Grab a pair of headphones and dive in. My releases live on Bandcamp, and I write about process, gear, and whatever I’m nerding out on over on Substack. Instagram is my day-to-day: studio clips, works in progress, collabs, and the visual world of my work as it takes shape.
I’m Shanda, but I write, produce, and perform as OKTI, which means “snow” in Chickasaw. My work seeks the organic and the synthetic, blending field recordings, acoustic instruments, and heavy electronic production into emotional, atmospheric soundscapes.
The last 15 years as a working musician have taken me to some pretty wonderful places. With my previous band We Are The Wilderness, I recorded at Philip Glass’s studio, worked with producers at The Cutting Room Studios in NYC to release a full length studio album, and played festivals like SXSW and CMJ. When I joined the darkwave project A Place Both Wonderful and Strange, we performed a commissioned electronic set for the David Lynch Foundation at MASS MoCA, Keys Open Doors: The Hidden Life of Laura Palmer. Rolling Stone also gave some love to What I Speak I Create, an EP I helped write, record, and co-produce, noting that OKTI has “definitely read a few pages in the Lisa Gerrard book of emoting” (still goth blushing over that one).
My newest project is Blood Guardian. Think Gothic Western noir, that aches to be the soundtrack to a lost David Lynch film. Desert croon over fuzzed-out blues, with heartbeats of percussion running underneath, an offering to the ancestors
On the production side, I write and produce music that brings other people's worlds to life. I’m always open to the right collaboration, sync, or brand! I’ve licensed music to independent fashion designers and skateboard companies, pitched original works to major ad agencies, and was selected for Converse Rubber Tracks. That partnership showed me how a global brand ecosystem really works and gave me time tracking on cool analog gear that some of us dream about.
Outside of music, I spent over a decade as a fitness coach and yoga teacher in Honolulu and NYC, and today I’m a Technical Program Manager in cybersecurity. Coaching people taught me to lead with clarity and empathy, which is exactly what a good studio session needs.
Most importantly, the human connection is my favorite part of making music. Whether you need vocals tracked, a producer, a collaborator, or just someone to nerd out with, let’s connect!
