Behind “Requiem” by Keshi and the Value of Listening Parties

Oct 28, 2024 | Blogs | 0 comments

Prologue: Keshi, Not Kesha

On September 18, I had the opportunity to join a Spotify listening party for an artist whose music I have admired and appreciated for several years: Keshi. Nope, I didn’t mean Kesha, I meant Keshi. 

For those of you who may not know who he is, Keshi, born as Casey Luong, is a Houston-raised Vietnamese-American singer-songwriter, record producer and musician. Though that sounds quite impressive, I still feel like that basic description leaves a lot out about his identity as a music artist, such as the blood, sweat and tears he put into creating this album. 

Luckily for fans, his listening party presented a space for him to open up about his inside process of creating his latest album, “Requiem,” and share intriguing stories that revealed more about who he is as a person. I wanted to in turn share some of my favorite moments and reactions from this experience.

 

Part I: I Can’t Believe Keshi is Speaking Through My Laptop Right Now

To begin, my initial reaction to hearing the speaking voice of an artist I really enjoy was, well, kind of embarrassing. I still remember being in my dorm at nine in the evening and whisper-screaming (because the walls are thin, but I’m pretty sure people still heard me) as if I was at his concert. (Side note: Keshi is supposed to perform at the EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia, but no date has been set yet…) 

This experience, although I was barely a few minutes in, was already one of the coolest things I had partook in. I mean, I was listening to an album I’ve had on repeat since it dropped (and that I’d been waiting for for months) with the actual artist himself! Even more so, he was telling stories about each one, and I love stories and the idea of storytelling through various mediums like music, as you will discover.

 

Part II: Storytime with the “Music Nerd”

To clarify, during the listening party, Keshi jokingly said, “They lock me in a room and say ‘make music, nerd.’” He really did prove himself to be a music nerd, though, when describing the process behind each song and talking about his influences and inspiration. (Just so you know, being called a “nerd” is a compliment because it shows how passionate and ambitious one is about something, like Keshi is with music.)

The three songs I have chosen to share are “Say,” “Night” and “Soft Spot.” Many of these are direct quotes from the listening party, so you can get inside stories from the artist himself, too! 

“Say” is an homage to loving city pop and wanting to have a more “accessible and up-beat song for shows.” After reflecting on his past touring experience, he realized how most of the songs he played were bittersweet, so he wanted to pick up the pace in a way that still suited him. An overlooked aspect of the song that he really appreciates is the pocket, or the swing of the drums, something he’s never played with before. According to Keshi, if you try to record a cover with any element of the song missing, it won’t work. “There’s this syncopation that happens between the cadence of the vocals, the pocket of the drums, and the electric guitar in the background,” Keshi stated, explaining how they all come together to create the final product. 

“Night” was mostly produced by Keshi because no one else wanted to work on it. He had to delete everything and reproduce it from scratch, but the final song came out incredible (one of my top songs on the album, actually). This haunting song expresses Keshi “wrangling with insomnia, anxiety, pressure, stress, and paranoia.” He said he produced it in this way because he didn’t want to sound “whiny,” but he shouldn’t feel like he is “whining” since he is speaking of very real struggles that many other people deal with as well. After hearing his story, I listened to it again, and it seemed to take on a whole other meaning. 

With “Soft Spot,” Keshi revealed that he was anxious about this song before the release because “it’s so sugary sweet, and it’s so different from other songs he’s put out before that are somewhere in between,” songs that “ride the line of ‘you’re in love, but it hurts for some reason.’” In contrast, he described this song as leaning more towards “I told myself I wasn’t going to fall again, but I am for some reason,” and “finding yourself doing things you wouldn’t normally do for this person because you have a soft spot for them.” This song presents Keshi in a different light that fans seem to enjoy. 

Keshi also pointed out that this album comes full circle, which I didn’t fully realize until I relistened to the tracks. The first song “Amen” and the last song “Id” share similar themes and lyrics—“Amen” is only one verse, but this verse reappears as the outro of “Id,” except for one altered line: “I’ve been playing God in arenas” in “Amen” versus “I’ve been playing God but I’m bleeding” in “Id.” In addition, the difference in how this verse is sung is quite striking. The first track performs it more powerfully and projects it with confidence, accompanied by instrumentals that amplify his voice; on the other hand, the last track sings it with a softer and lighter tone, almost like a plea, with an acoustic-sounding backdrop. As soon as I recognized this, I was in awe, to be completely honest. Keshi is an incredibly skilled musician with a clear intent in each of his songs, and it was especially evident hearing him talk about his work.

 

Part III: A Reminder that Music Artists are Humans Too

While discussing the track, “Texas,” Keshi admitted that he starves himself and only drinks coffee as he “locks himself in the dungeon until the deed is done.” 

The fan response was insane; the entire chat blew up and nearly glitched with messages of “TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF” and “NOOO YOU HAVE TO EAT.” Of course, I couldn’t help but respond to this as well because I feel both guilty and appreciative of these artists that put out such wonderful work in the world—but at what cost? 

Music artists and other celebrities are just as human as anyone else. This may seem like an obvious statement, but there are many people who seem to deem these famous individuals as “untouchable beings,” which is not true at all. Sometimes it’s easy to forget this, but moments like Keshi’s vulnerable confession remind us that these people we admire and look up to have their own struggles they face.

 

Part IV: In Which Some Songs Cut a Little Too Deeply

There’s always a song that tugs at your heartstrings more so than the rest. For me, this song was the title track, “Requiem.” Even when Keshi tried to speak about it, he audibly choked up, revealing that it makes him sad to talk about the song. That alone was enough to understand the story and emotions behind it, and increase its level of heartbreak. Keshi opened up about how he has dealt with loss the past few years, and how he has written about loss a lot. I especially resonated with this confession because it’s true that as an artist, whether a musician or writer in this case, loss and sadness is in everything you create. No matter what, it always seems to follow you and restrict your creativity to a certain extent. 

Keshi was able to produce songs that evoke such a strong relatable response from the listener, but I personally feel like I’ve been creating the same thing in different ways. (Creative writing is a passion of mine, so I really enjoyed hearing Keshi talk about the story behind every song and the meaning of some lyrics.) 

I didn’t realize it right away, but reflecting back, everything I wrote since the loss of a family member was about precisely that: the loss. Eventually, it morphed into more poetry, fiction, and then finally, it wasn’t specific to me anymore—I wrote about other people’s loss. But loss and sadness is still loss and sadness, even if it isn’t personal to me. For the longest time, I’ve been experimenting with other genres and forms in hopes of reaching a breakthrough, but it never really goes away. The only difference now is that I’ve acknowledged and accepted that. 

 

Epilogue: Live, Laugh, Love Listening Parties

I went into the listening party giddy and excited, and left nearly in tears and in shock.

If this experience taught me anything, it’s that listening parties make you feel closer to the artist, and make you reevaluate your thoughts and feelings about the album they’re delving deeper into. 

I highly recommend participating in these opportunities if they ever present themselves in your lives as it has the effect of strengthening your own passions through hearing a person you appreciate discuss theirs.


Feature image