Minneapolis musician Mike Kota on her writing process and new crowd-funded EP
Mike Kota performing at North By North Loop Festival in Minneapolis on Sept. 10.
Laura Buhman for MPR
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Minneapolis singer-songwriter Mike Kota has had an exciting year that started back in January when she was featured in First Avenue’s Best New Bands of 2022 concert.
This past spring and summer, she opened for Hozier and Shakey Graves. Kota’s new EP, Turning a Corner, comes out Nov. 13. She joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about it.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
MIKE KOTA: (SINGING) Every damn day, I'm wrestling with my thoughts. Every damn day, I fake a smile and hope I don't get caught. Every damn day, I'm in love with the love that I got.
INTERVIEWER: It's Every Damn Day by Michael Kota. We talked to some truly talented local musicians on this show. Mike Kota really is one of those. Mike is a singer songwriter from Minneapolis. She was one of the artists featured back in January in First Avenue's Best New Bands of 2022 concerts. She has a new EP coming out in November called Turning a Corner. She's on the line. Mike, welcome to the program. How are you?
MIKE KOTA: I'm good. I just have to correct you, but it's very funny you said Michael Kota. Sometimes when people ask what my name is short for, I tell them Michael, but it's actually Michaela.
INTERVIEWER: Ahhh OK. [LAUGHS] Thanks, Mike. I appreciate that. You said--
MIKE KOTA: Oh it's cool.
INTERVIEWER: I had a good time reading about you in the local current blog. And you told us that your musical life began with childhood piano lessons that you hated. So when did music become such an integral part of your life?
MIKE KOTA: I think when I finally came around to it myself, I had some friends in high school that inspired me. Met my band late high school and kind of really started releasing music through the band. And yeah, that was a good introduction chapter to my life to how releasing music works and being an artist.
INTERVIEWER: Being an artist, being a woman in the music business can be frustrating-- you've said that. Is that getting any better?
MIKE KOTA: Frankly, yes and no. I think it's more about just clocking things and staying true to yourself and surrounding yourself and just focusing on the good people that are here.
INTERVIEWER: Instead of focusing on those who are not terribly helpful?
MIKE KOTA: Right, right. right, right.
[LAUGHTER]
INTERVIEWER: Say, let me ask you about this spring you posted a TikTok cover of Hozier's song Take Me to Church. Do you remember that?
MIKE KOTA: Yes.
INTERVIEWER: OK.
MIKE KOTA: Oh I sure do.
INTERVIEWER: OK, I'm going to go ahead and play a little bit of it.
MIKE KOTA: (SINGING) My lover's got humor. She's a giggle at a funeral who's everybody's disapprove. Should've worshipped her sooner. If the heavens ever did speak, she's the last true mouthpiece. Every Sunday's getting more bleak. A fresh poison each week.
INTERVIEWER: And then you wind up opening for him at First Avenue? Oh my gosh, how did that come about?
MIKE KOTA: Yeah. Basically, I didn't really know. I thought it was all the gods aligning for me, but I did meet him the next day. And he said that he sent that to his manager. And because he was doing a pop up tour, and he didn't have an opening touring act-- I mean, he's an awesome artist who just really likes to give back and give opportunities to people, especially women. Yeah. So I don't know, I got lucky.
INTERVIEWER: Pretty amazing. And then you opened for Shakey Graves & Lucius this past summer, which-- those are two big, big names.
MIKE KOTA: Oh yes, what an honor.
INTERVIEWER: Right?
MIKE KOTA: Very mind-blowing experiences, opportunities that have come about this year.
INTERVIEWER: I want to play some new music you've been kind enough to share with us. This is the song Corner off the new EP.
[MIKE KOTA, "CORNER"]
MIKE KOTA: (SINGING) Despite the ugly I met I had a good few in my corner. You asked me for an extra five as if I was gonna be on time as you I don't run on a schedule of mine. It's hard to focus when I--
INTERVIEWER: What do you want to say with that song?
MIKE KOTA: Oh man, with that song specifically, it's definitely about healing and the victim mindset that I took on from just being faced with not so nice people, but how that victim mindset really inhibited my ability to create and trust in the beautiful relationships that I do have. So it's a kind of a pivot from that victim place to gratitude-- yes, I have good people in my corner, and I'm so thankful for them.
