Today we’d like to introduce you to Mina Roth.
Hi Mina, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born and raised in Turkey to a Turkish mother and American father who funny enough didn’t listen to music. I started getting into songwriting at 8 years old but I didn’t start taking it seriously until around 12. It wasn’t something that felt optional. It was a necessity in processing everything I thought and felt. A safe space to be dramatic I like to think. I’m not really sure how or why I started writing but it very quickly became the entire cornerstone of my life. I moved to the United States when I was 14 to go to an arts boarding school called Interlochen to study songwriting. It was a culture shock to say the least. I moved to Nashville when I was 18 to attend Belmont but I ended up dropping out after my freshman year. I was learning a lot more from being in the real world in Nashville than I was in school. It was a lot of embarrassment and rejection and cringing at myself (and it still is) while also learning more about my craft and sharpening my pen. I moved to Charleston at the end of 2024 and I’ve been loving the music scene here.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think we’re living in strange times with social media. It’s been hard for me to balance making content (and with that making the right content) while also having writing be a personal and intimate practice. You have to make the art for yourself and be okay if it doesn’t resonate with anyone else. But obviously that’s easier said than done. In the past couple months I had one song do really really well which is awesome and super exciting. But when other releases don’t do as well I don’t get the same dopamine hit or badge of “you’re doing a good job”. It’s been hard for me to sit with that feeling and not have any expectations.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I write songs about intense feelings that are uncomfortable to talk about out loud. It’s a safe space to process. Before everything else I’m a songwriter. Singing, playing instruments and performing live are vehicles for me to share my songs and connect with people which is also something I crave; as I assume most artists do. The thing I’m most proud of at the moment is my debut EP Faultline. I’ve been working on it for almost 2 years and I’m ready for it to be out in the world and let go of it.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I’m not sure if I could call this advice so take it with a grain of salt. But I do think that if you’re working hard you’ll find yourself in the right places and around the right people because of that. You have to trust the timing and unfolding of your own journey and just keep putting one foot in front of the other. The right people who believe in you will come in the right moments.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsminaroth/
