The Minneapolis artist lives up to expectations with her newest single.

While speaking with Mother Soki over a janky mid-August virtual call, I couldn’t help but be distracted by a peculiar painting on the wall of her Minneapolis home.

There was a creature standing with a man wearing Medieval drapes as they stared into a lush forest at an object or being not shown in the frame. I later learned from Annie, the name behind Mother Soki, that this painting was by the artist John Lurie and appropriately titled They were weird. But they saw something even weirder.

“That painting really encapsulates Mother Soki,” Annie says. “We like to call her a time traveler. She loves the Medieval times and the Victorian era. She can fuck around and be an investigator of sorts, but she has a lot of different jobs.”

Mother Soki is a time traveler, maybe not to the Medieval times, but to a time where your parents were sliding CDs into the center consoles of their cars. She is not an artist stuck in a different time; her music is rather an entrancing mix of old and new that pushes sonic boundaries. Think of Mother Soki as a visitor who likes to collect sonic souvenirs to bring with her to the present, much like her roommate who brings home old Cathedral-like decorations from the church they work at.

Mother Soki has created a realm of her own, and the newest addition to her collection of timeless souvenirs is the alluring new single, “Sliver.”

Photos by Sandy Ha (@yeongseo)

“Sliver” is the first release from Mother Soki since “Rivet Gun” blew up after much anticipation earlier this year. It was important to her that the next songs existed in the same world while building on her constantly evolving sound. “Everyone wants another ‘Rivet Gun,’ but that’s not possible. I go through so many different sonic fixations, so I’m just going to keep making the music I think sounds good.”

She compares “Sliver” to the theme song of an old detective show. “I’ve been using a lot of toms and other 80’s sounding drums,” she says. “I went through a fixation of 90’s shoegaze and dream-pop, but now I’m leaning towards straight 80’s pop.”

“Sliver is about going into everything with an obsession. It’s when you’re thinking about a situation and hope they’re thinking about it too.” She compares the feeling to saying the wrong thing and thinking about it for days or being totally obsessed with a romantic partner. Lyrics like “I hope I fill you up,” and “You’re stubborn like grout,” are both relatable and sincere.

“My lyrics derive from straight gibberish,” Annie says. She approaches a lot of areas of her music in the same vein, often using random photos from her friends for covers. “‘Sliver’ came from a photo my friend took in the South of France where Mary Magdalene once hid. I put weird and obscure text on it that was hard to read, and my manager told me it was strange, and that’s all I needed to hear.”

Photos by Sandy Ha (@yeongseo)

The music video for “Sliver” leans heavily towards that Mother Soki investigator vibe. “You’ve seen it before in Twin Peaks, there’s a lot of inspirations driving the visuals,” Annie says. The video was written by Annie and her roommate, Mo, starring herself and her boyfriend, Jack, who also produces her music. “I love being creative with my friends. My art isn’t just me; it’s everyone else around me.”

The video for “Rivet Gun” was released a few months following the single, featuring a character dubbed The Creature that resembles the one in the John Lurie painting. “We got the mask from a costume store. I do a lot of my own costumes because I studied fashion in college. I love that I can incorporate all of my passions into a music video.” She cites films such as The NeverEnding Story and Labyrinth as being major inspirations for their dark fantasy undertones and use of puppetry.

The only other video on Mother Soki’s YouTube channel is a cover of Ethel Cain’s “Crush” filmed on a laptop camera with Solitaire open in another window. She has also been teasing a cover of “Candy” by Mk.gee on TikTok recently. “I love the drums in that one because they remind me of Blood Orange. I didn’t intend to cover these songs; I would just be making my own music and realize it’s in the same key. The actual songs are still a work in progress.”

Photos by Sandy Ha (@yeongseo)

Mother Soki has a lot to look forward to, or back at, as she continues her time traveling escapades. She recently played Wicker Park Festival in Chicago and is currently on a West Coast tour with Teethe before she embarks on a North American tour with POiSON GiRL FRiEND in October. “I’m just excited to go see more beautiful cities with my beautiful band and keep making more music.”

“It’s more than just the music, though. I want people to feel like they’re listening to a soundtrack and feel the same nostalgia that I do.” She goes on to tease a new project coming in the next few months, one that would be in the same realm as “Rivet Gun” and is only describable as a little bit weird and a little bit interesting.

“Mother Soki is a shapeshifter and she can do as she pleases. It’s going to be so beautiful, and I’m so excited to get this new music out into the world!”