INTERVIEWER: Good. I'm glad you found those good people, too. Say, I'm wondering about how you describe your music. You've got a distinctive sound, which I love. But how do you describe it?
MIKE KOTA: Necessary as therapy, I guess. My biggest idol influence is King Krule. And I don't know, I do the thing.
INTERVIEWER: "I do the thing." Some of your songs have begun as poems, I understand.
MIKE KOTA: Yes. Yeah, the writing process is very scattered and chaotic, but also very intuitive. And it's like a little puzzle I have. Little phrases here and there stashed in my notes app or on little receipts and stuffed into notebooks. And then it all comes together somehow.
INTERVIEWER: I love that, these little scraps of paper. Then do you have a melody that plays through your mind?
MIKE KOTA: Yeah, sometimes it'll be like you catch a melody. You follow it down the rabbit hole, see where it leads. You try to build chords under it. And then you're like, oh, that makes sense. That's good. But it's not catchy enough for the chorus. So I guess this has to be the verse or perhaps the pre-chorus. And then we'll find something catchy, or I don't know.
INTERVIEWER: How long does it take you to write a song? It sounds like it takes forever.
MIKE KOTA: Yes. Yes, very much. Sometimes it happens in like one sitting in like an hour. And sometimes I just allow it to take years or months at a time, and just come back to it and find that missing piece finally.
INTERVIEWER: Say, I love asking artists about their process, be it a painter, a photographer, a musician. It's just interesting to me to hear how you work on all of that. Can I ask you a little bit about music that you're listening to right now?
MIKE KOTA: Sure.
INTERVIEWER: Good. Because when we have artists on the show, I want to know what's a source of inspiration for them. So we asked you that question, and you said you are recently listening to Kourosh Yaghmaei. Is that right?
MIKE KOTA: Yes. Well, that one song that I sent for sure, I was hyperfixating on for a couple of weeks when you sent the email.
INTERVIEWER: OK. So I'm going to play it right now. This is his song Leila.
[KOUROSH YAGHMAEI, "LEILA"]
KOUROSH YAGHMAEI: [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
INTERVIEWER: Now we should say Kourosh is an Iranian rock star, right? But in the '60s and early '70s. How did you find him?
MIKE KOTA: I think I was just listening to Spotify Radio, or I was trying to build a playlist and exposing myself. And then that song came on, and the intro to that song is just like this really ambient guitar. And then it finally builds up all the way into that entrance there that we just played. And I just was like, whoa, what the heck. [LAUGHS]
INTERVIEWER: I had to hurry up and google before our conversation. And evidently, he's called the Godfather of Iranian psychedelic rock. I never would have known that.
MIKE KOTA: Me neither.
INTERVIEWER: Right? So thank you for exposing all of us to him. Thank you. I must say.
MIKE KOTA: Yeah.
INTERVIEWER: OK, let me talk a little bit more about you now. I'm going to circle back. What about this new EP?
MIKE KOTA: Yeah. It is the first time-- so it's my second EP, second project. It is the first time I ever went in studio. I went down to Rochester at Carpet Booth Studios to work with Zach Zurn. He's the producing engineer guy on this, mixing, magician. So incredibly grateful to be working with him on this. It sounds better than I could have ever imagined, these songs sounding.
It's the first project that I'm really, really proud of. I just put so much of my heart into these songs. And I'm really, really excited to share it. Also, it was crowdfunded. I'd be remiss to not say that it was crowdfunded for. So all I can be is grateful.
INTERVIEWER: Oh wow, good for you. And it's a hard thing to do to crowdfund a song, a whole EP.
MIKE KOTA: Oh my gosh.
INTERVIEWER: Oh my gosh, yeah.
MIKE KOTA: But I don't have a label. I don't have management. So it's like it's just me and the community. Let's go.
INTERVIEWER: I like that. So how are you going to celebrate having it out in the world?
MIKE KOTA: I don't know. I've been thinking about that. I think I maybe will have some drinks. I was going to do an EP release show, but I don't know. I burnt myself out. So probably just have some drinks with some friends.
