A look into QUO
November 23rd, QUO was featured on flyoutlet.
While making the post, I had several questions for QUO. Getting answers to those questions only made me more curious, and want to ask more. The concepts he had shown, and the answers he had given were really interesting, so I sought out to be able to bring this. Here is a look into QUO.
First I wanted to know what QUO was. What is it to you?
"quo is, to me, kind of a story book to my life. i write about things that i struggle with daily, and a lot of topics that i can’t necessarily comprehend, such as the end of the world, death, the afterlife and, well, day-to-day existence. i don’t like to make my music seem deeper than it really is, because i know how many things there are that i don’t understand. quo is merely an attempt at interpreting life through music."
When did it all start?
"i think quo started in spring of 2017."
And how did it all start?
"i was struggling with understanding what my purpose was, and imagined many others were as well. i saw successful people being unhappy with their lives, thus creating the mascot that i based the project off of; a sad face in a business suit. i wanted to dress up like that in an attempt to build some sort of character in the same way that many other successful artists have done. quo was supposed to be social commentary in a way, but i quickly grew tired of trying to make things that stuck to that idea. for a while i thought i was failing at building a brand, but i realized that putting myself through the process of a strict branding would only be hurting my musical ability, considering i was and still am searching for my sound. i figured letting the alias build itself up would be the best way to go about defining what it is."
As we've looked back on QUO's history, is where it starts truly the start? Is "When Dreaming" your first official release, or has there been earlier material?
"my music used to be terrible. if you want to hear my old stuff, go look up “benjoi”, but be warned, everything before the “days that remain” EP is petty horrendous. i’ve kept it up as an archive of sorts.
The cover art for "Days That Remain."
What does your typical work process look like? Are your songs planned or made on the spot?
"i rarely plan out songs. most of the time, i start by placing some sounds into a sampler and seeing what i come up with. I'll usually make a sub bass in serum, add some drums, and if i like the beat enough I'll add vocals. after that point I'll decide whether or not i think the song is worth continuing production."
How would you say your music has evolved?
"honestly, besides me learning how to mix better and take on more challenging production styles, i’m still, at heart, the same kid that started making music in garage band in 2015"
With your latest releases, are you narrowing down a style or are you still trying to branch out?
"i’ll still definitely be branching out. you won’t see me putting out any screamo or trap in the near future, but yeah, my music is going to vary extensively for as long as it can."
And with your latest, "in aere," and its concept that you mentioned in the feature, where did the assocation with something spiritual start?
"my interest in spirituality started in 8th grade… I’d rather not speak publicly about what initiated this process."
Understood. Do you however plan to make more music with this concept?
"absolutely. the idea of existence beyond or even parallel to the physical realm has always been extremely fascinating to me."
Listening to "Knowing" always makes me wonder, is it something that should be interpreted or are you talking about something specific?
"knowing is actually about the rapture (metaphoric or literal, whichever you believe) and the powers that work to bring it upon the human race. it is about the force that has seized control of the hollywood film/music industry, food industry, education system, etc. i’m somewhat of a conspiracy buff, and i do believe in a shadow government. i tried to disprove of their existence for so long that i ended up “knowing” too much to be able to deny the presence of an elite group/cabal. my logo as ‘benjoi’ was actually an altered version of the ‘killuminati’ sign, which tends to depict an all-seeing eye being crossed out or eliminated in some way."
Benjoi's profile picture.
With all this, is your music just "music" to you?
"absolutely not. my music is basically me if i could be sound waves…"
I like that. Lastly, "in aere" is still very new but are you working on something right now?
"i’m working on a brand new indie pop song currently. stay tuned, because i’m so happy with the way it’s turning out"
QUO. Thank you.
When I was making the feature post, listening to "Love & Shame," I asked whether or not QUO's songs made progress easily. Here he gave an answer I couldn't let out of this post.
"writing lyrics, i like to believe, is my biggest strongsuit. i think part of the reason i stopped doing strictly instrumental music is because i realized i was doing myself a disservice by not using my writing skills for musical purposes. lyrics slide off of my brain like butter in a pan. I tend to stumble over my words in day-to-day conversation, but when it comes to pen and paper, i feel unstoppable."
Learning about the history of QUO and what has and is currently shaping him has been an interesting time. While I'm always curious and interested in knowing more, it might be hard to ask questions without being repetitive, so my curiosity will have to be answered when QUO shifts into sound waves. Thanks again to QUO for his participation, and look out for his new Indie Pop where it is first:
soundcloud.com/quosongs
Meanwhile, give "Days That Remain" a listen. It's worth it.
- flyoutlet