THE ART OF BEING EVERYTHING: BINA ON SOFT RAGE AND FINDING HER FREEDOM

CREATIVE PRODUCER + STYLIST BIANCA NICOLE - VIDEOGRAPHER + PHOTOGRAPHER MARCUS HESSENBERG - MAKE UP ARTIST JULIA EDWARDS - HAIRSTYLIST ASHLEIGH HODGES - STYLIST ASSISTANT DAHLIA HELLERSTEIN - INTERVIEW JENN LEHWALD

Genre bending, rule breaking and unapologetically alternative, BINA is carving out a space entirely her own. Blending alt-pop with indie, rock and punk influences, her latest mixtape, SOFT RAGE, explores the complexities of anger, vulnerability and the freedom of embracing every part of yourself. Through tracks like The Art of Anger, and R U OK?, BINA turns difficult emotions into something powerful, using music as a form of catharsis and self-discovery.

With grungier textures, fearless experimentation and a visual identity that moves beyond any one aesthetic, she is stepping further into her own artistry, challenging expectations and giving herself permission to be everything she is.

We caught up with BINA to talk creative evolution, fashion, finding freedom in vulnerability and becoming the rockstar she always wanted to see.

Go behind the scenes with BINA on our exclusive F Word shoot, as we explore the world of her latest mixtape, SOFT RAGE. Watch the full BTS video now on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFpnBN9YBVI

JENN LEHWALD: Journalists will always introduce the person they’re writing about, but very rarely ever ask them to contribute to that introduction. So I’d like to know, how would you introduce yourself?  BINA: I’m BINA. a genre-bender; a rule breaker. An alt-pop baddie!

JL: Can you talk us through some of the inspirations behind your music? BINA: The inspiration behind my music comes from multiple places. Creative influences include film, books, and music. Then subject matter inspiration often comes from my personal life, and sometimes the lives of friends and strangers I observe.

JL: “The Art of Anger” feels like a really intentional reclaiming of an emotion. What does anger mean to you now, and what did you previously believe it meant? BINA: It is! Anger is an emotion I once shied away from, but now I accept is a powerful agent of change in my life and in the world. Anger is an important emotion, a compass that can point you in the right direction when harnessed with intention.

JL: You’ve written about learning that anger “wasn’t welcome,” would lead to negative results, or simply “wasn’t cute”. What were some of the beliefs around anger that you had to unlearn - and where do you think those beliefs came from? BINA: I learned - from witnessing people use their anger to cause harm - that anger is only good for destruction. This made me feel like I shouldn’t engage with my anger when I felt it, in case it made me want to do the same. But over time, feeling the pent up emotion cause me distress taught me that it has to leave the body if I want to continue to be soft and lighthearted. So I’ve been practicing expressing my anger - through words (conversation and songwriting); movement; and changing circumstances that make me angry, where I can.

JL: There’s a line in the song, “don’t hide from your anger.” What do you think happens when we stop trying to suppress an emotion and actually allow ourselves to feel it? BINA: You become freer, and lighter. It’s that simple. You also begin to trust yourself more because you’re not lying to yourself anymore.

BINA wears top ERIKAIJA; skirt 1 + 2 ALL SAINTS; skirt 3 STELLA XINGYI; ear cuffs TG JEWELLERY; earrings, bracelet, ear cuff + ring TG JEWELLERY; rings TALENTS OWN: boots NIHAI

JL: You describe embracing anger as liberating. Was there a particular moment or experience that made you realise you could feel anger without letting it consume you? BINA: I think of the time I went to the rage room earlier this year. I remember feeling confused about how neat I was, even having been provided with a designated space to crash out. This helped me recognise the disconnect between me and my anger. I decided on that day that I’d do all I can to move anger out of my body when it comes, rather than bottling it up. My hope is that it reduces the latency between trigger, response, and release. I didn’t become “short tempered” as I once feared; just more in tune with the anger I feel at times.