INTERVIEWER: I like that. That sounds like that would be a nice way to celebrate. Oh my goodness. Mike, I was so excited to have you on the show. I appreciate it. You are terrific. And I wish you all the best.
MIKE KOTA: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
INTERVIEWER: Mike Kota is a Minneapolis singer songwriter. Her new EP is called Turning A Corner. It's coming out next month. Do you find it. Do play it.
INTERVIEWER: It's Every Damn Day by Michael Kota. We talked to some truly talented local musicians on this show. Mike Kota really is one of those. Mike is a singer songwriter from Minneapolis. She was one of the artists featured back in January in First Avenue's Best New Bands of 2022 concerts. She has a new EP coming out in November called Turning a Corner. She's on the line. Mike, welcome to the program. How are you?
MIKE KOTA: I'm good. I just have to correct you, but it's very funny you said Michael Kota. Sometimes when people ask what my name is short for, I tell them Michael, but it's actually Michaela.
INTERVIEWER: Ahhh OK. [LAUGHS] Thanks, Mike. I appreciate that. You said--
MIKE KOTA: Oh it's cool.
INTERVIEWER: I had a good time reading about you in the local current blog. And you told us that your musical life began with childhood piano lessons that you hated. So when did music become such an integral part of your life?
MIKE KOTA: I think when I finally came around to it myself, I had some friends in high school that inspired me. Met my band late high school and kind of really started releasing music through the band. And yeah, that was a good introduction chapter to my life to how releasing music works and being an artist.
INTERVIEWER: Being an artist, being a woman in the music business can be frustrating-- you've said that. Is that getting any better?
MIKE KOTA: Frankly, yes and no. I think it's more about just clocking things and staying true to yourself and surrounding yourself and just focusing on the good people that are here.
INTERVIEWER: Instead of focusing on those who are not terribly helpful?
MIKE KOTA: Right, right. right, right.
[LAUGHTER]
INTERVIEWER: Say, let me ask you about this spring you posted a TikTok cover of Hozier's song Take Me to Church. Do you remember that?
MIKE KOTA: Yes.
INTERVIEWER: OK.
MIKE KOTA: Oh I sure do.
INTERVIEWER: OK, I'm going to go ahead and play a little bit of it.
MIKE KOTA: (SINGING) My lover's got humor. She's a giggle at a funeral who's everybody's disapprove. Should've worshipped her sooner. If the heavens ever did speak, she's the last true mouthpiece. Every Sunday's getting more bleak. A fresh poison each week.
INTERVIEWER: And then you wind up opening for him at First Avenue? Oh my gosh, how did that come about?
MIKE KOTA: Yeah. Basically, I didn't really know. I thought it was all the gods aligning for me, but I did meet him the next day. And he said that he sent that to his manager. And because he was doing a pop up tour, and he didn't have an opening touring act-- I mean, he's an awesome artist who just really likes to give back and give opportunities to people, especially women. Yeah. So I don't know, I got lucky.
INTERVIEWER: Pretty amazing. And then you opened for Shakey Graves & Lucius this past summer, which-- those are two big, big names.
MIKE KOTA: Oh yes, what an honor.
INTERVIEWER: Right?
MIKE KOTA: Very mind-blowing experiences, opportunities that have come about this year.
INTERVIEWER: I want to play some new music you've been kind enough to share with us. This is the song Corner off the new EP.
[MIKE KOTA, "CORNER"]
MIKE KOTA: (SINGING) Despite the ugly I met I had a good few in my corner. You asked me for an extra five as if I was gonna be on time as you I don't run on a schedule of mine. It's hard to focus when I--
INTERVIEWER: What do you want to say with that song?
MIKE KOTA: Oh man, with that song specifically, it's definitely about healing and the victim mindset that I took on from just being faced with not so nice people, but how that victim mindset really inhibited my ability to create and trust in the beautiful relationships that I do have. So it's a kind of a pivot from that victim place to gratitude-- yes, I have good people in my corner, and I'm so thankful for them.
INTERVIEWER: Good. I'm glad you found those good people, too. Say, I'm wondering about how you describe your music. You've got a distinctive sound, which I love. But how do you describe it?
MIKE KOTA: Necessary as therapy, I guess. My biggest idol influence is King Krule. And I don't know, I do the thing.
