INTERVIEW: Theia on new song 'Kitty Kat' "It's for every gal or minority or non-binary person that feels super pushed down."

New Zealand’s Theia is proving to be one of New Zealand’s hottest musical exports of the last few years. Growing and maturing as an artist since she earned three nominations at the 2017 New Zealand Music Awards, she has produced some of the most stirring pop moments in recent memory including the dark, melancholic pop of 2018’s ‘Bad Idea’, the sassy R&B-pop banger ‘Candy’ (2019) and now the no nonsense, feminist anthem ‘Kitty Kat’, released last Friday. 2020 is shaping up to be one of Theia’s best with support slots for both Tones And I and Mika and their recent New Zealand shows, a new project The 99% Angel Mixtape and a starring performance at this year’s Mardi Gras Heaps Gay party in Sydney on February 29. We recently sat down with Theia to find out more about to chat about all the creative ponds she is dipping her toes in this year.

Hi Theia. It is such a treat to speak with you this morning. ‘Kitty Kat’ is out on the airwaves and you are about to play one hell of an anticipated set at Sydney Mardi Gras Heaps Gay party on February 29th. How are things in your world these days?
Theia's fabulous. I'm feeling yeah more excited than ever about my music and just about life and art. It's a good time. This record has been kind of a turning point for me and I just feel extremely excited for the future.

Let's talk about the new single ‘Kitty Kat’. ‘Call me a slut when I dress like that / Gonna chain me up like a kitty kat / Hands around my neck I'll give you a scratch.’ We adore. You've described ‘Kitty Kat’ as a powerful yet playful ode to pussy power. Like, why do you think it needed to be done playfully?! Was it because nothing gets down by shouting?
Well there is shouting in it. But more like I just want it to be I guess accessible but also not make me feel like sad or trigger anyone. It's for every gal or minority or non-binary person, anyone kind of on the edges that feels super pushed down or kind of at the end of their tether like I was when I wrote this song. I just thought I cannot go any further down than I am right now. I just feel as with most of my music, there's an art to getting a really kind of heavy-slash-intricate point across and making it catchy at the same time. That's effectively why it is. I feel like that's me, you know. I just talk like about what I know and what I am trying to process at that time and then just put it to a really catchy hook and some edgy drums. 

I totally agree, and you know what, you're in an amazing camp of women. The Spice Girls did the same thing. Thelma Plum, Lady Gaga. It's about getting the message heard but putting it to a beat and making people want to sing it, you know?
Yeah, totally.

As a listener, there is so much to dance to and proudly sing along to on this one. Like you said you’ve got your minority anthem, but I want to hear what was your inspiration behind the track? 
I went into the studio and I was just feeling really down, like I had kind of hit rock bottom, you know. I had left my label, I was just feeling pretty low and felt like things weren't really happening. Just all of the feelings and just processing everything that had happened so far to me in the industry and my experiences of being like a chick in music. Also a few months before I put out ‘Not Your Princess’ and with that all the crazies came out online who were really triggered by it. It was eye opening. So it was all of those reasons and I kind of used some of the really full on messages from YouTube and also just things that have been said to me, such as I need to smile and all that stuff and implied [I was a] one hit wonder. Which is constantly being thrust in my face that my first song was apparently successful and nothing else has been but that's not the truth. You know? So, it's pretty much just all of that. 

YouTube seriously or just the internet, it's a wonderful thing but giving people a voice through their fingertips... So well done for making the track because I think it's great. 
Thank you. 

Now, ‘Kitty Kat’ is the first single from your new venture The 99% Angel Mixtape which by the way is probably one of the best titles I’ve ever heard. Can you tell us a little about this release?
Yeah, so there are four songs on it. I won't tell you the names of the other songs but ‘Kitty Kat’ is the first single. I guess it’s an indication of the other tracks on the record. They all have a similar sonic vibe in terms of it being really edgy and quite glossy. Each song is about different things and covers many things like the idea of fame, the idea of the boys club and the fact that you know, 99% angel - you can be a bad arse and a cutie at the same time.

I love that. Now, your song writing is known for those ever so welcome honest lyrics covering a full spectrum of lyrics. The underdog's close to your heart and you mix that with your glorious music composition. Basically, what I'm saying you raise the bar. Like it or not you're a role model. You're a shero to your fans. Both mini and grown. Is that honesty intentional? For instance, with your track ‘Bad Idea’, I imagine it'd be quite confronting at times but the payoff I’m hoping is the effect on your listeners. Is that the thing that keeps you doing what you're doing?
I suppose, yeah. ‘Bad Idea’ is a really good example. It's so full on that I released it but never perform it live because I don't know, I just can't. But I would say that I make music for myself to process my feelings, but understanding that that in turn can help others. And also true to myself. I just don't like really bullshit. Just can't stand it. So I just love to write honestly and being really straight up and frank, which I think is refreshing and cool. I write what I want to hear, and other people that feel the same way, or have experienced similar things. You don't have to have the exact same experience as me, you know word for word, but everyone in a way have felt exactly as you said before, an underdog or like everything's against them. 

