Local musician and Camosun College student Keu dropped So This Is It, a six-song mixtape, on January 31; I discovered him on the Camosun Spotify playlist. He’s a student in Camosun’s Music Creativity and Performance Foundations program, which takes place at the Victoria Conservatory of Music.
Keu’s music is chill and fits well into a study playlist or is satisfying to listen to on its own. The emotion can be heard through his lyrics; the way the vocals and music tracks are layered creates a deeper, palpable sensation.
Growing up with parents that play music, Keu also played guitar and piano at home.
“I’ve been doing music in some form for as long as I can remember,” he says. “I always like to say that I only play [guitar and piano] good enough to sing along to because [singing has] always been my main thing.” (Keu also plays a bit of ukulele and played the drums for a while.)
Despite music always being apart of Keu’s life, it wasn’t until COVID hit that music became a serious focus. During restrictions, there was nothing to do, no excuse, so he started practicing more. Creating music was also therapeutic, a form of release. But music wasn’t always the goal.
“I graduated high school with the full intent of going to university for engineering or something like that,” he says. “And then quickly, after graduating, I realized I didn’t want to do that, I wanted to do music, and then proceeded to not really do anything to actually work towards that. But yeah, COVID was kind of a blessing for me in that way.”
Writing music started in middle school, around eighth grade, when Keu began playing guitar. However, he says some of it he wouldn’t necessarily release or even remember. He then released three singles in 2021, his fourth in 2022, and a fifth in 2023.
“[It’s] always been a tough question for me,” he says about what genre his music falls under. “It’s kind of just whatever comes out comes out. I mean, ‘alternative’ is definitely the most common thing I hear. Maybe alternative rock or, alternative indie… Almost experimental in some ways.”
Keu’s top three influences are Joe G, Alt-J, and Car Seat Headrests, which comes through in his music. His smooth, mellow vocals are similar to those artists. The layers of various instrumental tracks give his music a deep, rich, and unique sound. And while there are always difficulties when creating music, Keu says that it’s a great feeling when things click when he’s recording.
“When I’m able to just get into, like, a flow state, and it feels like my thoughts are able to translate into an actual sound that I can play back and listen to, and when that actually comes together, and the pieces start clicking, it’s probably the best feeling of the whole process for me,” he says.
On the other hand, getting stuck on a project can be frustrating, says Keu. He can come back to the same thing repeatedly and feel like he’s not making any progress. When nothing really changes, he’ll leave it and come back to it months or even years later; it will eventually either click or be abandoned.
“I feel like it’s different every time. It always stems from some kind of strong emotion,” he says about his writing process. “It’s not always like, I’ll feel sad when I write a sad song, or feel angry for an angry song. It’s like if I got a lot going on and need to get it out, then it’ll kind of just happen.”