I also think there have been a few moments, less distinct in my memory, where I have bitten my tongue, then been asked what’s wrong and decided “you know what, I’m gonna speak up”. I can think of one time, a few years ago, where I just spoke on how I felt, I watched the other person listen, and apologise. Nobody lashed out, or stopped wanting me in their life for expressing my truth. And that was the first time I knew “it’s okay to be angry at a person and still love them”. They’re not mutually exclusive sentiments. This journey has been longer than just this year! JL: I love the idea of “let out, then feel the peace flow through you.” Does making music function as a kind of emotional release for you? Is songwriting where you process things you might not otherwise know how to articulate? BINA: Yes, most definitely! Songwriting is a natural extension of journaling for me, and it’s actually more cathartic than journaling because the act of singing the songs I write provides this element of somatic release. JL: There’s a real thread between your song Bossy and The Art of Anger: both seem to involve looking at an emotion or behaviours you might previously have avoided and turning towards it instead. Is that becoming an intentional part of your songwriting - using music to look deeper into yourself? I’ve always used songwriting as a way to get to know myself better; tend to both loud and overlooked whispers of emotion. In the case of Bossy and The Art of Anger, I’d actually say that Bossy represents a portal of escape from my emotions, through getting dressed, going to the club - all with the desire to release the feeling of heaviness, through dance and connection with others. That’s sometimes more healing than sitting alone and reckoning with yourself. The Art of Anger represents a laser-sharp focus on a specific emotion, rather than a collection of woes, and deciding to let it out with intention so you can truly be peaceful instead of cosplaying zen, or being randomly mad.  But each mode of healing is just as important as the other.

JL: How would you describe where your music is heading now? Does this feel like a new chapter for you? BINA: My music is definitely more unapologetically alternative. It’s got more grungy textures, more guitar led. This tape is a little more angsty too. I think that even where there’s not angst, there will continue to be grunge and grittiness, and tender musical moments will still have some bite! That’s what moves me right now, and I still have loads more inspiration in that space. But fundamentally, I’m gonna continue to do what I’ve always done - which is what I want. I just have a very strong, focussed idea of what that is now. JL: As your music evolves, what are you finding yourself more willing to experiment with that you might not have explored before? BINA: I’m becoming less afraid to explore new elements of my sonic inspirations. The newness doesn’t scare me so much anymore and I think that fearlessness will only grow. JL: Your visuals feel like an extension of the music rather than just a way of packaging it. When you’re creating a song, do you already see a visual world around it, or does that come later? BINA: The visual world usually comes after, but sometimes it happens during the writing process. I’ll be like “I can see xyz happening in the visuals, that would go crazy!”. But it’s usually the case that listening to the completed song will inspire ideas for visuals for both me and my creative director and everyone else I work with on visuals. I have a strong vision for what I want, and everyone of us involved in visuals has the coolest bank of visual references. I’ve even been inspired by books for my visuals. R U OK? Is one such example. 

JL: What role does getting dressed and creating a look play in your creative process? BINA: Hmmm, it depends on what I’m getting dressed for! If it’s for a show, it acts as an armour, a cape to a superhero; a magnification of my favourite parts of myself. If it’s for studio, the impact varies from day to day and from one part of the process to the next. Sometimes, creating an outfit is inspiring in that I’m already creating art from the moment I leave my home. But other days, dressing in anything beyond a black or brown oversized tracksuit can be distracting from the intricate act of songwriting. Dressing up for music videos and visuals in general is so fun because it’s a collaborative piece of art made by me, my stylists and the designers who made the clothes. It’s so cool that I get to meet and liberate different aspects of myself in these outfits.  JL: Do you have a visual reference point or fashion era that you’re particularly obsessed with right now? BINA: I just love making art! And since my references come from so many different places, it’s hard to pinpoint just one visual reference point. I also am not the biggest participator in “cores” or “eras” so I wouldn’t be able to put it down to just one - or even a couple things. My mind is so full of fashion shows, films, designers I find online, sketches I do, successful experiments with my stylists and even exhibitions and magazines. Shoutout Pinterest too!! JL: If The Art of Anger is about giving yourself permission to feel something you were taught to suppress, what else are you giving yourself permission to do or explore in this next chapter?  BINA: I’m giving myself permission to explore the full extent of my multitudes and contradictions. And some of those may show themselves in public; others may just be internal explorations, with conclusions drawn alone. I’m also giving myself permission to be the rockstar I know I am.