You have opened for Sia alongside Charlie XCX and popstar Leon. We love her. And recently you opened for Tones and I at he New Zealand headline show. Talk about power to the ladies. How important is it with you in your own career trajectory to support women in the industry?
Super important! Pretty much every single person involved in my team and my campaign and even the visuals is female identifying. Just because I love the energy and the fact that we all get each other, you know? It's just works for me having an all-female team and we all totally completely get each other and have similar experiences and appreciate the same art and stuff like that. It's not as if I'm saying I would turn down working with a dude because obviously I do work with dudes. Like Liam Quinn, you know, my co-creator. We make all the music together and he's just such a cool being and such a cool dude. He obviously is the person who just sits there and helps make the soundscape with me whilst I write all this crazy stuff. He's just so cool and takes it. I just think on a kind of cellular and mind wave level I definitely work better with women or at my best where I feel safe and understood.

Beautiful and totally agree. Let's talk about your debut EP, Theia which earned three nominations at the 2017 New Zealand Music awards and then your second EP Not Your Princess has been streamed over 15 million times on Spotify alone. Did this success create any added pressure regarding The 99% Angel Mixtape, or did it change the way you performed or wrote following?
I would say that the mix tape is just more freeing than ever for me. I'm just determined to very well and truly do my thing. Not that the other records weren’t my thing but I feel I’m getting more confident and have a louder voice. I’m literally louder as well. You listen to the first record and it's so beautiful, but it’s very pulled back and much like I was at the time - not restrained, but less confident, I guess. Then the next record was slightly more open and this one's me practically like stripping off and running down the street or something. It's totally just out there. I just feel more free than ever. Free from restraints. 

I love that. You're right actually. You were a lot quieter initially and now there's cannons and fanfares.
Yeah. There’s like cheetah growls.  

Yeah and a marching band in there. Now, you do talk about lifting people up and coming and experiencing that feeling of underdog and being pushed down. I want to know you're very avant-garde with your performances and how you dress. Were you always that kid or has music allowed you to become even more of that?
I would say I was always that kid, but I definitely got so much crap for it when I was younger. I don’t remember it but my mum said that the first day of school I hadn't even turned 5 yet and I rocked up and was obsessed with lions. I had a mask on and I crawled into the classroom prowling around on like all fours and everyone just thought I was a total weirdo, which I clearly was. But whatever. I just loved it. And then from there, that kind spark was taken away from me at school and I was so quiet and withdrawn. And so I kind of went the opposite. So it was only at home where I was really confident, comfortable and safe in my room I was totally out there. I guess it's a metaphor for society in general. The out there and different people get silenced a little bit. When I first started off in music it was definitely terrifying, I had a lot of knocks. But now I would say I am that kid crawling into school again on all fours. But the difference is that if people hate it, I just don't care anymore. It’s like eff you, I’m just going to keep doing it. So get over it, go somewhere else. 

Get over it, I'm a lion. I love it. Song writing, recording, performing live, making beautifully pink music videos. What is your favourite part of the career driving popstar process?
I would say making it. Hearing the process throughout the mixing, the mastering and coming up with the ideas for the art and even the process for the art. I sat down with my manager and told her my ideas, and then coming out with the design posters. All of the graphics that are added after and then getting to perform it and test all the demos out. Literally everything. I just love it. All of it. I have been thinking and saying lately that now genuinely love performing. At first I just hated it. There were many times where I felt like maybe I could just only release music and never, ever perform like Kate Bush or Barbra Streisand but now I really enjoy it because it's been so fun. I still have nerves, but I think that's normal. 

The lion has been unleased. That's what it is. 
Yes!

Now you are an absolute powerhouse of an up and at ‘em player. But I’m intrigued. What do you listen to when it's time for a Smooth FM night drive? What is the trash song that gets you really belting out a classic?
Oh, I feel like at the moment all my playlists are so alternative it’s kind of crazy. Even at night-time if I’m trying to sleep, I’ll still listen to Rico Nasty, it's pretty crazy. But I would say there is this New Zealand artist who is the coolest fricken chick in the world. We message a lot. She's gorgeous. I’ve seen like three of her shows. Her name's Emily Fairlight and she makes the most emo incredible folk music ever about co-dependency and break ups. It's just incredible. She's just so damn smart. So I'm really into her for very, very low-key sad moments.

Awesome. We're going to check her out as well. And lastly, what is up next for Theia?
I’m doing Heaps Gay Party at Mardi Gras which will be amazing. Then onto America for about a month to start working on new music and then releasing my next single. So it's all going. It's very fun and exciting. 

‘Kitty Kat’ is out now. You can download on iTunes and stream on Spotify and Apple Music.

Theia will be performing at the Heaps Gay Party at the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras on February 29. Tickets are on sale now.

To keep up with all things Theia, you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.