After their collaboration in 2019 on “Vise le haut“, a fun and energetic trilingual track that earned them the attention of the hip-hop world both in US and Japan, the three artists and friends VivaOla, Jua and Wez Atlas combine their multicultural talents one more time on the new single “NEO EGO“.

In this interview spotlight, I chat with VivaOla about the new music, technology, challenges and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)

I’m from S.Korea, raised in Japan. I identify myself as Japanese with Korean roots. I grew up listening to both Japanese and Korean music, but VivaOla is heavily influenced from Korean pop and R&B. I also grew up listening to US hiphop, J-Rock. But overall, I would call myself as an R&B artist.

What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?

I just love music. Music itself is my very motivation. I initially started playing electric guitar back in middle school. By the time I was graduating my high school, I started messing around with DAWs and started making beats/music for my friends. But at some point, I wanted to be a singer of my own music. And thus, here I am.

How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?

Some people think that I listen to jazz, lofi, and just all the chillest music out there. But I don’t. One of my absolute favorite music is trap music. I’m in love with their simplicity and groove. But the only song in which I showed my love towards trap music was a song called, “Runway”. So I wanted to try doing more of that. Also this is a little closer to what’s coming next from VivaOla stylistically.

Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?

One thing I see a lot people missing is the fact that you have to try your best to reach your audience. You can make the best music in the world. But if it doesn’t reach anyone, I feel like there’s no point (unless if you are satisfied with your music just being yours). Also, I see a lot of people not finishing the songs and putting them out to the world because they feel like the quality is not up to their standards. I think it’s never been this easier to do music after all the huge advancement in digital technology. Like making music in your bedroom, recording ideas with your phone right on the spot, or even doing however many takes you want to.  But not a lot of people can finish songs and call it a song, put it out there, and promote it. I think it’s a little bit ironic.

What was the last song you listened to?

“her shadows” by Thomas Ng

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

I prefer mp3. Just because I don’t have both players.

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

Oh absolutely Apple Music. Speaking of which, I recently stopped using Spotify Premium because it felt like Spotify was becoming more than just a streaming services. Like podcasts, live streaming etc. I didn’t need all that. Also Spotify is really good for letting the service do the digging work, but I like to do that on my own. I used to use bandcamp way before I used the name, “VivaOla”. I sometimes use SoundCloud but mainly for checking how my new music sounds online. Recently I signed up for YouTube Premium. I have to say, this was one of my best decisions I ever made. Some of my favorite artists only put out their music on YouTube and being able to listen to them on background without ads is simply awesome. Absolutely worth the price.

Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?

Definitely check out on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, and your choice of streaming services. I’ll be there.

Anything else before we sign off?

Check out my latest single with Wez Atlas and Jua, “NEO EGO”!