Q&A: Finding Beauty in the Everyday, Marika Che talks “Jasmine”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY INDI TEJEDA ☆
LOS ANGELES-BASED SINGER-SONGWRITER AND MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST MARIKA JUSTAD has spent years captivating listeners as the frontwoman of the indie-rock band Tangerine. With her solo project, Marika Che, she's stepped into a more intimate creative space, trading shimmering indie-pop for atmospheric arrangements, diaristic songwriting and a distinctly cinematic world all her own.
Since relocating to Los Angeles, Justad has embraced a quieter approach to storytelling, exploring themes of healing, identity, memory and transformation through songs that find beauty in life's smallest moments. Released in April 2026, her debut solo album, Bright Flame, marks a new chapter in her career, showcasing her evolution as both a songwriter and producer. The album's latest visual, “Jasmine,” continues that journey, pairing one of her most personal songs with a music video directed by her sister and longtime creative collaborator, Miró Myung Justad.
Luna caught up with Marika to discuss bringing “Jasmine” to life, the role visuals play in her music, what she's been inspired by lately and what's next as she begins work on her second album.
LUNA: “Jasmine” is off an album that came out in April, so what made this the song you wanted to bring a video to, and why now?
MARIKA: I always knew I would make a video for this one—it was just a question of when. Sometimes I like to really plan things out, and other times I'm more spontaneous. This was one of those spontaneous decisions. My sister and I were like, “It's time. Let's go shoot it.”
LUNA: You trusted your sister Miró Myung Justad to direct and shoot this. Can you share more about what that creative process was like?
MARIKA: My sister is an amazing artist. She is currently focused on painting, but she was also the drummer in our old band, Tangerine, and she just has a really wonderful intuitive sense of the intersection between visuals and music. We know each other's sensibilities well enough at this point that it feels like we can communicate telepathically.
LUNA: What does “Jasmine” mean to you? Where did it come from, and what was it trying to work through?
MARIKA: This song is probably the least metaphorical one I've ever written. It's very literal, almost diaristic, and lyrically it stays at a surface, almost mundane level. That's intentional, as I think the context and the longing and the bittersweet emotionality comes through via tone and implication. Sometimes things hit harder when you're subtle.
I'm singing about driving on the freeway, thinking about the mail I left in the hallway that needs opening, what TV show I'm gonna watch later, etc. But underneath it all there's this sense of beauty and longing. I'm singing about healing after pain, about the light in LA that makes everything look like a movie and what that means to me as someone who came here embracing the cliché of a starry-eyed dreamer.
LUNA: What role does the visual side play in your music?
MARIKA: To me, there isn't a clear separation between visuals and music. Music is cinematic, it's the soundtrack of our lives, and when I'm writing a song my head is filled with visions. Maybe something specific, almost like a movie, or maybe it's just a sense of a feeling: colors, textures, imagery.
So it's very important to me to make music videos, even if full-length videos feel like they're going out of style in the age of social media. I think songs still deserve our full attention that way.
LUNA: Tell us more about some of what you're inspired by lately.
MARIKA: I'm watching Widow's Bay right now and I'm so inspired by the odd blend of campiness, horror, humor and pathos. I feel like horror and camp are such a beautiful way to express the absurdity and intensity of being alive. I wonder how it would feel to try to emulate that musically.
LUNA: Who have you been listening to lately?
MARIKA: Virgin by Lorde, the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, Alex G, Lana Del Rey. Also a super dreamy ambient personal playlist called “Marie Antoinette in Space” that has Aphex Twin, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Vangelis and more.
LUNA: What's the rest of the year looking like for you?
MARIKA: Lots of writing and recording! I'm currently working on my second album. I'm also hoping to play a few more shows this year. I had a really busy summer, so my goal this fall is to chill out and spend as much time as possible working on my creative projects and hanging out with my dog.
