For Keshi, Requiem signifies a new chapter of exploration. It’s a study of vocal tones, lyricism, and the artistry to be found in performance. For Casey, it’s a new approach to his art.
Better known by his moniker Keshi, Casey Luong’s journey has progressed from scrubs to selling out arenas worldwide. After the success of his debut album, Gabriel, Keshi offers a more introspective study into the growing pains of an artist in his sophomore album, Requiem.
“I'm starting to treat my body as a medium to create art, and seeing it that way, I think, is a lot healthier,” he details to HBX. Despite the insular nature of the album's emotional themes, it’s a mindset that is as self-compassionate to the artist as it is process-oriented to the art. “What I'm starting to realize is that you don't always have to like everything you make because maybe your tastes just haven't caught up to it yet. But maybe you will.”
It’s a forward-thinking approach, one where the art precedes what might be a future version of the artist, and an approach that necessitates an understanding of the inevitability of personal evolution, for Requiem serves not only as an emotional reflection but as a documentary of the creative process.
“I always think that [Requiem and Gabriel are] not supposed to necessarily be connected or intertwined, like once the album's done, you close the cover on that book and you move on to the next thing.” Ahead of the Requiem merchandise arriving at HBX, we sat down with Keshi at HBX’s Landmark store to discuss the genesis of Requiem, his style evolution, and the duality between Casey and Keshi.
Scroll more to read now and shop the collection at HBX.
“Nowadays, [music] is so over-compressed in order to be in your face and shiny and clear and pristine, you lose those sorts of ebbs and flows that we love about music, things that sound natural to the ear and sound human. So I'm going to go back to that,” the singer resolves. It’s a Saturday afternoon, and Keshi, along with his team, are drinking coffee, re-energizing themselves after the singer’s concert the prior night. They divulge stories of sharing fried chicken (none was saved for the main artist) and tales from production booths.
Pride almost flows out of the artist as he describes the work of his team: “[The tour] has been so amazing. It feels like not just a family, but like a village of people that support me, and everyone gets along with each other too. That doesn't always happen. And I hear it from people all the time on my crew that they say, ‘this is a special thing that you've built around yourself.’ And I guess I've worked hard to foster an environment where people feel comfortable like that.”
Speaking with Keshi, the conversation naturally diverts to an analysis of the current musical landscape and, of course, inspirations, where the singer’s deep appreciation and understanding of the musical process shines through. “On my last tour, John Mayer, who's my biggest hero, happened to be touring at the same time. We both happened to be in Boston the next day, and my agent got me tickets. I remember they said, ‘Would you come to the show early? John wants to meet you. So I got to see him backstage and watch him walk that tightrope of just him and an acoustic guitar. There were so many instances of him playing an intro to a song and dancing around, which was so inspiring that I wanted to take that and incorporate it into my own show,” he explains. “So for Understand, Limbo, and Touch, there are all these moments where I want to build up tension for [the audience] to get excited. And that moment when all of them recognize it, my heart just blows up. It's a special moment,” Keshi divulges to HBX.
Along with John Mayer, the singer cites Michael Jackson, Frank Ocean, and folk singer Nick Drake as musical inspirations: “Sometimes when I was a kid, music made me feel soothed in a subconscious way. I don't get that as much anymore, but certain records can do that to me. Still, finding those is important to me.” It’s a topic any creative, past, present, or future, wants to discover more of; after all, the creation of good art necessitates the consumption of good art. “It's so important to listen to things and to get inspired by the sorts of techniques that they use and to learn how they figured it out, you know? What were the artists that your favorite artists listened to?” Keshi insists. It’s evident the singer’s mind is nourished by studying the vocal feel and performance technique of the greats - as well as a little bit of manga. “I have a huge manga collection. Chainsaw Man is my favorite. I love Berserk. I love Vagabond, like any Seinen Manga basically.”
There’s a sense of familiarity behind Keshi’s persona, a down-to-earth-ness in his enthusiastic enjoyment of media, that it’s surreal to believe the singer had performed an intimate show at Hong Kong’s Soho House and AsiaWorld-Expo Arena just days before. But it seems Keshi-up-close and Keshi-on-stage share a similar vulnerability and dedication to their craft, albeit expressed in distinct ways: “There's a lot less pressure for an intimate setting, maybe because there's less videos that could possibly circulate online. But the stakes are higher because there's nothing for me to hide behind, no safety net, no guard rails, so I have to really lock in and pretend like I'm in my bedroom again,” he admits. “Whereas performing for 11,000 people is crazy because at a certain point it starts to feel impersonal. It's so surreal every time those lights come up, and I can't believe that I'm doing it. I'll walk in for sound check and see all the empty seats, and I'll tell myself, “Wow, these are all going to be filled by the end of the night.”
The Making of Requiem
Keshi’s development as a musician is intertwined with his progression as an artist: “Requiem was mainly different in the way that I created it. The executive production, decisions, and everything from Gabriel were made together with Elie Rizk. But for most of those things I finished at about 60%, took it to Elie, got it to 90%, and I took it home and finished the rest. The thing was that I was too insecure about my own process to let anybody else watch me do it,” he laughs. “This time around, I made it a point to try to finish the songs in front of everyone. I wanted to try doing the thing where you start a song in one day and finish it the same day, even if it sucks, even if it's terrible. Don't get married to one thing being a certain way; it can be tweaked and changed. [Requiem] was very collaborative, and I learned so much during this process that I could reincorporate it into my process.”
