Let Au/Ra be your Internet Guide
Although still a teen, Au/Ra is buzzing up the music world like a veteran. Dropping intense tracks like ‘Panic Room’ last year, her promise has been fulfilled with the vibrant new track ‘Assassin’. Dark as it is playful, Au/Ra has found her sound and is ready to challenge herself as well as us to new extremes. From dancing around the house to her dad’s Pink Floyd records, to playing Nintendo DS in her parent’s music studios at five years young, there are beats pumping through her veins. Without a doubt one to watch, Au/Ra is already one to follow on Insta (with over 10k loyal fans) and teaming up with some of music’s best. Having shot Au/Ra at the HUNGER Studio last year, we sat down with the rising star to find out what it’s like to be a Generation Z music maker…
What would you like to see more of online? What about less of?
I would love to see more people being themselves online. I feel like, and I do this too, sometimes we only like to portray the best sides of ourself, and we get too afraid to post about what we actually like and enjoy.
What or who is the best account you follow? The worst?
I would say the best account that I follow is @owoposts because all they really post about is “uwu” memes and cute supportive sappy things to send to your friends, which i really appreciate. Also the worst account I follow is @junk.food. They only post about junk food – I think that says enough haha. I have used it as a way to help keep my junk food cravings at bay, sometimes just looking at a burger will relieve me for a little while. Extra emphasis on little while.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve read about yourself online?
Somebody once totally rewrote my Wikipedia page and put that I was from a city in China called Zhengzhou, that I’d grow up in Chicago, and had a brother who works at a radio station. All extremely false. I did get a good laugh out of it – kind of hate and love whoever did that.
What’s your favourite meme?
Not going to lie – I’m a total sucker for the hit or miss meme. It’s just too undeniably catchy.
What’s your earliest memory of the Internet?
Earliest memory of the Internet was when I was 10 years old. I grew up in a way that I was pretty unaware of technology at first – spending most of my time lost in my imagination in my backyard or on the beach. When I was ten though, I started getting into YouTube and virtual games – I’d borrow my grandma’s laptop and binge watch youtube covers. Watching those videos and seeing that other kids were taking matters into their own hands by just uploading these amazing videos themselves gave me that extra push of confidence (that I was lacking at the time) to start doing the same thing. Also I learned english when I was seven, so I was freshly fascinated with the language that when I discovered typing and being able to record your work in that way, I grew obsessed with it, and was constantly writing short stories.
Is the Internet a good or bad thing for music?
I love social media for the core reason being, I can connect indirectly, but in someway directly, to my listeners. I’m not just showing them my music, I’m showing them me, while also getting to know them. It’s special. You start to feel like friends after a while.
How many followers represent success?
I feel like it depends on what kind of account you are, and what your goals are. I know it’s standard to assume more followers equals more success, but I also think it’s important that people connect to you too. A smaller number of very engaged followers is also a form of success, in my opinion.
Finally…what’s going on in your life?
I just dropped a new single called assassin which has been super exciting. Planning to release a music video for that soon too, and to be touring in the summer. Overall, I want to put out a LOT of music this year!
Listen to ‘Assassin’ here now and follow Au/Ra on Instagram here.
