HATC: How does working with others allow you to explore music and discover things you might not have spoken about otherwise?

 

Karin: I always allow collaborations to flow naturally, I try not to have any expectations or put any pressure on them, the same way I work when I work alone and whatever happens happens. 

 

HATC: With ‘all my money’ drawing from a life constantly in motion, you’ve been incredibly vulnerable and tender in the making of the song, what inspires you to be so open and delve into such intimate topics to you?

 

K: I don’t tend to write with any goal in mind, I allow myself to get out on paper whatever my brain needs to get out. Sometimes, I don’t even know what it all means until a full song’s done. It’s kind of like therapy for me in a way, and I never think about anyone hearing it when I’m making it because not everything I ever write makes it to the public, but what else would I write about other than things that I’m moved by? 

 

HATC: You’ve described the song as a reflection on impermanence and connection. How do you translate those fleeting emotions into music?

 

K: It’s gonna sound repetitive, but just allowing things to progress naturally and not have a plan for it until it’s done. You just try things out until they feel right.

 

HATC: With moments in motion, how do you stay grounded?

 

K: I’ve been struggling with that quite a bit over the past 2 years, and it’s something I want to focus more on moving forward, which is also part of the reason why I don’t want to tour so much anymore. I found that the life I’m living right now is unsustainable for me mentally and physically, and I don’t want to get to the point I was at in 2022 when I couldn’t even walk for months on end. I’m trying to figure out a more balanced approach to my work life, especially because it’s cost me a lot of my personal life, and I don’t want to look back on my life and regret letting life pass me by just because of work. 

 

HATC: You have spoken about learning to leave, and missing pieces of life you can’t hold onto, even when they’ve shaped who you are. How has writing about this come to help you understand your identity?

 

K: I don’t really have a different answer to this other than what I said in the question above. I’m learning how to move forward and how I want to spend my life, and I came to the conclusion that I need to have a base in one place, build a support system, friendships, relationships, and have time to look after my health physically as well as mentally. Coming to this conclusion has been really hard, but an integral part of understanding who I am and my identity.

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HATC: Working with Ben and having built a really great relationship, how has it helped you be vulnerable in your writing, knowing there’s someone there you trust and who champions you?

 

K: I’ve been working with Ben almost exclusively since starting to work with him. I always say if something works, why fix it? Before Ben, I haven’t felt like I had a collaborator where I would feel 100% understood or respected. with ben i feel so comfortable because i know there’s deep respect and understanding for each other, i don’t feel scared saying no to something, i don’t have to explain the same thing a million times because he gets where i’m coming from and where i want to go. for the first time i even started directing in the studio to the point where i have co-producing credits on my songs and even though i’ve always been involved in production of my music before it’s never been to this extent. It feels so authentic to who I currently am, and I’m so excited for people to hear it. The recent music we’ve been working on gave me back the passion I felt for music in the beginning that I lost a little throughout the years.

 

HATC: What do you love about genre bending music and creating an overlap of genres in your music?

 

K: I just create music that feels like me when I’m making it. i don’t care about what genre it’s going to end up being or if people will feel the need to categorize it, i just focus on making something i love.

 

HATC: What were you excited about when coming back to write especially with such a stylistic pivot from other songs you’ve written?

 

K: I think the evolution has been completely natural, it hasn’t felt like a dramatic change for me. My lyricism has gotten better the better I get at the language, I found more and better ways of expressing myself, and I want my storytelling to be at the forefront of my music. everything else just fell into place naturally.

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HATC: Do you think you’ve hit a new era of confidence when writing?

 

K: I think so! but it also has to do with the fact that I’ve been consistently working with people I love and trust for the past few years. I think if I went into a room that’s full of producers or writers I’ve never worked with, I’d be a lot more self-conscious and in my head about my work.

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HATC: How does “all my money” represent who you are now compared to your debut album through the telescope?

 

K: I wrote through the telescope during a very dark time of my life, back in 2022, when I had so many health issues I couldn’t even walk for months on end. In a way, I’m in a similar spot now because this year has been really, really hard on me, and I’ve been in a place that’s headed to the same place where I was in 2022. Now I’ve just caught it early enough to be able to make some changes and hopefully not let it get that bad. Moving out of LA has been really helpful for me in a lot of ways, however, I haven’t had time to properly settle in somewhere else, which is also tough, but that’s what I wanna focus on next year.

 

HATC: Rolling Stone UK called you someone who isn’t waiting for a major label to “crown” her — do you feel like independence has been essential to your authenticity?

 

K: Absolutely, I am very stubborn, and I won’t conform to someone else’s idea of me. It’s really important to me to have a final say when it comes to my art and what I put out. 

 

HATC: I love that ‘all my money’ is such a statement of independence and embracing growth. How did the song originally start before it took the shape it did?

 

K: We were supposed to work on vocals for something else that day, but Ben had a work call, which left Harrison and me in the studio alone while we were waiting. i started playing around with a guitar in the studio and harrison loved the chords so when ben came back we were like “what if we just try writing something new to this instead of what we were supposed to be doing?”, so we started jamming on the chords and i improvised the melody to the chorus and once i had that i improvised all the lyrics to the chorus as well. It came together in such a flow. After we had that, coming up with the verses and pre-choruses was super easy and by the end of the day we had a new song.

 

HATC: You’ve tackled themes of identity, mental health, and belonging. How do you balance vulnerability with the need to protect parts of yourself?

 

K: I’m very transparent in my writing, I don’t hold back in it, but in all other aspects of my life, I’m very private. It’s also why I don’t like explaining my lyrics because it’s all there if people really look and listen. I don’t have more to say about them. 

 

HATC: How has your storytelling paved the way for you to tell stories as an actress? Do they work together exclusively and inspire the other?

 

K: I’ve always loved acting, and I grew up around musical theatre, so to me music and acting have always been intertwined. At the end of the day you need to be self aware and you need to know how to be in touch with your emotions for both of those things. 

 

HATC: You’ve said your songs are “stories first.” What kind of stories do you feel most compelled to tell right now?

 

K: The ones my songs are about haha. Like I said, I don’t explain my lyrics further than how they’re written. People can hear “I was never yours” and now “all my money”, and there’s more to come next year. That’s all I’ll really say right now.