Meet Lina Cooper | Songwriter, artist, producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lina Cooper and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lina, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I get this question a lot. And to be honest, in my case, I feel like I didn’t have a choice. Since the first time I wrote a song (around 8-9 years old) I knew that I would keep on doing it. Ever since then it’s been a long, incredible, never ending, sometimes hard journey. Nothing ever brought me as much joy as creating music, seeing people relate to it, telling my stories to the whole world. Nothing can imitate this feeling. I would never exchange it for any other career.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
So, as some of you may know, I am many things. I am an artist, a producer, an engineer, an arranger… But most importantly, above everything else, I am a songwriter. I value my songs more than anything that I create, each song is like my child. I do my best to pour my soul into every story that I tell. Whether it’s a sad or a funny story, whether it’s mine or someone else’s. The way I got here was not that easy. It was a long battle with my ego as well. A lot of my friends who are musicians always argued that everyone wants to be in the spotlight and be the artist, and I fell for this ideology. But at some point, I had to sit down with myself and just have an honest conversation. What do I enjoy the most? What do I do better than anyone? Write songs. And since that moment it’s been taking off.

Besides all of that, there are so many every-day challenges. Like writer’s blocks, which are THE WORST! When you sit down to write and nothing is coming out. Or something is coming out, but you seem to find everything cheesy, boring and repetitive. Then overcoming your emotions and switching to a different mind state. Songwriting is a job just like any other job. You have to be able to put your personal problems aside and work, and in a creative space it can be very difficult to do.

Regarding my brand and my story… There is a lot. I wear a lot of yellow. I call myself a “manic pixie dream girl”. I’ve dated a lot of people. I moved to the US when I was 17 all the way from Ukraine. I have been married. I have been through a lot. I would say that the best way to know me is to listen to my music. I post songs that I write every couple days on my Instagram. Please, feel free to follow me, watch and listen to my songs, get to know me and even collaborate!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh my God! I definitely haven’t had a lot of time to discover a lot of cool places in LA since I moved here during the pandemic. But I would definitely take them to the beach in Santa Monica and try surfing. I would take them to Griffith Observatory. To Disneyland and Universal. I would take them on a whole tour of vegan cafes and restaurants, maybe with an exception of In-N-Out. And finally, I would take them to a party somewhere in Hollywood Hills. Sounds like a cool weekend, huh?

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
That’s so lovely! Let me give a few shoutouts. The first one will go to my amazing friends and family, who have helped me throughout every single step that I have taken in this musical journey. I could’ve only gone so far by myself. Second of all (and please, let me have my moment), I want to give a shoutout to Taylor Swift for inspiring me as a songwriter, as an artist, as a creative, as a woman in the music industry every single day for the past decade. And finally, I would love to give a shoutout to Berklee College of music, the school that has given me more than I could have ever imagined. I couldn’t have wished for a better place to make friends, make music and grow.

Website: www.linacooper.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lina_cooper/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/polina-bondarenko-46993b159/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/linacoopermusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/linacoope

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqeEplm1RGOhAQ-fmIV7drA

Image Credits
Photo 1, 2, 3 & 6 are by Joe Welkie. Photo 4 is by Mikhail Derichenko.