Artist and producer Miki Ratsula is a Southern California-based, Finnish American singer/songwriter who has built a sizable audience by openly and honestly welcoming people into their world. As an out, trans nonbinary artist, Miki uses their platform to candidly document their life, from coming out to getting top surgery. It’s the kind of storytelling that queer kids crave and deserve, and all of it has culminated in the release of Miki’s debut album, i owe it to myself, an acoustic pop dream guided by Miki’s perpetually smooth vocals and a lush, lo-fi inspired production.

Capturing the full emotional seesaw that rocks between youth and adulthood, i owe it to myself is Miki at their most vulnerable and fully realized. “I just want to be the artist I needed growing up,” says Miki, and that’s exactly who they’ve become on this heartfelt and impressive debut record that touches on mental health, loss, love, and everything in between. Throughout the album, Miki effortlessly floats between R&B slow jams and acoustic numbers laced with sensual groove. But some of the album’s more powerful moments exist in the soft, nostalgic spaces in between, which often deal with the pain that lives behind closed doors.In the end, I owe it to myself is a testament to self-love, and a gift to anyone seeking the same.