Features
artistsGet to know Qrion, the artist bringing soulful samples to digital-age sounds
The 23-year old San Fran resident originally from Sapporo, Japan, crafts deeply melodic and emotive soundscapes
When most of her friends were frequenting shopping malls and arcades in Japan, Qrion was holed up in her bedroom obsessing over leftfield Japanese producers like Dé Dé Mouse. Putting to use the production skills her father had passed on, she started working on her own tunes and quickly built a following on SoundCloud, before venturing out to DJ in her home town.
She played her first gigs at 18. “Everyone just focused on my age because I was still in high school,” she says. “Now they focus on my music.”
Now settled in San Francisco, the softly spoken producer has become an affiliate of Skrillex’s Nest HQ. She says that with its mountainous terrain her new home “doesn’t feel dissimilar to Sapporo”.
“I’m lucky in lots of ways, because most Asian parents want their children to stay home and get a good job like being a doctor or a lawyer,” she explains. “But mine were like, ‘Go ahead, enjoy yourself!’”
Qrion is part of Mixmag and WAV’s new Magnified team. For more info, go to wav.mixmag.net
Valerie Lee is Mixmag's US Digital Editor, follow her on Twitter
