keshi, whose real name is Casey Luong, has become a major creative talent by mixing catchy melodies with fresh, atmospheric sounds. He made his mark from Houston with a trilogy of EPs—”skeletons” (2019), “bandaids” (2020), and “always” (2020). In 2022, he dropped his debut album, “GABRIEL,” receiving high praise from tastemakers and embarking on a global tour.
Now, with his latest release “Requiem” in 2024, he invites listeners into an even more immersive music. This release marks his first full-length album since “GABRIEL.” In an exclusive virtual interview, keshi shared insights on the inspiration behind some of the songs on the new album, his personal milestones for 2024, and even teased an alternative version of “Requiem.” Here’s what went down:
The “Requiem” album marks your first album release since 2022, how excited are you about this release? Can you share some of the key highlights from creating this album?
I’m extremely excited about the release. I like to take my time for sure, and I’ve always been a little bit of a slow writer. I don’t like to write until I feel the inspiration kind of hits just that, and the things that I make don’t end up being homogenous. It was a very collaborative process this time around, with me and some of my best friends. I learnt a lot from the people that I worked with, and there were so many memorable parts of it.
But honestly, my favourite part of the nights, besides making art with my best friends, was the dinner afterwards. We had drinks and nice food around like 8pm after making something that we were all excited about, listened to the demos in the car on the way there and on the way back, and just started it all over again the next day for the next couple of weeks. So it would often be like, two-week trips that I would make out to LA from Houston, and it always felt like a vacation while working, weirdly.
What was the inspiration behind the process of making “Requiem”?
“Requiem” is a classical music term, like a name for a piece that you would play at someone’s funeral or a march to lay someone to rest. And I’ve dealt with loss in the past couple of years. There’s a song I wrote about that experience. I’ve written a lot of songs about it, but that particular one was probably the closest that got to describing that experience. It just felt apt to name the record after it, because it sort of changed my perspective on how I dealt with my time, how I prioritise things, and how I perceive life to be a lot shorter than we take it to be. Sometimes, we take things for granted, so that’s why I named it after that particular song.
How does the creative process for making “Requiem” differ from any of your previous albums?
“Requiem” was a lot more collaborative than “GABRIEL” was. “GABRIEL” was pretty much started in my own studio in Houston, and I would take it to Elie afterwards in LA, and we would kind of finish it together. There were a couple of ideas that we started in LA, but I would take back to Houston and kind of flesh out on my own. But this time around, it was like, what will the songs sound like if we all start it out and finish it all together?
So I have my sort of tendencies and I have my taste, my biggest fear was making another album that sounded just like “GABRIEL.” I really invited all sorts of input this time around, but still going through the filter of my taste. But there would be these times when people in the room would get excited about something that I wasn’t necessarily excited about, whether it be the whole song, a particular chord change, a lyrical idea, or a motif, and I had to kind of be open to understanding, like why people were being excited about certain things. Once I got it, I was like, “Oh, okay, this is why,” and I would have never reached for those sorts of things had I not been in the same room with them. I learnt a lot about being a writer and producer in this experience, which was the goal as it brought my foundation up so I could take it into future processes.
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind “Soft Spot”?
“Soft Spot” is the sweetest song on the album, both sonically and content-wise. I was honestly really nervous about this song because I feel like it’s very different from anything that I’ve put out before, just in how hot pink the song sounds. But it feels like the reception to it has been really good, which I’m happy about. It’s actually like the last song I came around to in terms of accepting as part of the discography. I’ve really fallen in love with it. The inspiration is about somebody that you never thought could change your perspective on falling in love before, until it happens to you. Then you’re just taken by a wave of you can’t imagine life without them after that, like every single thought is about them and you’ll do anything to just be near them.
Which song is your favourite from the new album?
My favourite song off of the “Requiem” album is one of the singles that came out already, which is “Dream”. There’s something about how simple it is, but how much emotion is packed into the song that I’m very proud of. I think the songwriting is very concise, but there’s a bit of a twist in the lyrics if you listen closely.
In the first verse, it’s all about she’s great, she’s this, and she’s that. But it’s kind of revealed as you listen to the song that you’re talking to the person that you want to be with the entire time. You’re describing the person that you’re with to the person that you want to be with. And I think being able to do it in so few words is something I’m very proud of. And it’s also mirrored in the production, where the production is very lush and very open and sparse, but it doesn’t get in the way of itself.
There’s a lot of little piano motifs and melodies that are very clear and intentional, but they don’t get in the way of the vocals at all. That was the very last song that we wrote for the album. It’s like the youngest child; I feel like the youngest child always gets the most love.
Do you feel that your approach to creating music has evolved compared to your earlier work?