INTERVIEWER: "I do the thing." Some of your songs have begun as poems, I understand.
MIKE KOTA: Yes. Yeah, the writing process is very scattered and chaotic, but also very intuitive. And it's like a little puzzle I have. Little phrases here and there stashed in my notes app or on little receipts and stuffed into notebooks. And then it all comes together somehow.
INTERVIEWER: I love that, these little scraps of paper. Then do you have a melody that plays through your mind?
MIKE KOTA: Yeah, sometimes it'll be like you catch a melody. You follow it down the rabbit hole, see where it leads. You try to build chords under it. And then you're like, oh, that makes sense. That's good. But it's not catchy enough for the chorus. So I guess this has to be the verse or perhaps the pre-chorus. And then we'll find something catchy, or I don't know.
INTERVIEWER: How long does it take you to write a song? It sounds like it takes forever.
MIKE KOTA: Yes. Yes, very much. Sometimes it happens in like one sitting in like an hour. And sometimes I just allow it to take years or months at a time, and just come back to it and find that missing piece finally.
INTERVIEWER: Say, I love asking artists about their process, be it a painter, a photographer, a musician. It's just interesting to me to hear how you work on all of that. Can I ask you a little bit about music that you're listening to right now?
MIKE KOTA: Sure.
INTERVIEWER: Good. Because when we have artists on the show, I want to know what's a source of inspiration for them. So we asked you that question, and you said you are recently listening to Kourosh Yaghmaei. Is that right?
MIKE KOTA: Yes. Well, that one song that I sent for sure, I was hyperfixating on for a couple of weeks when you sent the email.
INTERVIEWER: OK. So I'm going to play it right now. This is his song Leila.
[KOUROSH YAGHMAEI, "LEILA"]
KOUROSH YAGHMAEI: [NON-ENGLISH SINGING]
INTERVIEWER: Now we should say Kourosh is an Iranian rock star, right? But in the '60s and early '70s. How did you find him?
MIKE KOTA: I think I was just listening to Spotify Radio, or I was trying to build a playlist and exposing myself. And then that song came on, and the intro to that song is just like this really ambient guitar. And then it finally builds up all the way into that entrance there that we just played. And I just was like, whoa, what the heck. [LAUGHS]
INTERVIEWER: I had to hurry up and google before our conversation. And evidently, he's called the Godfather of Iranian psychedelic rock. I never would have known that.
MIKE KOTA: Me neither.
INTERVIEWER: Right? So thank you for exposing all of us to him. Thank you. I must say.
MIKE KOTA: Yeah.
INTERVIEWER: OK, let me talk a little bit more about you now. I'm going to circle back. What about this new EP?
MIKE KOTA: Yeah. It is the first time-- so it's my second EP, second project. It is the first time I ever went in studio. I went down to Rochester at Carpet Booth Studios to work with Zach Zurn. He's the producing engineer guy on this, mixing, magician. So incredibly grateful to be working with him on this. It sounds better than I could have ever imagined, these songs sounding.
It's the first project that I'm really, really proud of. I just put so much of my heart into these songs. And I'm really, really excited to share it. Also, it was crowdfunded. I'd be remiss to not say that it was crowdfunded for. So all I can be is grateful.
INTERVIEWER: Oh wow, good for you. And it's a hard thing to do to crowdfund a song, a whole EP.
MIKE KOTA: Oh my gosh.
INTERVIEWER: Oh my gosh, yeah.
MIKE KOTA: But I don't have a label. I don't have management. So it's like it's just me and the community. Let's go.
INTERVIEWER: I like that. So how are you going to celebrate having it out in the world?
MIKE KOTA: I don't know. I've been thinking about that. I think I maybe will have some drinks. I was going to do an EP release show, but I don't know. I burnt myself out. So probably just have some drinks with some friends.
INTERVIEWER: I like that. That sounds like that would be a nice way to celebrate. Oh my goodness. Mike, I was so excited to have you on the show. I appreciate it. You are terrific. And I wish you all the best.
MIKE KOTA: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
INTERVIEWER: Mike Kota is a Minneapolis singer songwriter. Her new EP is called Turning A Corner. It's coming out next month. Do you find it. Do play it.
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