Q: “Nothing For Today” is such a fun track and great summer tune! Did you have an initial goal for this track?
KUBOTA: When it came to the instrumental, I wanted to make a joyful and pop-like song. I also wanted to be sure that the beat was minimalistic without too many instruments and pieces that filled up the mid-frequencies. Normally, I make beats that have a lot of pieces to them and small little parts that are hidden underneath the vocals or the melody, so it was an approach that I hadn’t taken very often. As for the lyrics, there wasn’t much of a goal aside from just letting my thoughts loose, as I do with all of my music.
Q: Did anything specific event inspire “Nothing For Today?”
KUBOTA: I was in a drought of inspiration. There have been many periods in my life where I wanted to give up on music because of the lack of inspiration. And that lack of inspiration kind of tumbles into a variety of negative emotions that ultimately leads to the thought of “should I give up?”. Ironically, my lack of inspiration was the inspiration to write this song so it kind of worked out.
Q: Did you have any specific artistic inspirations for this track who you
want listeners to know about?
KUBOTA: I can’t name any inspirations behind this track at the moment, although I’m sure they’re there. I just can’t think of them right now. But I do get a lot of inspiration from artists like Kota the Friend.
Q: You’re quite active on social media. How do you use social media to elevate your musical platform?
KUBOTA: It’s a great way of promoting yourself, but it’s even better to develop your brand and image among your fans that discover your music. At the start of 2020, I made the effort of posting on social media consistently and it helped me figure out who I want to be as an artist and how I want to portray myself. More so than just promotional uses, it’s a great tool that has helped me develop as an artist. I think anyone can elevate their musical platform through the natural process of posting to social media regularly.
Q: You’re an LA native. Los Angeles has such a rich fusion of cultures and music throughout the city. How has this legacy influenced your sound?
KUBOTA: LA is a great place to discover music, both large and small artists. I’ve made a ton of friends who are musicians with the same ambitions and goals as me, and that’s so motivational and inspiring to me. I also knew that I had to stick out from what everyone else was doing. If I had lived in a different area with fewer people to mold myself as an artist from, I’d probably be less creative in my sound and style. At the same time, there are so many people who want to make music out here to the point where saying “I make music” is just played out, and I don’t think anyone will take you seriously because it’s a diluted phrase at this point. Every other person probably makes beats or raps nowadays, so you really have to branch out and show that you’re different before you even announce that you make music. Hopefully, I stick out enough to where people take an interest in my work and have my music speak for itself.
Interviewed by Sarah Scott
