The vibrations of heavy bass and a jumping crowd filled Empire Garage for the second night of the Jaded FRIENDS:FOREVER showcase at SXSW on Friday. Audrey Nuna, R&B singer and rapper, dominated the stage with her energy and hypnotic presence. The Daily Texan sat down with the artist before the midnight set to chat about developing her unique sound.  

The Daily Texan: How did you get your start performing and writing music?

Audrey Nuna: I started when I was super young. (I) loved singing first and foremost; (I) did children’s choirs. I would do a bunch of YouTube covers and Instagram covers and started writing when I went to high school. A lot of my musical tastes developed when I started to actually record music. Since then, it’s been a continuous journey of writing and making sounds.

DT: What sound elements do you consider when creating a track?

AN: I like to think of things in almost a visual sense first…If I’m sitting down with a producer and there’s a sound that makes me feel like I can see some type of visual to it, a lot of times I’ll follow that and shape and sculpt that. My producer and I joke around that we have the ‘sit around method’ where we just sit around and wait for something to happen which honestly has proved to be a really great way to make things.

DT: What specific narratives or parts of yourself do you seek to infuse into your music?

AN: This next project is about the dark side of adolescence and trying to stay human through the era that we’re living in. The world is slowly just becoming this bionic, AI technology driven place, so a really big concept that I want to explore for this next project is this idea of trying to stay in touch with your humanity and just be a human being throughout all of that. But I would say (the narrative) changes from project to project. It’s a diary of everything that I think about and go through.

DT: What is your methodology for performing live?

AN: My goal is to be as present as possible. … The most exciting part about doing a show is everyone’s energy in one place for a really precious moment. I feel like everyone being their rawest, truest self in one place together is really powerful. My goal is always to tap into that energy.