“I just wanna flirt with a girl in broad daylight on the street,” Miya Folick sings at the top of the chorus of “Erotica,” the opening track of her third album, Erotica Veronica. The quasi-title track is a tidy summation of what the ensuing record explores: sexual confidence; sapphic romance; and self-acceptance.
Whereas the Los Angeles singer-songwriter’s first two records wrestled with that process of discovery, Erotica Veronica concerns itself with that journey’s enlightening endpoint. It might just be her finest work yet.
Following the album’s release on Friday, Folick sat down with Uproxx to talk about Floating Points, Greg Uhlmann, Japan, and more in our latest Q&A.
What are four words you would use to describe your music?
Warm, tender, heavy, ascendant.
It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
I don’t care. I just hope people are listening to music they love. Legacy is not something I worry about.
Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?
Corny, but me. My music is influenced by my own curiosity and interest.
Where did you eat the best meal of your life and what was it?
Ohara, Japan. A vegetarian meal of local produce. Sublime.
Tell us about the best concert you’ve ever attended.
I don’t really do bests or favorites. The first thing that comes to mind is watching Greg Uhlmann play his composition Arpy for the first time at ETA in Los Angeles. I cried my eyes out. That or watching Floating Points perform Promises at the Hollywood Bowl.
What song never fails to make you emotional?
Olivia Kaplan – “Two Red Chairs”
What’s the last thing you Googled?
I looked up Joshua Idehen because his track “Mum Does the Washing” was suggested to me on Tidal.
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?
An Airbnb in Washington D.C. where there was a literal hole in the wall the size of a garage door and the host told us “Baby raccoons might come in at night. There’s cat food if you want to feed them.”
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform and what’s the city you hope to perform in for the first time?
Los Angeles, baby. Hometown shows are the best. I would love to play in Mexico City or Tokyo.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
Start writing music. You’re gonna like it.
What’s one of your hidden talents?
I don’t have any hidden talents. Except maybe that I give good back scratches and massages.
If you had a million dollars to donate to charity, what cause would you support and why?
I would probably just split the money into 200k portions and give it to families who needed it. That’s a life-changing amount of money.
What are your thoughts about AI and the future of music?
I think music made by humans will always be necessary and desired. AI is not something that I’m very interested in at all.
You are throwing a music festival. Give us the dream lineup of 5 artists that will perform with you and the location it would be held.
Floating Points, Mannequin Pussy, Arooj Aftab, Nilüfer Yanya, Sam Austins.
Japanese countryside.
Who’s your favorite person to follow on social media?
Mandy Patinkin.
What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?
My first tattoo is Laura Nyro lyrics “Sidewalk and Pigeon” from New York Tendaberry.
What is your pre-show ritual?
I drink tea, sometimes wine. I do a little yoga or go for a walk. Warm up my voice.
Who was your first celebrity crush?
I didn’t really have celebrity crushes as a kid. I think my first celebrity crush was Simona Tabasco from White Lotus.
You have a month off and the resources to take a dream vacation. Where are you going and who is coming with you?
There are so many places I haven’t been. I have never been to Africa. Which seems pretty wild, as I’ve travelled quite a bit, to have never been to the entire continent of Africa. I also haven’t spent much time in South America. The only country in Asia I’ve been to is Japan. I have a lot of places I’d like to go! I know these are very broad answers, but it’s hard to know where to begin when I have entire continents I haven’t been to.
What is your biggest fear?
Losing my curiosity. Losing people I love.
Erotica Veronica is out now via Stop Talking. Find more information here.