QRIAN
... is a South Korean singer-songwriter who explores her cross-cultural identity through her music. She grew up in South Korea, where she developed a unique and sometimes quirky personality. At the age of 18, she moved to Liverpool, UK, for the first time, experiencing a new culture and lifestyle.
After three years in London, she returned to her home country and released her debut EP, which showcases her voice, language and sound in a blend of Korean and Western influences. QRIAN’s music reflects her journey of finding herself in the midst of transitions and fragments.
How did your passion for music begin and what are the main influences behind your musical style?
When I was 14, and was struggling with a kind of low mood, as is often the case with teenagers, music was my favourite escape. Then, one day, I realised that this is the thing I have to pour my whole soul into and started hoping that if this can comfort others as I was comforted, I would be just astonished throughout my whole life. Since that day, I started performing.
I loved the way of writing lyrics like diaries and enjoyed producing tracks by myself with sound and noise related to its narrative reasons and meanings based on the theme and lyrics. Hence, the actual influences behind my musical style derive from the experiences of daily life and emotions conveyed through sound and noise.
What was the inspiration behind your release, “BOSS” and what’s the story behind it?
Basically, three years ago, I was about to be hired at a company and was working part-time at first. However, while working there, the boss kept changing what he said in many ways, which put me into confusion and a suffocated feeling, and I decided not to work full time after that period. I was comforted by writing this piece.
This track starts with three bass notes in a minimalistic way but then finishes with quite raw and industrial sounds, including the vocal chops. The minimal bass notes also come in reverse. This repetition of the track and the reverse at the end with maximal sound change also express the situation and confused feeling of 'I don’t know what they say' themselves.
Nowadays songs tend to have a playtime of 2 minutes, do you think that’s enough to “tell the story”?
Two minutes or ten minutes really do not matter to tell the story. As if you talk with your friend, sometimes 1 minute might be enough or 2 hours might not be enough. However, if that does not rely on the storyline but on the streaming platform’s functionality due to previews and such, I could say it is not really a welcomed change.
Do you have any plans to perform live on stage in the near future?
Sure, I am planning a release party with Yuzo, who also produced one of the ‘BOSS' remixes.
What are some of the challenges that you face as a musician in the current music industry?
I might be able to say my music cannot really enter the mainstream currently, as I am an independent musician without any signed label or managers. I am working full-time, and this can allow me to work on music with some equipment, rent of the studio thingy, but can never pay me back in terms of capitalistic ways.
Some people really do not understand what I am doing, as music is one of their entertaining things, not the dedicating things, especially if that would not achieve their commercial success. I just really wish all independent musicians would not get too exhausted to stop their works and audiences would get to know this kind of musician more.
How do you use social media to connect with your fans and grow your audience?
I don’t really use them well, to be fair, but I am trying more. I was actually quite an introvert and kind of afraid of posting anything. It's quite ironic as music is still about to be public and listened to by many, but yes, the social media stuff was a bit of a challenge for me. However, I believe I would do better as many times as I release my next albums.
What are your goals for the future?
As the reason I started creating music, I would keep writing pieces and performing to connect with audiences and comfort their minds. QRIAN means Q-Ri’s language, and I’m called Q-Ri. I hope this music of mine would still be the language to communicate with others and between me and the world.
