It only takes a moment with Kun – the 26-year-old singer-songwriter who rose to fame on China’s Idol Producer – to feel like long-lost friends.
The boy group member turned singer-songwriter is quick to jump into conversation about his seemingly favorite topic – making music. There’s plenty to talk about. His latest single, “Deadman,” was released a month ago. The soulful track’s release was accompanied by a cinematic music video, which the 26-year-old was deeply involved in creating.
Fresh off a somewhat-surprise performance of the song song at 88Rising’s Head in the Clouds festival last month, Kun sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to talk about making deadman, his love for music and what’s next in his “new journey.”
Can you tell me more about your latest single “Deadman?”
Well, I’m very, very happy because this track was made last year, so it was a year [until the time] when people could actually hear it. I heard it a thousand times already, so now people actually are hearing it and a lot of them are surprised. I think they’d [say], “Oh, I didn’t know Kun’s voice was like this now.” But I was just doing my thing over the past year. I would just keep cooking music in the studio. That’s what I love. I like to focus on it, and I made a lot of demos. But “Deadman” is definitely the one I loved, so I’m very happy. Finally, I put out this track. Something about this track has the vintage sound that I’ve never made before, and [there’s] the contrast between the vintage and the modern thing. I think it’s very interesting, so I really wanted people to hear it.
It does have an nostalgic feeling to it. It feels like you’ve heard it before, in a good way, not a reptetitve way. Tell me about the process making songs?
There’s no reference, to be honest. We have the guitar player [and the] piano players. I just tell them, “Hey, let’s do this groove.” I would just start giving a groove, a tempo, we set up a vibe. I start [to] freestyle, just easy. No reference. I’ll tell them, “Hey, I want to do something like old school, but not too old.” Does that make sense?
I like soulful stuff. I listen to a lot of classic jazz, soul and R&B. They know what I like. I like Prince. I like Elvis. They all know that. My friends, we make music together, so when I start free-styling, they just know. They’ll tell me, “This is the line.” We’re just chilling. We’re just playing.
Do you have a favorite part of releasing this single?
Definitely the music video. There’s a lot of crazy stories behind the music video. Look at his face, look his face. It is like, we shot it in Montenegro. It’s a very beautiful place. I was there for a week, a whole week. I learned the choreography there, and I learned fighting. I learned dance. We set up the rig. It was kind of crazy, and the schedule was very tight. We had to move to different locations, and I couldn’t even sleep at night, so I was posting [to my Instagram] story that I was just sitting on the sofa like, “I hope this will be good, I hope everything will be fine.” My friends were always asking me, “What’s going on? Why are you not sleeping? It’s supposed to be very late right now, right?” It wasn’t an easy one. Definitely. But I’m very thankful for all the people that worked on this project. It’s not an easy one. It’s kind of like a movie shoot.
That is impressive, especially given the scale.
I wanted to make this character. He’s dying over and over again because of the things he loves, so he’s bleeding all the time, very painful. Always rocking with the guitar like today is the last day, today’s the end. This is going to be the last song I sing to the world. That’s the direction we went for, and that’s the first line I said to everybody. “Hey, I want to write a song. It sounds stupid, but what if I die tomorrow? Today is the last track I’m going to play.” That’s how we got “Deadman.”
It sounds like you’re very, very creatively involved in everything you do. What is that so important to you as an artist?
I’m just a creative guy. I like to learn new things. I like to create new stuff, like cool shit, but in my own way, I don’t want to be anybody [else]. I just want to be myself, right? I just want to sound like myself. I just want to do my own thing. I’m the guy that’s always [improving] myself. I always hate the old me. It is like, “Why did I [do] this shit?” [There’s] nothing bad about it. I just want to be better all the time. You get what I mean? That’s just my personality, so I just like to beat myself.
Essentially, for you, your only competition is yourself?
Exactly.
Can you tell me a bit about Head in the Clouds and what it was like performing there?
This time I really just came here to support. [I wasn’t] playing a set. I only have one new track out. I want to play the new songs. I don’t want to play the old songs. We can probably play [them] next time, like a new set, maybe in New York. But this time I was mostly just here to show people the new music, what it sounds like. I wanted to show the audience in America, let them hear the new track. And also connect with my fans. I love the crowds.
What is it like performing in the U.S. for you? Do you enjoy it? Do you find it a little different?
I think it’s different. It’s very cool. It’s my first time [doing a festival]. In China, we have a lot of festivals too, but [I] never really go to [them]. I was only doing [my own] concerts, so this is the first time. I just really did something I haven’t done before. I’m just very happy. I’m really enjoyed it.
We didn’t even have a lot of time to prepare [with] rehearsals. I just went on the stage and tried it. I didn’t even know what mic I was going to use. I didn’t even know who was going to give me my in-ears and everything. It’s a funny story. I was actually fixing the mic stand when I was singing the high notes. Somebody didn’t tighten it, so it was just going up and down. I’m trying to fix it, but I’m also singing the high notes. It’s kind of crazy, but there’s a lot of stories people don’t know.
Do you want to perform more in the U.S.?
We will. We will. I feel like we’re just starting. Starting from “Deadman,” everything is just new. [I’m] starting a new journey, so It’s really just the beginning. Head in the Clouds, it’s fun. It’s a good start. It’s helping a lot of Asian artists. That’s something I respect. There’s not a lot of labels [or] festivals that’s helping Asian artists. That’s amazing. That’s something very cool.
What is like to be able to perform at a festival like that?
It’s a very good experience for me. When I’m singing, everything just kind of tunes out. I just focus on the track. I just want to put out the message I want. I just want to show people, “Hey, this is the new sound.” In the past, we just spent too much time in the studio. I spent too much time in studio. And I know that my fans [have been] waiting for too long. I feel a little sorry. I always say that. I feel sorry sometimes they don’t see me that much. I don’t even post a lot… That’s just me. I’m not an internet guy. I’m not a social [media] guy. That’s just not me. I just like to focus on my thing. Sometimes I feel sorry to my fans, so this time when they asked me to play [the] festival, they said, “Can you play a set?” I said maybe next time, but I can show up. I can come to support. I’d like to because I love Head in the Clouds. I love the vibe.