I’m always learning ways to refine my songwriting and ways to kind of improve my production or even my recording. I’ve definitely learnt more about what makes a strong melody really compelling. It’s easy for an artist or a songwriter to kind of sing into a microphone for three hours and catch gold in the span of those three hours. But you also catch a lot of random takes that you know don’t sound like anything and are able to distinguish what’s worth keeping and what’s worth throwing away. I’ve gotten a lot better at it. I think my ears have gotten a lot better.
As a Vietnamese-American, have you received any memorable messages or reactions from your Vietnamese fans?
Actually, it’s so validating to get so much love from Vietnam. There have been some comments here and there, I can’t say that I read or understand any Vietnamese, but seeing more and more of them is something that’s really heartwarming to me. It is also something that honestly makes my parents really happy, because they never imagined that it would have reached across the border back to their home like that. It’s kind of a really insane circle-back moment.
Could you share more about your fashion and the inspiration behind your unique style?
I definitely cannot take all the credit. I have a stylist that I love very much, and she has definitely informed me on a lot of different things. Honestly, she has also put me in a lot of crazy stuff too. Stage fashion or runway stuff sometimes can be very impractical, especially when it comes to the way I perform. So when I first started out, I used to wear a tonne of rings, and I quickly found out that I couldn’t play the guitar with them on. She used to get me in some sort of drappier pants or maybe some shoes that were like not as uncomfortable to walk in so that I wouldn’t trip over myself on stage. Depending on the occasion, it is totally different.
But as for my personal fashion sense, I just like something that is comfortable. Recently, we’ve been delving into something more Americana, especially when we’re currently in Texas. Also, I have pretty stark tattoos, so I kind of like to have them out. Tank tops or shirts that reveal them are fun for me.
Aside from making music, what is your favourite thing to do on your free time?
Outside of work, it would be playing video games or listening to music. I think that is something that a lot of musicians forget to do because they get so focused on what they’re working on. It’s so easy to start thinking about music in terms of work that you forget to listen to other artists to see what they’re doing recently. Also, I actually don’t watch shows anymore because I have a brain like a hamster’s; my attention span is super short. I read manga a lot, but recently I’ve run out of series. I have this whole humongous shelf that is filled with my favourite series, so sometimes I just pull out a book down and read, and it will only take me like 10 minutes.
Apart from this album release, what other milestones that you’ve celebrated this year and what are you looking forward to?
I played at like the biggest show of my life, I think it was in Shanghai? I can’t remember how exactly big it was, but it was a full-pledge arena. It’s so easy to see the scale gets bigger when you look into that darkness of the crowd because you’re getting shine with really bright lights. There was this moment where I asked everyone to turn on their phonelights, and usually it’s like this big wall of light in front of you. But this time, the wall of light was like a circle. It was parabolic. It was unreal. So that was an enormous milestone for me. For personal life, I’m about to turn 30, which is kind of insane. It is something a lot of people are usually anxious about, but I’m kind of excited for it. I feel like I have enough nausea under my belt where I don’t feel weird turning 30. I want to embrace ageing gracefully.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
I don’t think I would change a thing. I strongly feel like we’re the products of the mistakes that we’ve made. If there’s anything that I would tell myself is to just stick to my guns and be brave because I’m about to go through something that is going to change my perspective on things and going outside isn’t going to feel exactly the same anymore. I wish little keshi could see me now, but I also don’t know if little keshi knows that sometimes I wish I could be him again. 
Is there anything you learnt from your experience as a nurse that you’ve brought forward in making music?
I think that my experience as a nurse impacts more of my personal life than it impacts my music. I was always working with people, and when it is kind of the end of the line, there’s a process that comes with that. And a part of it is expressing something like, “Oh, I wish I would’ve this.” I guess hearing that sort of quote on quote wisdom definitely had an influence on me taking that risk. And it’s kind of ironic that I was around loss, but it never really impacted me personally the way that the loss that I wrote about in “Requiem” did. When it is so close to you, I think you understand what everybody else feels. I feel like there’s 50% of people that have gone through loss and the other 50% of people that just haven’t yet. And then when you join on the other side, you’d feel like, “Oh, there are experiences that I have to go through life without you now, there are things that I can’t tell you about anymore, maybe the things that I would’ve celebrated it with you had you been around, and I’ll talk to you in my sleep when I dream about you.” But yes, I do think nursing impacts my personal life from that perspective. I guess what I’m trying to say is that it only informs me so much until I experience it myself, and that’s the big change.
There are songs that are not included in the new album tracklist, will there be a deluxe version of “Requiem” coming soon?
I don’t know if I’m allowed to say anything, but there is a healthy bank of songs that may or may not be coming out later that may or may not have the initial version of the album. But there are definitely songs that will come around.
Alia and Justin contributed to this article.
The post Interview: keshi On Why “Dream” Is His Favourite Song From “Requiem” appeared first on Hype Malaysia.
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