BINA wears top ERIKAIJA; dress SARAH REGENBERGER; boots NIHAI; ear cuffs, earrings +ring TG JEWELLERY; rings TALENTS OWN

JL: Your mixtape is titled SOFT RAGE. What does that phrase mean to you personally, and how has your relationship with anger evolved over the years? BINA: SOFT RAGE is a phrase I started using in 2023 to describe the sound and intentions of my song Dopamine. Before writing that song, my music was often really calm, even when describing feelings of rage and frustration. However, Dopamine marked a turning point in my approach to songwriting. I realised I could do more with my voice within and beyond singing, so I did. So soft-rage as a concept was born back then and I continued to develop it into a genre of its own, a way of living, a modality for healing and recalibrating. So it only felt right to name a tape I felt was a perfect summary of this, SOFT RAGE.

My relationship with anger over the years has become a lot less avoidant and fear-based. I’m grateful to be able to feel anger; that means I have a heart that is warm and capable of feeling things deeply enough that when things or people that matter to me are thrown off balance, I get activated. So yes, it's transformed from fear to gratitude and reverence.   JL: “R U OK?”, explores anxiety, intrusive thoughts and the feelings we often keep hidden from others. What inspired you to explore these themes through music, and did writing the track change the way you process them? BINA: I was inspired by an insatiable desire to be honest. To find a way to talk about things I hadn’t discussed with friends or even a therapist. I was tired of carrying fears and pain some of which wasn’t even mine to begin with. But being a sensitive soul, I feel a lot, and that gets overwhelming and can lead to a spiral when you combine with actual shit that’s going on in your life and the lives of those you care about. I initially began the session - first session of 2026 - wanting to impress and outdo my previous work. But then I stopped competing with myself and decided to use music for what I started making it for in the first place - catharsis. 

JL: You’ve spoken about wanting to let difficult feelings roam free rather than managing them alone. How important is vulnerability to your creative process, and do you find it easier to express certain emotions through music than in everyday life? BINA: Vulnerability is essential to my process, but it is scary at times. Each time I break through a new threshold of vulnerability, I feel stronger, freer and more self-assured. Less dark corners for things to lurk and blindside; more wounds healed.

And yes I really do find it easier to express certain emotions through music than in everyday life, because I get to bypass my mind and just channel with less obstacles. I’m not quite sure of the science behind it, but I know it works for me. During the process of songwriting, I’ve even discovered emotions I didn’t know I was carrying. SOFT RAGE leans further into your indie, rock and punk influences, with grungier textures and live instrumentation. What inspired this shift in sound, and how does it reflect where you are creatively right now? BINA: A newfound fearlessness. I’ve loved all the music that inspired this tape for a long time, but it’s only now that I’d finally given myself the permission to lean into it rather than sit out any longer because of the lack of representation in the spaces of these sounds. I want to be for myself, and other Black girls out there, the rockstar/alt-popstar I wish I grew up seeing myself in. In recent times, there are many more examples - Kelela, Tinashe, FKA Twigs, Rachel Chinouriri, Steve Lacy - but growing up, this wasn’t so true. JL: The mixtape explores the idea that softness and rage can exist alongside one another. What do you hope listeners take away from the project, particularly those who have been made to feel that their anger or difficult emotions are something to hide? BINA: I hope that listeners begin to see their anger as a gift, and remember how powerful, limitless and fabulous they all are! The emotions deemed negative are usually signals that something in your life needs to change; I hope you explore that and let out the emotions in cathartic, healing ways, healthy but honest ways. And know that you’re not alone in these emotions. This tape is a celebration of multitudes, an acceptance of taboos and a liberation of myself. I gave myself permission to be more, seek more, want more for myself, and I want everyone who listens to this mixtape to do the same!