This collaborative process not only helped overcome an insecurity that naturally exists alongside creativity but also led to a richer-sounding album — one that reflects an artist more in tune with his music. “The biggest thing with Requiem is the vocal feel that I didn't quite understand [at the time of making] Gabriel. But having a team supporting the process meant it was really hands-off with the production and I could focus on the music.” It’s a collaborative process that hopefully one day can extend to the likes of Dean and Joji, who the artist cites as ideal collaborations to come, “maybe someday.”
Keshi’s most popular track from Requiem is entitled Soft Spot, a song boasting over 94 million streams on Spotify. I mention I wanted the song to be my first dance wedding song, and he recommends the acoustic version, despite his original aversion to the track: “It was so pop-y, so grating to my ears. I was intent on making a really dark, moody record, all in the same tone as Amen. But if the whole album sounds like that - I'm talking about dynamics, right – those songs wouldn't feel special,” he explains.
But underneath its sweet melodies, it was Soft Spot that led to the genesis of Keshi’s eureka moment. “I just didn't understand it yet. You know what the special thing is? Sometimes, what I'm starting to realize is that you don't always have to like everything you make because maybe your tastes just haven't caught up to it yet. But maybe you will.” It’s a mindset that allows the artist a break from the perfectionism and pressure after the success of Gabriel: “It's so easy to start making something for 20 minutes and to be like, 'I don't like it.” But things can be molded. It's like a sculpture, you know? So it's crazy, because the older you get, the more cemented your tastes kind of become. And it's easy to shake things or shrug things off as not worth pursuing. But sometimes you don’t and you get Soft Spot.”
It’s an immediate answer when asked his favorite song from the album: “Dream. I love Dream. I love how concise it is, but it can still evoke such strong emotions. That's kind of how I envision my idea of the perfect song – how much can you make someone feel moved?” he says. “I think the production was something that we really nailed, especially when the song feels like a dream. Being able to have that sort of parallel was important. It's so grand, so spacious, without getting in the way of the other elements on the song. And I think my vocal performance was perfect,” he explains. Keshi fans can attest to the singer’s last statement.
“At the end of the day, the things I like, the way that I see myself, and the way that I want to present myself is uniquely me.”
"In the past, when I would write about, like, old, old flames, it's funny, they would find out immediately, and they would be like, ‘Is this song about me?’ I think that's the risk you take being friends with someone who's a songwriter…I think it helps me reinterpret the way that I view interpersonal relationships.”
Style inspo
With a process so personal to the self as styling, the divide between Keshi and Casey becomes more apparent: “So much of Keshi is the entity that comes out on stage and can seem larger than life, so in a lot of ways it can be perceived as theater. And in order to kind of bring people into that suspended moment, there has to be something to help bring me there - and style, costume, the glam - it all helps.” It’s an interesting moment that begs the question of style and its relationship with the artist.
“I think my day-to -day style is pretty simple, like when I'm not in character, you know what I mean? I split my time very clearly. When I'm at home, I'm very much in a tank top and pajamas. I go to the gym, I wear a baseball cap, I come home, and cook dinner,” he reveals. Keshi’s style, however, is a different story: “I love what I'm wearing today, like baggy, chunky stuff. But I like having slim silhouettes too, with some Chelsea boots and something sleek depending on where I'm going. So that's why I kind of teeter-totter on both ends. But I do throw my hands up – I do leave it to my stylist, who's so talented and oversees a lot. She really cemented the vision of what Keshi is,” he divulges.
For all Keshi style enthusiasts, the brains behind Keshi’s look is none other than Kendall Finzer aka “Kendy”, Los Angeles and Seoul-based creative director and stylist, with whom Keshi has worked for several years. As Keshi takes a tour of the HBX store, picking up pieces, he remarks to himself, “I think Kendy would approve,” signaling the extent of their trust and dynamic. It's been an ongoing sartorial evolution from Gabriel to Requiem that even fans can pinpoint. “[Keshi’s style] has definitely evolved. Absolutely, but there's a consistency in [Kendy’s] taste, which I think is the root of everything. I think Requiem inspired her, and Gabriel inspired her in certain ways – her interpretation of what that means for an artist who made it. I think she does an amazing job,” Keshi explains.
SHOP KESHI’S PICKS:
Central to the aesthetic also includes the singer’s noticeably long hair, styled by hair and makeup artist, Yukina, whose portfolio boasts the likes of idols such as Jackson Wang and Mark Tuan. “I have long hair, so there are a lot of different things I can do with it, whether it’s a wet, slick back, or half up, like we are today,” he gestures to his hair, turning to display a full 360. “I can kind of teeter-totter on whether I want to look a little bit more masculine or a little bit more feminine today, and that's really fun to me. I love being able to play with my looks.”
This dualism - teetering between Keshi and Casey, and teetering between masculine and feminine aesthetics - is core to Keshi, where the interplay marks the sweet spot of the artist’s being. “I love leaning feminine, but that's because I don't have super masculine features. And I've learned as I've gotten older that leaning into that sort of feminine beauty side is where I feel the most confident, and like I look my best."
"I don't really understand trying to fit into a mold or certain beauty standard that I'm expected to be in."
The evolution of the artist from the one who used to upload through Soundcloud to the one selling out arenas is evident through his style, mindset, and manner. “I think trying to step out of your comfort zone and expand is a fun thing to do. But there have definitely been some times on stage where I was in an outfit where I felt like, maybe I didn't love it as much, but maybe it’s that my taste didn’t catch up yet. But afterwards I'll see pictures of it, and I'll be like, ‘damn, we really pulled that off!’” I asked if this was a motto he was living by, to which he adamantly agreed, “Yeah, my taste will catch up to it!”