Check Out Andrea Turk’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Turk.

Hi Andrea, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’d say I started out like a lot of kids, glued to my computer growing up. At some point I got a CD player and I started singing along to the records that were playing while I was in the middle of playing UberStrike, which in hindsight is a pretty funny way to discover you can sing. My parents heard me one day and told me I should probably focus on that instead of locking myself in my room all day playing video games. They made it very clear my gaming device was on thin ice before I finally gave in and focused on music. I haven’t been hooked on a controller since.

My earliest inspiration around 12 was Adele. I remember hearing “Turning Tables” and feeling it completely before I even understood what the lyrics meant. Around that same time I also fell into The Wombats and the Vampire Diaries soundtrack, so it was a weirdly specific mix of heartbreak ballads, indie rock, and the song that wrecked me during Bonnie’s funeral in season 5. My memory’s pretty bad, but I think I was singing at 10, writing at 12, and producing by 13, just diving headfirst into a DAW with zero clue what I was doing and wanting it bad enough to figure it out on my own. I grew up in Indonesia, and that mix, gaming culture, a CD player, Adele, just figuring it out as I went, is basically the foundation of who I am as an artist now.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Honestly it’s taken both book smarts and street smarts to make this work. I moved to LA by myself at eighteen, starting completely from scratch in a city where I didn’t know anyone. I had to build a whole new network from nothing, and I feel incredibly privileged that my family backed that decision, even from thousands of miles away. Not everyone gets that kind of support, and I don’t take it for granted.

I kept chasing scholarships at schools here so I could keep pursuing music while actually being in the room where things happen. But being in the room isn’t the same as having people in your corner, so a lot of what I’ve actually been doing this whole time is building real community. Finding people who actually care about the music and want to grow together, long term.

That search is what pushed me toward songwriting camps, looking for people outside of school who actually got it. That ended up being a turning point in a way I didn’t expect. I found myself in the producer hot seat at one of them, and somehow that one moment rebranded me. Now half the people I meet assume I’m a producer who happens to sing, which is very funny to me because in my head I’ve been an artist this whole time. Honestly I still don’t fully know what I’m doing, I just really like trying to figure it out.

None of it has been a straight line. A lot of it has just been staying patient through long stretches where nothing looked like progress from the outside, and trusting that the work I was putting in alone late at night would eventually turn into something real.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a singer, songwriter, and producer, and most of my favorite work comes out of collaboration. I get to step into my own world just as much as I get to step into other people’s worlds, and I think that’s part of what keeps things exciting for me as both an artist and a producer.

My writing tends to go where it wants, even when that’s outside the lines. I’d rather say something honest than safe, even if it makes someone sit up a little. I think a lot of people are carrying more than they let on, and if my music can be a place where that feels okay for a few minutes, that means something to me.

I’m not precious about genre or doing things the right way. I’d rather follow what a song needs than protect one consistent sound. I’ve stopped trying to sound like anything other than exactly where I am. Getting to make an album with people who actually care about the music, people I get to call my friends, is something I’m really proud to admit. I’m so lucky to have found that. It’s harder than people think to find even one person who believes in you like that.

What’s next?
Right now the big focus is finishing the rollout for CLUB METAL PRINCESS with GNZ, with our fourth single off it “MISS CINEMATIC” dropping early October. After that, we’re hoping to release a batch of songs with our friends who are amazing New York-based artists. I’m also already deep into my next album with Rami Bakieh. It’s more introspective, dealing with displacement, loss, and finding my way back to myself. I’m genuinely excited for people to hear that side of things once it’s ready.

I’m also really looking forward to connecting with people through playing live shows each month in LA with the band. The live stuff is experimental, a little raw and gritty in places, but is somehow still pop. I just want people to feel safe enough to let go when they hear it, where they’ll actually mosh and scream it all out instead of holding anything in.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/andreapturk
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreapturk
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/andreapturk

Image Credits
Bella Villa

Ana DeMakes

Denver Nelson

Maximiliano Mendieta