Irina Imme’s 'Y2K' Celebrates A Fiery, Explosive, And Deeply Personal Artistic Rebirth
- 🌟 Miles Carter
- May 25
- 8 min read
By: Staff
The Cage: We got together with Irina Imme for an exciting interview to delve into the stories and happenings behind the making of this latest release and learn more about the artist in "The Cage" Digital Magazine and we are excited to share it with you!
BEGIN INTERVIEW:
The Cage: Hello Irina Imme, we’re thrilled to have you here for this interview! We've had an amazing time exploring your music and diving into your creative journey. Now, we’re even more excited to get a deeper look into both your brand and your personal and professional inspirations.
The opening of "Y2K" and "Welcome Back" started off slow and gentle, showing such a soft and beautiful side of you, while also making it clear how well you can really sing.
Then in under two minutes, you explode into this dynamic superhero of a performer, and it absolutely blew us away. Your energy and charisma are explosive, and the fiery music felt perfect for you. This was our first experience hearing you, and we are so thrilled we found you. The rest of the EP was equally incredible, with standout tracks already stuck in our heads. We were especially moved by the way you reveal pieces of your personal life, and how death would feel like a better outcome than admitting you miss someone. Honestly, we are so glad you are here for an interview because we have so many questions.
Q. The opening track "Welcome Back" says there is nothing new to find, and it centers around London reminding you of someone. The story is deeply emotional, and your delivery makes it even more heartbreaking to hear. Can you tell us specifically what this song means to you, and how it earned the first position on the EP? Also, what made you choose to begin with that soft, gentle opening before switching into such punchy, explosive vocals and instrumental production?
A. I actually wrote “Welcome Back” in March 2022 as a love letter to myself. I was taking a walk around London and for the first time in months or maybe even years, I felt like my “old self” again. Like I had reconnected with the version of me that existed before 2020. A happier, more hopeful and more present version of myself than I had been for a long time.
It earned the first position on the EP because I felt like it was the perfect introduction to a project that celebrates refinding myself after hardships, and reconnecting with all the things and the feelings that make me who I am.
I chose to structure the song almost like two entirely different tracks coming together into one because I wanted it to reflect that emotional shift.
Q. Irina, we are hooked already. We are huge fans, and we cannot get enough. Then "Boxes" gets our adrenaline all the way back up to 10, and it really sounds like this is your lane. Do you feel like this is your genre, your world, and the place you want to keep building from, or do you see yourself expanding and exploring other arenas too?
A. Thank you! Interestingly enough, “Boxes” was actually the most challenging song to finalise on the EP and probably the most frustrating one to work on. I worked on it for a year and a half with several different people and I just couldn't get it to sound the way I wanted it to for the longest time.
Even when I finally decided to release it, a part of me still felt unsure about it. At some point I just had to put my foot down and release it, otherwise I feel like I would still be tweaking it to this day!
So that being said, I was honestly very relieved to see it become one of my audience’s favourite songs. It made that long and tiring process feel worth it in the end.
I do feel very comfortable making music in this alternative pop-punk/pop-rock genre as it is heavily inspired by the music I grew up listening to and it comes very naturally to me. I’d like to continue releasing music in that lane. At the same time though, I don't want to limit myself to just one genre or one style of music and I’m also very open to exploring different genres. In fact, I’ve already started experimenting a bit with some of the music I’m currently recording, but I won’t say too much about that just yet!
Q. Since "Boxes" captures that feeling of falling in love again after believing it was impossible, was the song driven by your desire to overcome that feeling, or was it the other way around, where the feeling had already started to resolve and that allowed the song to be created?
A.It was more so the latter. I think I was at a point in my life where I had accepted the possibility that I might not fall for someone again or feel that spark with someone. Then I met this one person who made me feel something again for the first time in a long time. We hung out all night just talking about video games, music, and joking around. It was a super fun night in the most wholesome way possible.
As soon as I got home after hanging out with this person, I immediately started writing “Boxes.” It was like 6am too, but I was too excited to sleep so I just started writing instead.
At the time, I really didn’t even think much of the song and wasn’t sure it would ever become something worth releasing, but here we are!
Q. The "Y2K" EP carries so many interesting influences, and it is also being released on your birthday, which gives the project an even more personal weight. How do you feel about that timing, and does releasing it on that specific day add any deeper meaning to the people, memories, or emotions you sing about across these songs?
A.The EP is about rebirth and reconnecting with myself, so I feel like releasing it on my birthday just makes sense.
