you can do.” Strings are so versatile.

I was really lucky to work with Clem Brown, who arranged and played violin, viola on the record, and my friend Frankie, who’s a great artist and who plays cello. So knowing that they would bless the record, I visited the genres that I thought would be fitting. So “The Groke” has these crazy great Egyptian disco strings, but “The Wannabe” has these very simple soul strings. I think that was probably one of the reasons why that sounds like it does.

 

NB: the two music videos you released for your singles, “The Groke” and “Undulation Days” have a very cool, trippy, retro feel to them, seemingly to match the glamorous 70s disco sound of the rest of the album. Was that something you had in mind from the conception of this album, or is it something that came during the writing process?

OK: Actually, it’s funny because the whole get up that Kaya, or me — she becomes something else — was, I wrote a song about graduating that didn’t make the record, but that was the idea of this person who’s graduated something and then reveals these tiny little nipple tassel graduation caps. And I was like, “This has to be what this album looks like somehow.” And then I felt like I didn’t give much direction in terms of “Undulation Days”.  “The Groke” was directed by Julia Patey, who had a very interesting way of working which I think ended up being quite cool. I kind of let a lot of control go in terms of how I normally work visually, but I think it’s fun. 

 

NB: I’m curious how the production was on the shooting of “The Groke”. Was that just like you and a green screen? Because there are so many visuals playing around. I saw a meme you said about 90s music videos that look like they’re in the cheese grater, and you’re in the cheese grater at one point. So how was it shooting that video?

OK: So I was like, “Okay, so I really want that. I really want nipple tassels.” I think those were the two things I brought to the table. Julia brought the whole sitting in the thing of sand and melting in the toaster. So we were just kind of like, “Okay, what can happen to this person?” There were four people on set, me, Julia, and two people who were doing set design. The tree is handmade, and all the little miniatures are sourced. There was that to work with, and everyone was extremely good at working together as a team. The green screen was Julia’s first, maybe not the first attempt, but one of her first attempts at using CGI. She was editing everything and so she just got really into it and did an amazing job.

NB: You said something I wanted to touch on. You referred to Kaya in the third person as your musical embodiment. How has that worked for you? Is it just in making music? Is it a separate version of yourself that you see?

OK: Definitely not musically, but I think visually. It’s if I see myself back on any screen, whether or not it’s my videos, or someone else’s films, or the picture in a fashion shoot, it just kind of separates me a little bit. For sure, musically, I feel like, “Yeah, this is the main project of this person, that is me.” But sure, sometimes you have a camera or you’re being perceived in a way that it’s not that true. 

 

NB: I’ve heard so many people talk about this. Whether it be YouTubers or people who edit their content. Your brain’s not meant to be taking in your own image for that long, you start to get a sort of dysmorphia for yourself.

OK: Yeah, so it’s good I separate her. I have more compassion for her, and I also have an easier time editing.

NB: You’ve got a lot of control over your own interpretations of things. I respect that a lot. 

 

NB: In one of your previous interviews, you mentioned that, “The goal is to someday write a song as good as a happy song, just to feel that happy about something.” On Oh My God – That’s So Me, a lot of the lyrics are eerie like you said, but sonically sound very positive and upbeat. You also mentioned living in Norway and writing this in the winter, where it’s cold. How was the writing process, both lyrically and instrumentally, for you as an artist? Is there any truth to the statement of you wanting to write something like a happy song?

OK: I think it sounds like I was really bummed then. I probably was.

 

NB: Yeah, it was a couple of years ago.

OK: I think I’ve actually spoken to some other songwriters about this. One guy said to me, “Oh, I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to write a song because I’m happy now I have a girlfriend.” But that doesn’t seem to be the case as of yet. I don’t know if I’ve gone exactly where I wanted, because I was listening to… I think it’s called Hot Chocolate. “I believe in miracles…” Like, I need to write a song that starts in such a positive way. So I’m thinking about it, I’m still trying.

 

NB: I feel like happiness is never a destination. It’s a process, where it’s just you existing, and it happens over time. You know? I think music is so beautiful in that way because you’re almost documenting the process of that. If you go back and listen to your discography from beginning to end. You can really remember, “Oh man, I was at this chapter in my life. I was at that chapter in my life,” and go about it that way.

OK: So true.

 

NB: What do you want people to take away from your new album Oh, my God – That’s So Me?

OK: Well, hopefully, it feels like they want to say that exact sentence. The instructions are in the title. I can’t decide what anyone feels about anything. I cross my fingers that people leave the album feeling that way.

 

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Listen to Okay Kaya’s latest album, Oh My God – That’s So Me in its entirety below and stay up-to-date with touring and everything else via Instagram and her website.