Q&A: PSA! FIG is “Seeking For Connection”
MULTI-HYPHENATED ARTIST — FIG may have physical and musical roots in Malaysia and R&B, respectively, but her expansive life experience is reflected in her genre-shifting music. From a young age, FIG was fortunate to be surrounded by an influx of music and culture, growing up traveling the world with her family to catch concerts and music festivals (they once hit the Netherlands, the US, Japan, and the UK all in one summer). Her parents are admittedly much cooler than most of ours, openly being huge fans of huge R&B artists and religiously attending Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival with the family.
The self-proclaimed indie-pop/R&B-alternative singer has previously opened up about her parent’s support of her music career and general open-mindedness about pursuing passions as they change and grow with you.
It’s hard to ignore how FIG’s deeply cultured, non-traditional upbringing within an Asian household would later be the setup for not only her creative pursuits but the humanity she brings to her art. After leaving Malaysia and briefly living in Germany, FIG now resides in New York City, where she moved initially to pursue a liberal arts education in culture and media.
FIG clearly never lets a single experience go to waste, with her education and background continuing to be reflected in her self-directed music videos, visualizers, and silly TikTok videos, on top of her lively tracks. FIG’s top hit, “Pair of You,” came off her debut album, Bud, released last November, and made its rounds as another great TikTok discovery.
Now back with over 100K streams on Spotify and the release of her latest single, “Seeking For Connection,” along with its accompanying music video, FIG gives us a sneak peek inside her thought process behind the track, identity, and just life as she knows it. Read our interview with the artist down below.
LUNA: I think the title of the track speaks for itself, in terms of what the song is about: seeking connection. What was going through your mind when you first came up with the song? Would you say that it could be applied to seeking different types of connection — romantic connection, human connection, etc?
FIG: This song came about from a breakdown that I had in K-Town after doubting a friendship with someone. I was frustrated as I really struggle to make any genuine connections with anyone. In the song I am directly asking the person, “Are you seeking for connection?” and I am trying to see if this friendship was real or if I was making up stories inside my head. I believe it can be applied to all types of connection and the uncertainty that comes with it.
LUNA: What does connecting with someone look like to you?
FIG: Connecting with someone is being able to feel the most comfortable and there is no pressure to put any walls up. There is also just this spark of joy you get when you are with someone that you connect with, which is super special.
LUNA: You seem to write your music very intuitively, listening to any of your tracks often feels like peeking inside your mind. “Seeking For Connection” definitely falls in line with how personable your music is. How does this track differ from other projects you’ve put out, if at all?
FIG: I’ve always hesitated with making a lot of “sad music” and this song especially as a single is definitely more of a different theme compared to my other tracks. But I told myself it was okay because it is just human for people to feel emotions other than just being in a world of happy frolicking flowers everywhere. It was a feeling that I felt strongly at the time and still do now, so it was okay to make something about it.
LUNA: How do you generally navigate making music that seems to latch closely to your personal growth? Is it tricky, say, if you write something you’re feeling in the moment and then you have to produce and release that project once you’ve already moved on from that feeling?
FIG: Either way, if I had moved on from that feeling or not, it has been super helpful to produce and release something, as it is a way for me to figure out my emotions and have music act as a canvas for feelings that I usually keep buried inside.
LUNA: You have a pretty extensive background with music — you’ve said before how much you and your family love music and that your upbringing with them was centered around attending concerts and music festivals. It's so cool to see not only that your parents have such good taste in music and instilled that in you, but also how your story strays far from the traditional Asian experience of pursuing passions. What do you hope to achieve as an Asian artist in the industry?
FIG: I am ever so grateful for my parents, as they have really been open and allowed me to explore things creatively. I hope to be able to make music and feel free to create art without thinking that I need to fit a certain mold or structure. I also hope to create a community where people can feel comfortable to be themselves and also just be an artist to show people who look like me that they can be creative and pursue something like this too.
LUNA: On that note, I know you have certain feelings about mainstream Asian representation, such as 88rising, feeling a bit gatekept and inaccessible to smaller artists. How have you been finding your community in the industry on a smaller scale since starting your music career?
FIG: I believe that outlets like 88rising are super great, and it also inspired me at the time seeing such a big roster of Asian artists killing it. I wanted to create a community where artists can find a space at no matter what level they are on and find people [who] will support each other. I have started hosting community food and music events which I call Cob Stand Events. On the music side of the events, I invite three awesome upcoming Asian artists in the community to have an intimate concert for around 60 to 100 people. I wanted to create space and events where people can feel comfortable going by themselves. It has been so rewarding to see a little community come together where upcoming artists can meet each other and people in the area can also discover new ones too.
LUNA: Who are some of your favorite lowkey artists at the moment?
FIG: O.O.O, Greek, Jordan Ward, Yoshi T, Nathanie.
LUNA: I know you were previously studying culture and media in college — how would you say you like to incorporate your previous experiences and knowledge, educational, life, or otherwise into your music and artistry? As I’m sure your craft grows as you do.
FIG: Before doing music, I used to create little videos lip-syncing to songs I loved. This creativity of making videos has now transferred into me using my own music. With my time at school it was great, as I was able to explore different aspects of media creation, and it is something I would like to incorporate into my artistry. I also try to incorporate my past experiences into my music and artistry, and looking back it is cool to see how I have told stories differently through art based on where I am in life.
LUNA: I feel like the lines and boundaries of genres are becoming more blurred, and artists now love to experiment with sounds outside of their perceived box. How would you describe your music/sound? Any interest in expanding and experimenting since you grew up with such a heavy influence in hip-hop and R&B?
FIG: Right now, I would describe it as an indie-pop/R&B-alternative, which definitely sounds like a fuse of things. I would love to expand into different genres and even collaborate with artists to experiment and see what awesome things we can make together.
LUNA: You’ve been doing some small performances for shows and opening for other artists. How has it been getting to perform the project for people? What’s your favorite thing about performing live?
FIG: It has been the best experience to open for people especially opening for artists who I really look up to and respect. The cool thing about opening is that there is way less pressure because most people don’t know your music and it is just an opportunity to present your music to a lot of potential new fans.
LUNA: Can we look forward to seeing any other upcoming projects from you soon? Any more music videos/visualizers? You love to direct and make silly videos, like the ones you have on TikTok promoting releases. I’m sure you have a lot of visions in your mind to go with your music!
FIG: Yes, definitely! A lot of fun things in the works as I continue to discover who I am as an artist, and [I’m] excited to show people what’s next.
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