For Moyka, music is somewhere to escape, dream and feel completely free. The Norwegian electropop artist has built an immersive world of shimmering electronics, emotional honesty and a touch of the mystical, creating the kind of refuge she once found in music herself.
Her debut album, BULLSEYE, is a deeply personal exploration of authenticity, attachment, obsession and renewal. Making the record meant confronting emotions she’d initially been afraid to put into words, while learning to trust her instincts, embrace collaboration and become more confident in her own creative voice. The result is an album that finds beauty in uncertainty, allowing opposing feelings to coexist without necessarily offering easy answers.
We caught up with Moyka to talk about finding the courage to be vulnerable, protecting her artistic vision, learning to let others into her creative world and why she wants her live shows to become spaces for connection, freedom and collective release. Read the Q&A below.
For anyone discovering Moyka for the first time through this interview, how would you describe the world you’re trying to create with your music – and what makes you want to keep building it?
“I’ve always wanted to create a space where I can feel free and express myself the way I want, and I think that’s the most honest way to maybe create that space for someone listening too. I want this universe to feel magical and maybe a little bit mystical. I want you to feel comfort, a place to move and dance freely to the music, maybe even forget time and place for a moment. What keeps me creating and building this universe is my urge to be creative. I love being in the studio, I love to dream and to get lost in the process. That’s a magical place where anything is possible, and one of my favourite places to be!”
BULLSEYE has been described as a kind of self-portrait, exploring authenticity, performance, attachment, obsession and renewal. Did making the album reveal anything about yourself that you hadn’t fully understood before?
“Yes, absolutely. One of the things it revealed was that I was way more scared to dive into the deep of making a new album than I initially thought. At the start of the process, I tried to run away from writing certain songs because I was terrified to be as honest as I knew I had to be. I was really confronted with the question of what kind of artist I wanted to be, and it took some time to find the courage to say the things I wanted to say with this record. After releasing music for several years now, it felt more important than ever to reveal something honest, raw and untouched. And maybe something my teenage self would have appreciated hearing growing up. Making an album sometimes feels like going on a crazy mission. It’s so self-indulgent, messy, delusional and such an intense practice of endurance.”
You held out for the right collaborators and were determined to release this record entirely on your own terms. What did that process teach you about trusting your instincts as an artist?
“I think our gut feeling and our intuition as artists is our most important quality. It’s what guides me through making my art and through everything I do. With the music industry being so unstable, I feel like the most important thing you can do is trusting yourself and your vision. That’s how I think you’ll attract the right people as well. They will understand what you’re doing and where you’re going, and they go there with you!”
You’ve spoken about once being very protective of your creative process, but gradually becoming more comfortable letting other people into it. What helped you realise that collaboration didn’t have to mean losing control of your own voice?
“With time as I’ve gained more experience with that way of working, I’ve grown to enjoy it more and more. Writing with other people sparks different creative directions than where I would have gone alone, so it’s more fun and playful than writing by myself. Also, I’ve become more certain of myself, my voice and what I want to say, so I’m less scared speak up if I think we’re moving in the wrong direction too.”
‘Moon’ explores that fragile space between despair and hope, and the temptation to escape yourself when things feel difficult. What draws you creatively to those moments where two opposing emotions can exist at once?
“I think it’s such a special place to write from. It creates this tension and uncertainty. With ‘Moon’ I didn’t have a conclusion or an answer, it was just a moment I wanted to capture. Maybe that leaves some space for you as a listener to find the answer for the questions yourself?”
Music gave you a sense of refuge and belonging when you were growing up, and that idea still seems central to the world you create now. What does it mean to you when a listener tells you they’ve found that same kind of refuge in your music?
“That is honestly the most beautiful thing. Music has always been my safe place, and if I can provide that with my own music to anyone else, that’s absolutely incredible to me.”
Your music feels incredibly immersive, almost like stepping into another place. When you take that world onto a stage, what do you hope happens between you and the people in the room?
“Oh, I love that! When I play my music live, I want to create a space for connection, freedom, expression and celebration. Being many people in the same room, singing and dancing together feels sacred and I want to honour that in the best way I can. When I create a show, my dream is to create this world you can step into and be totally immersed in for a little while. A world where you can be yourself, sing, dance, cry and move freely! My biggest hope is that we’ll feel some kind of magical release together.”
Finally, BULLSEYE suggests that even when we try to escape ourselves, we ultimately find our way back. What do you hope listeners might understand about themselves by the time they reach the end of the album?
“I’m not entirely sure if I can answer that. I think that’s an individual journey the listener themselves has to embark on, but what I do hope is that it makes you feel something.”