Especially because the new track “Spicy Kids” is the song that really ties the entire project together. It’s a celebration of everything that makes me who I am. The good, the bad, and even the parts of myself that others might struggle to understand, as well as the experiences that came from growing up feeling different from a lot of my peers and not really knowing why for the longest time. Now I understand that a lot of that feeling came from me being neurodivergent, but I also think being a third culture kid played a huge role in why I often felt out of place growing up too (and still do to an extent).
I think I viewed those parts of myself as things I needed to hide or run away from. But with this EP, and especially with “Spicy Kids,” I wanted to do the opposite and to embrace them instead. I also consciously chose an unusual title for the song because I wanted it to feel slightly shocking or even a little “cringe” at first, but then for the people who actually choose to listen to it to discover the layers underneath and hopefully fall in love with both the song itself and the message behind it.
Q. Can you tell us about a favorite moment to focus in on, whether it is a lyric, a vocal moment, or a full song on "Y2K" where you felt especially exposed or proud because it captured exactly what you were trying to say?
A. I would say I’m proud of both “Welcome Back” and “Spicy Kids” for the reasons I mentioned earlier. Both songs feel like celebrations of myself and I’m happy with how both of those turned out.
Besides that, I’m also very proud of the songwriting on “Rather Die,” particularly the line: “It’s funny how you said you don’t play games, since you’ve already got me in checkmate (hey mate, how you been?)”
I remember writing that line and immediately getting excited because I think it’s one of the cleverest lyrics I’ve written. It also has a very sassy and petty undertone which I love.
Q. What do you hope fans will take away from this EP? More personally, what do you want this release to mean to others who may connect with the heartbreak, rediscovery, and renewed energy inside these songs?
A.I want people to take away the idea that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, no matter how far away that light might seem in the moment. Life is probably going to come with hardships and heartbreak again at some point, but I think we can choose how we respond to those experiences, and that shift in mindset is a huge part of this EP.
I think this shift is evident on “Rather Die,” which is probably the saddest and most heartbreaking song on the project lyrically, but still carries a more playful and upbeat energy compared to the songs on my previous EP, “Blue Forever”. Of course, there’s still that fear of being hurt again and reliving past pain, but overall I’d say it feels more positive in its own way.
Q. Tell us about the journey the production took on this EP. We heard there were real powerhouses involved in helping capture your big voice and make the project ready for the world, so what was that process like from the first recordings to the final version?
A. All of the songs on the EP were produced by Dave Tither. The way we usually do it is I come to him with a rough demo of me playing a song on my guitar or keyboard and from there, we get together in the studio and start building the track up.
It’s always really fun working with him because I normally come into the studio already having a strong vision of what I want a song to sound like, but throughout the process there are always unexpected little details that get added. I think it’s important to listen to what the song itself needs and naturally evolves into and not being too attached to one rigid idea.
On that note, I actually created the first demo of “Boxes” with a producer called Tommy Ringlov, and interestingly enough, if it wasn’t for him using a trap drum sample as a placeholder while we were working on an early version of the song, the bridge probably would not exist in the way it does now. That drum sample ended up inspiring me to create the trap-pop piano bridge, which has now become one of the catchiest and most memorable parts of the song!
The EP was mixed by Dave Tither, Robert Asztalos and Chris Matthey, and mastered by Dave Tither.
Q. We see you performing live in some of your photos, and that energy seems like such a major part of who you are as an artist. What does the live circuit mean to you as a performer? Do your long-term plans and goals involve touring and being in venues, recording more material, or a little bit of both?
A. I absolutely love performing live and I’m very grateful for my band members because they help me bring the songs to life during shows and make them become what they are on stage.
I love being able to rock out on stage and connect with my audience in real time. There’s just something really special about sharing that energy with people and hearing them sing your own words back to you.
As for my long-term plans, I want to keep performing as well as recording more material. I think both are equally important parts of being an artist and I want to keep growing in both areas.
Please also let us know what is next for you. Can you give us the inside scoop on any upcoming projects, releases, shows, or creative plans fans should be excited about? We would love to help share the news.
A. Right now I’m mostly working behind the scenes to put it that way. I’ve been spending a lot of time in the studio working on new material that I’m already super proud of. I think it’s shaping up to be my most ambitious project to date.
I’m also hoping to release a few stand-alone singles in the near future. I can’t wait for people to hear what I’ve been working on lately!
The Cage: Irina Imme, thank you so much! We appreciate you taking the time to talk to us.
We’re happy to have shared Irina Imme’s exciting journey with you and uncovered such inspiring insights about their creative process.
Tap in below and experience it for yourself.
