'I make decisions in my dreams and wake up and know what I have to do in my life. That’s why my second record is called My Dreams Dictate My Reality. For example, I had a really weird dream that made me move to LA, which is where I live now.

I write music as if I was taking photos of what’s in my head, like a photo of a memory, or like I’m writing a proper letter to someone, saying things that are too hard to say when you’re face-to-face. Music is really vital for me. It’s something I have to do every day, whether it is listening to it, making playlists, playing an instrument, or writing poetry. It’s a daily routine. Actually, I started taking piano lessons when I was five, right after my dad died suddenly. I felt totally abandoned, so my mom made me get out of the house and do all of these activities to take my mind off of it. I also started acting around that time. It was so fun. That’s when I knew I wanted to become a storyteller.

I still act occasionally—I’m in a movie that’s just come out called Augustine. It showed last year at Cannes. It was a long process, but it was the best thing I’ve done in my whole life. That’s the only time I will accept a movie role: if I think the project will be life-changing and awesome.

I love living in LA mostly because of the healthy living: nature, big spaces, mountains, beach, hikes, great friends and the great music scene. It's very mellow, and very inspiring...and sunny! Whenever I’m sad, I go for a manicure and pedicure to cheer me up, and I always get happy colors. It’s so cheap in the U.S., like thirty bucks. I would never do it in France because it’s like a hundred euros, but in LA, it’s a great thing to do when you have an hour to spare with your friends.

I only wear makeup sometimes, and when I do, it’s very little. I wear They’re Real by Benefit mascara, and I cover up blemishes, but that’s it...though I do wear perfume. Today I put on Al Oudh perfume from L'Artisan Parfumeur, because I couldn’t remember if I washed this dress or not. [Laughs] I live out of a suitcase! The perfume smells like incense, which I've always been drawn to because I used to burn incense all the time. But my favorite scent is Gaiac 10 by Le Labo. It was made exclusively for Tokyo. I think you can still find it. It smells like clean laundry, no wonder I like it. [Laughs]

My hair used to be really long and curly—I just cut it two days ago. I didn’t plan on it! I just went to the hairdresser for a trim. I’ve been going to Brandon Dailey [at Mudhoney] for the past five years, and I was like, 'I want a change. I want to dye my hair all white.' He suggested that we cut it first because bleaching it would ruin my long hair. We cut it midway, but then it looked bad, so we just kept going shorter and shorter.

Style-wise, I dress really feminine. I like vintage dresses paired with something like a crazy jean jacket with Divine on the back of it, like the one I have on now. It says 'Female Trouble' across the back, which is a John Waters movie. Divine was one of his muses. This one is made from a t-shirt that I put onto a vintage jacket. I buy a lot of vintage—my storage unit looks like a vintage store. It’s full of clothes, furniture, rugs, and all of that. I feel like vintage clothes have a story, so I have a hard time getting rid of them. I do give a lot of stuff to my friends, though. My 'Rap' hat is from a vintage store in LA called Freak City. I also like to shop for things at flea markets like the Rose Bowl in LA. Vintage dresses are the best. They're so comfortable, it feels like you’re wearing your pajamas.”

—as told to ITG

SoKo photographed by Emily Weiss in New York on June 15, 2013. Check out SoKo's debut album, I Thought I Was an Alien, here.

PLUS! Seeing as though we're always asking friends for music suggestions, we figured we'd start asking our profile-ees. Enjoy this mix of The Cure, MGMT, The Smiths, Billy Idol and more, from SoKo's iPhone to your ears.