seattle-based artist ari okin released Peach Conformity in november 2024, a soulful debut album recorded in her bedroom and with friends. in addition to creating and performing, ari is pursuing a degree in ethnomusicology.
photos by sasha winett
WISHFUL THINKING PRESS: hi! how are you doing?
ARI: man oh man, i’m feelin’ sleepy!! i work at a cafe so i wake up before the sun or the birds do, and then a long day follows. so i’m sleepy but i am gonna keep on a-movin.
WISHFUL THINKING PRESS: releasing your debut album is huge! how have you felt since the release?
ARI: relieved, i’m super glad to have gotten it out there in the world!! i had been sitting on these songs for quite some time. i wrote most of these right after my freshman year of college and in the beginning of my sophomore year. now, i’m about to graduate and i’m glad that my kids (my songs) can run free.
WISHFUL THINKING PRESS: what’s your favorite track off of Peach Conformity?
ARI: the song “Steam from his Spout” holds a special place for me. it symbolizes how i transformed a traumatic experience into something i can hold onto—an event that, while frustrating, shows that i am stronger than the icky things that happen to me. my house was broken into while my roommates and i were asleep by some dude who had all sorts of misogynistic ideas that he wanted to spew and shout in our living room, leading to me being terrified to stay in the house alone afterward (the smell from his vomit session didn’t help). the thought of spending the winter in seattle by myself, while everyone was out of town, left me feeling unsettled. there was no way i could stay in that disgusting house alone for three weeks while i worked my retail job. so, this song represents my desperate plea to my boss, asking for time off during winter break to stay at my mom’s house instead of being stuck in seattle.
WISHFUL THINKING PRESS: it must have been so fun to have recording sessions take place at your friend’s houses. do you have a favorite memory from the recording process?
ARI: i think my favorite aspect is the collection of long recording days that turned into a subconscious routine. the given parts of the process: bringing my friend grady a yerba mate from the nearby gas station, holding my breath in the hallway when walking by the bathroom that was closed off and ridden with black mold, being quiet when outside of the house because grady’s landlord surprised him by living in the backhouse with her elderly mother, and so on and so forth.
WISHFUL THINKING PRESS: if you could collaborate with any songwriter/musician/artist, who would it be?
ARI: it would 1000% be joni mitchell. i would love to pick her brain about her songwriting process. what are her steps, what does she avoid, what does she encourage.
WISHFUL THINKING PRESS: do you have any themes that you hope to explore in your future music that you haven’t yet?
ARI: i’d like to put more emphasis on my love for jazz. vocal jazz brought me to where i am today but i usually perform jazz live, rather than record it. but who the hell am i kidding??? it’s time for a jazz album…
WISHFUL THINKING PRESS: pursuing a degree in ethnomusicology sounds so interesting. what’s it like balancing school with your personal projects?
ARI: they actually complement each other quite nicely – i learn lessons from performing and being involved in my own musical communities, and then i learn about other musical communities and their dynamics. it’s the perfect way to learn hands-on about collaborative and participatory music. also, being in the ethnomusicology program means i’m always learning about new ways to perceive music and enact music, and i have many of the tools and physical resources to do so.
WISHFUL THINKING PRESS: what’s your favorite thing about living in seattle?
ARI: it is so wonderful to feel connected to the earth on which i live! in seattle, you can sense the start of spring, you can see the leaves turn orange and fall in autumn, you can see the flowers lift their necks towards the sun and how the moss comes to life when it has rained. i grew up in los angeles, so i experienced one season: smog. there’s quite a bit of loneliness to an endless sky. when you have nothing to look up for, like clouds and birds, it feels like you’re not a part of the earth, but rather in some temporary holding that has a whole lot of cement but not much weather or natural variety. now, i feel a lot more bonded with the dirt that i walk upon.
WISHFUL THINKING PRESS: do you have a favorite experience from performing live?
ARI: after a performance, a couple of girls came up to me and said that they decided to start dating during my performance. that was awesome for a million reasons but it made me happy that i was part of an emotional experience and i was the sonic wallpaper in their big moment – hopefully my set touched them!
WISHFUL THINKING PRESS: do you have anything exciting coming up/anything else to add?
ARI: yes! i’ve written a handful of new songs and am ready and eager to record another album! i just have some logistics to figure out and ducks to get in a row. in addition to that, i intend to record a jazz album with my buddies full of all my favorite jazz standards!!
Peach Conformity was released november 29th, 2024. produced and mixed by grady spors.
hailing from los angeles originally, ari okin (she/her) moved to seattle to pursue a degree in ethnomusicology at uw seattle’s school of music. her funky rhythms and aerial vocals captivate audiences globally. tastefully blending rock, soul, and jazz, ari has previously performed at venues such as whisky a go go, throughout the seattle scene, and at a collection of jazz bars across spain.
