[INTERVIEW] VIA Says, “I want to be a listener and a storyteller to the world”

Talented singer-songwriter & producer, VIA, sat down with HypnoticAsia for an interview after the release of “Catch 22”. VIA grew up in China listening to Soul, R&B, Hip-Hop and Jazz Ballad. She received her bachelor degree in Contemporary Writing & Production from Berklee College of Music. Also, she has released 5 singles independently, as well as, written and produced several singles for other artists.

In 2022, VIA released the mixtape FREE FALL under major record label Republic Records China. Recently, VIA co-founded the VLN record label with longtime collaborator BWLN.

VIA releases her latest single “Catch 22“:

“I wrote this song last year, maybe in the summer, it was from a personal experience. I had a crush on someone and was just feeling very insecure at the time. I was sitting in front of my piano around 2:00AM and I just played those chords and the lyrics and the melody came out naturally. It captured the first phase or a stage of when you fall in love. It didn’t really work out this time for me, and I usually don’t write very personal songs about my own experiences. I love imagining and writing a story, kind of like writing a film script in my head. “Catch 22” is a combination of personal experience and imagination.”

VIA

Check out the interview with VIA below and check out her newest single now.

VIA INTERVIEW

Please introduce yourselves to the HypnoticAsia readers.

Hey what’s up! HypnoticAsia! This is VIA, I’m so happy to be here sharing some of me with all of you! 

You recently released your new single “Catch 22”; tell us more about it.

I really love this song! It’s derived from my true experience that was very strong at the moment when I wrote the song. It’s a story about meeting someone and that person is what you’ve been dreaming of and he/she feels the same way about you, and he/she gives you butterflies and lifts your feet off the ground like no one else has ever done. Hope I captured this feeling well and hope this song can touch and warm your soul. 

How does this new track, “Catch 22” differ from the tracks in your mixtape album FREE FALL?

The tracks in my last mixtape were half hallucination and half poetic stories I would say. It’s not necessarily what I experienced in life, but more like I was writing a script for a movie or novel, lyric wise. Production wise, I would say I evolved a lot from collaborating with talented players and mix and master engineers to explore the sonic possibilities.

“Catch 22” was created 100% by you; from the instrumental to the composition, to the lyrics, etc. What was the process like when working on this track? Were there any challenges you ran into when creating this song? 

My go to songwriting process would be to produce the motive of the beat and come up with a hook idea first, but this song wasn’t created this way. It was midnight some day, the sky was so clear and dark. I have this huge French window that can capture the whole city view from my home studio, and I sat there in front of my piano, and the chords and melodies just flowed out of me.

I recorded it with my phone and started to fill out the rest of the lyrics and started arranging the next day. After I did the rough version of this song, I sent it out to one of my friends who’s been producing Lay Zhang and many well-known artists, and he gave me some precious suggestions on how to make this song perfect production wise, shout out to Ace! I really appreciate that! Fun fact, Lay actually took a listen to the rough version of this song and said the topline was pretty good, that means a lot to me too. