I’ve been busy lately. I’ve been busy with taking 6 classes for my last semester of college, serving sushi part-time, and writing — nonstop. It’s a cycle and it’s definitely a lot to take on.
It’s exciting to know that I am on my way to achieving my goals and everything that I have long for in life; so yes, I guess you can say that I am prepared and ready for a lifetime. But there are times when the stress and the anxiety get in the way, where I have the urge to give up completely.
I closed the restaurant the night before my interview with Space Honey, a singer I discovered through a friend of mine (ah, the wonders of social media). I was extremely exhausted knowing that I had another closing shift afterwards, so I ordered a large, brewed black coffee and a vegan oatmeal cookie that the barista said was “the best in town”. I sat in the middle of the coffee shop, writing a few thoughts in my journal when she arrived. She was wearing a white bucket hat, slightly baggy blue track pants, and a turtleneck with never-ending unique patterns. It felt like a blast from the past.
Riza, otherwise known as Space Honey, came in with such a friendly and down-to-earth attitude, it felt like I have known her and that we’ve been friends for years. She opened up about healing, self-growth and focusing on every moment. Throughout my interview, I thought to myself, “this girl still has the biggest smile on her face and she’s telling me all of the hard times she’s been through. What an inspiration.”
So readers, if you are struggling at the moment due to insecurities, vulnerability or even heartbreak. Read what Space Honey has to say about loving yourself even if the road’s a little rough.
Who is Space Honey? How did you come up with that name?
I used to go by the name Riza, but I wanted to have an alter ego. I got Space Honey from one of my old songs that said “glowing barks on the honey tree” and last Halloween, I was dressed up as a space cowboy for the whole month. SpaceHoney just had a nice ring, it sounded good together and it’s me.
What is the genre of your music?
Many people relate me to hip hop sometimes, but most of my songs right now have just been loops of jazz. I listen to a lot of jazz music and I am also a vinyl DJ. My recent songs have been samples from Herbie Hancock, Lonnie Liston Smith, and Roy Ayers; that’s my favorite type of music is jazz-funk fusion. My voice and how I bring tone to music has a jazz tone to it.
What is the process of writing like?
For my song called CLOUDZ, it is already a song by Graham de Wilde called Cirrus, and I basically took the first chunk of that song and faded it out in the end; my process is just listening to the loop over and over again until I find something. During that time that I had made that song, I was living out of my car, so I had a lot of time. I would go on Spotify and instead of having a looper, I would rewind the song over and over around that one specific part, so I would be able to write over it. Eventually, I was able to find someone to record it for me and loop the song from my vinyl.
Most of my songs, I finish them in a day or two. Most of the time, when I am feeling a lot, my writing process is very based on my personal growth and if I am in a mood where I don’t know how I feel about a situation or I don’t know what I’m doing, then I just use music as an outlet to figure those things out. For example, with THE CHOICE, I thought to myself “I have a choice, do I give up on my dream of music and performing or do I just continue to do it and continue to struggle?” The lyrics for my song called THE CHOICE goes, “to make a choice you must see either side of the story”. So I think about making choices and I listen back to the loop, and I come across a sort of meditation where I realize every single aspect I have done creates my life.
With my song called STUDIO HEALING, which was a regurgitated song, I didn’t really have a verse or a chorus. There was no real structure, it was very fluid and that song was about me being obsessed with a song until I finish it. I have to do music in order to heal myself and to become the person I want to be.
Do you have a specific subject you write your songs about?
A lot of my songs are mainly about personal healing and personal growth. CLOUDZ was the very first song I’ve released, and it was the time of my life where I was going through a rough patch. it was about my inner child and my inner self. The song was like a message to my inner child saying “I know things are hard, and there are moments where you don’t feel okay, but that’s fine.” It is okay to not feel great, it’s okay to have those feelings. Sometimes I feel like families like to suppress bad feelings and put in your mind that nothing is wrong with you or that you do not have to be sad. But in reality, it’s okay to be emotional, it is okay to be sad.
So my songs are a process of my life and they are personal journals of stories I could learn from. I’m not sure if people could relate to my songs, but It is such a universal concept, even just emotional healing is something that everybody needs.
Have you done any shows? If so, how is the vibe of your shows?
I have been doing a lot of hip hop shows recently since I have the element of sampling. I am actually having an EP release party coming soon on Love Street which is a studio in Whittier on Greenleaf. We are going to have an awesome lineup which includes Good Eats, Elyzr, Introverted Funk, and Chola Orange.
We host a session called The Freeform every 4th Friday where we invite a bunch of random artists that want to come through and just perform. People come in and freestyle rap and sing over random music, and whoever comes in and is able to pick up an instrument, then they just go for it.
What would you want to happen in the far future as a musician?
Music is my life, it is something that keeps me going and keeps me alive. If I could make music to make money and give that back to the community, that is essentially my goal. My long term goal, however, is to open a venue and a studio. Being a California transplant, the community is so important to me. I’m not from Southern California, and being a transplant, I’ve had an awesome community of people that focused on love, healing and doing better things for the planet. All the good vibes is the dream.
How would you describe your fashion sense?
One word: comfy. Most of my clothes are thrifted. I love shopping at Melrose Vintage in Whittier, they have amazing clothes and such great people. For my style, I like to hop around from masculine and feminine, but recently, I’ve just had a mindset of “if it is not comfortable, I’m not wearing it.” Especially, if I am going to perform, I have to be comfortable in what I am wearing, because I love to dance. If I can’t dance in it, then I won’t wear it.
Why do you think having a sense of style is a strong feature for musicians/artists?
Your style is your personality in a visual form. The way you carry and dress yourself is a reflection of how you feel about yourself. So if I am going out looking comfy and feeling cute at the same time, then that is an extension of me. This is who I am and this is how I like to dress; it’s sort of like an art form, just being able to curate outfits. Thrift shopping is so cool too, you find so many different unique styles and create literally something out of nothing.
Who are your fashion inspirations?
Rickey Thompson the social media comedian. He has the sickest style! He is a gay black man that also portrays femininity and masculinity, and that is something I like to do too. I feel very androgynous with my style, I like to have both elements, because at the end of the day, if you feel sexy in what you are wearing and you have that confidence, then you will be sexy and confident. Rickey really captures that element.
I also really like vintage styles; I love Sade and Erykah Badu. Just looking back at old artists from the 70s to 90s, I like the layers of the hair, flared jeans, and band shirts. I like elements from the past that I can emulate in the future.
Whatever I am feeling towards in a day, I am like a chameleon.
