EQUATE Meets Keshi
"I feel like over the years you just build and build and build and you get fans along the way. And then you make a song that's objectively undeniably strong and attract old and new fans, it's just explosive."
It’s not everyday that you meet an artist who has previously worked as a nurse for cancer patients, all whilst building their music career slow and steady on the side. Well, meet keshi, who has done exactly that! The artist, who’s not only a singer, but also a songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist all at the same time, has been making music for most of his life already - it all started when his parent’s bought a piano. But it was only after deciding to quit his job in the healthcare system that keshi’s journey to taking over the music scene has skyrocketed - after receiving a co-sign from global pop phenomenon BTS, his streams escalated to yet another level. His previous EP’s, including most recent one ‘always‘, received huge acclaim, yet keshi is only just getting started properly. His music is a purely mesmerising blend of lo-fi pop and acoustic elements, and his vulnerable, honest lyricism alongside his velvety vocals truly invite you to daydream…
We had a chat with the multi-talent about his upbringing, piano lessons and his upcoming album.
Read the full interview below…
EQ: Hi Keshi what’s your earliest musical memory?
K: I would have to say… playing the piano, when I was four or five. My parents still have it, it’s at their house. We hadn’t started lessons or anything, but I think my parents intended for us to start. I was kind of immediately drawn to it so was just sounding out songs based off how I heard them, such as ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb‘ and stuff like that. My mum was like ‘Wow you’ve got an ear for that’, or something like that, and I was like I don’t really think I do, I thought I could just tap keys. So I got signed up for lessons but I hated it! I hate the regiment of learning, like even in school when it came to playing in the orchestra I hated it. I played the violin in school too, but yeah the first memory I have was playing the piano when my parents first bought it.
EQ: Wow, I wish I could at least play one instrument!
K: Haha, you know I just couldn’t stand private lessons, like going and having someone run me through exercises and I would fall asleep in my piano and violin lessons. It was pretty funny thinking back on it. Like your head is so much bigger than the rest of your body, so the gravity just went towards the keys, haha! But I think it’s very normal when you’re a kid that age, it probably happens to music teachers all the time.
EQ: Which kind of artists did you grow up listening to then?
K: I feel like with a lot of artists you hear that their parents play some genre of music and they gravitated towards it, but that wasn’t really the case for me. Growing up, I didn’t really listen to that much music around the house. My parents weren’t fans of any particular artists and didn’t play much music. My dad did have a big vinyl collection but he listened to a lot of stuff that he heard back in Vietnam, so a lot of Euro Dance, that was big in the French sort of sphere, French had big influence in Vietnamese culture too. But I didn’t listen to that sort of stuff. My mum heard the National Radio, NPR. It wasn’t until I went to middle school that I started exploring listening to more music and determine which sounds I enjoy. It started out with a lot of punk rock actually. It wasn’t until I came across John Mayer that I really started figuring out that I wanna be a songwriter. That’s what I aspired to be like.
EQ: What’s your favourite John Mayer song?
K: Edge of Desire.
EQ: Ah, a classic. But even now your sound is very lo-fi, so other than John Mayer, are there any other artists who now influence your sound?
K: The artists who I listened to were Bryson Tiller, a lot of Drake, a lot of genres. In the beginning it was a combination of those, and then slowly I figured out which sound I wanted Keshi to take and which niche I fit in, like what the sweet spot was combining those genres.
EQ: Oh love that. Fellow Bryson Tiller fan over here! So out of curiosity, where does the name Keshi stem from?
K: The name Keshi comes from a pronounciation of my name Casey, I have a childhood friend who I would see everyday when I was really young and the parents were Japanese and they had a Japanese accent and would always say ‘Keshi’ instead of Casey. I didn’t intend for it to be more than just an online user name, but I’m glad it’s taken off. I feel like if I had more intent behind a stage name, it would not have been as well received, I feel like I would have probably come up with something really lame.
EQ: So you went from being a nurse for cancer patients to making music full time. How was that transition? What were the biggest challenges?
K: I’ve done music all my life and my dream was always to be a musician and I went to music school and all that jazz. In the grand scheme of things it just didn’t fit into the picture of a stable life and I didn’t think my parents would think that it would fit into a stable life either, and it’s so funny looking back because it ended up working out. But at the time it seemed like grabbing a needle in a haystack, it just seemed impossible. There is a very small chance of things ever working out so I was actually very hesitant to make that transition, even when the signs were pointing into the right direction. My manager begged me to quit and I was adamant about not doing it because I was too afraid to do that jump I guess and then I’ve had the worst day at work and I was like ‘I can’t do it anymore’. The amount of stress that you go through with a job like that. So this one day I had a breakdown and that was my sign. I always had a strong mental fortitude so that was my sign where I knew I couldn’t do both things at the same time. I didn’t have anything secured, no record deal, nothing - it was just because I couldn’t do my other job anymore. But it was more like ‘I’m gonna take a year to try this’ rather than completely change directions forever.
The good things about me having been hesitant, is that things have started to grow quite a bit already by the time that I quit. Like I already had a few label meetings by the time that I did leave so didn’t have to worry about hustling to find people who would listen to my music, like the audience was already there. It was just a matter of turning around and embracing it. Even before getting label attention, I never cared about promotion or forcing my music onto someone. Fans always gravitated to it themselves, no matter how small the audience was. It was all organically, I only posted on Soundcloud.
“I’ve done music all my life and my dream was always to be a musician and I went to music school and all that jazz. In the grand scheme of things it just didn’t fit into the picture of a stable life and I didn’t think my parents would think that it would fit into a stable life either, and it’s so funny looking back because it ended up working out. “
EQ: Your most recent single ‘Beside You‘ has gone viral. How does that feel to get such recognition?
K: It’s the most validating feeling in the world. It feels like it made all the growth tangible. I feel like over the years you just build and build and build and you get fans along the way. And then you make a song that’s objectively undeniably strong and attract old and new fans, it’s just explosive. I’m very thankful for it. I’m signing a bunch of things in preparation for the upcoming album and I have to sign thousands of them and it’s making me take a step back and be like ‘wow, I can’t believe I’m here’. It’s like a dream come true.
EQ: So tell us about the album!
K: I don’t wanna spoil too much, but it’s very close to being done. We have a release date in mind but reveal as it gets closer to it. It has all the elements that Keshi fans love, and it has a different subject matter with each track and it’s definitely a personal record. It’s the first time that I have ever collaborated with other producers, the executive producer’s input is invaluable to me, we have really great chemistry together. He’s been amazing and takes it all to the next level. While I can produce, I’m not the most amazing producer, now I feel like I have him it will change a lot.
EQ: I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say that I am are very excited for it.