EXCLUSIVE: Wonderland Magazine interview with Erika Tham
SINGAPORE (via WonderlandMagazine.com) – Serving up a delicious fusion of R&B and pop finesse with her debut single is newcomer Erika Tham with “Admit It”. Seamlessly blending the two genres together, the artist rides a sultry production, intertwining each tonal shift with intimate lyricism and instrumentation. Filled with cadence and sophistication, the artist showcases her powerhouse vocals on the track, as she effortlessly transcends between sweet honeyed whispers to raw and frank truths.
“Sometimes music feels like the one place I can say things that I otherwise wouldn’t say in real life,” the artist revealed when discussing the track. “I think ‘Admit It’ is the perfect example of that. I know I could never have said these things to the person without breaking his heart… but there was nothing stopping me from writing it down in a son.”
No newcomer to the scene, Tham has already had success in the acting world as she has made appearances in Nickelodeon’s Make it Pop and Disney Channel’s Original Movie Kim Possible. Realizing her true passion is music, the artist made the switch a few years ago and hasn’t looked back. Ready to embark on her new path, we caught up with the star talking the jump from acting to music, finding her sound and everything she has in store for us.
Check out the interview below…
Hey Erika, how are you doing?
Currently on a flight to New York after filming the first music video for my EP and pulling an all-nighter to pack, so… in need of some beauty sleep but super excited!
With everything that happened last year, how did you stay creative?
I’m very inspired by love and heartbreak and I guess I learned that pandemic or not, that sh*t doesn’t go away, so I never felt starved of inspiration! Also, being unable to go to the studio and being forced to go back to my roots of just being alone on the piano making music at home, made me fall in love with the beauty in the simplicity of that all over again!
How did you first get into music, what sparked your interest?
I’ve loved music and performing for as long as I can remember and that only grew when I was lucky enough to be in the studio for some of my acting jobs, but what really changed things for me was when I moved to LA and taught myself how to play the piano and write a song… once I discovered that, music became all I wanted to do.
You’re also an actor, which do you prefer?
I love acting, but I think music is my soulmate.
Congratulations you just released your debut single “Admit It”! What was the process behind this track?
Thank you! I made “Admit It” and every other song on my upcoming EP in the same week in Atlanta at an Airbnb with my friends Major and Deion. We wanted to make something cinematic and immersive and unique, so the first day there we went to Walmart and bought a white board and just dove deeper into what this sonic world might look like; everything from colors to weather and moods, approaching it almost as if we were directors making a movie. After Deion made a couple tracks, we matched each track to a different point in this movie’s storyline, based on how it made us feel. I think the original “Admit It” track might’ve been ‘the heist’. This was my first time approaching making music this way and it was such an incredible experience.
It’s all about falling in love and being honest, what was it like translating this into your music?
Sometimes music feels like the one place I can say things that I otherwise wouldn’t say in real life. I think “Admit It” is the perfect example of that. I know I could never have said these things to the person without breaking his heart… but there was nothing stopping me from writing it down in a song.
You started your career at a super young age, have you felt any pressures along the way?
1000%. Working in the industry at such a young age makes you grow up fast and learn how to deal with some real, working professional, adult problems. That being said, I think those pressures are what made me into the absolutely unrelenting, fanatical workaholic that I am today, which is something that I’m very grateful for.
What do you want people to take away from your music?
As an artist, I want to create this strong, feminine, sensual sonic world for people. Something that’s part journal-entry vulnerability, part whispered seduction, part no-holds-barred gravitas, but always framed in a way that makes you feel like a bad bitch.
Who would you cite as your biggest inspirations?
The entire Disney renaissance era of music. Those melodies… raised me!
What is next for you in the coming months?
More music before the end of the year and an EP on the way!
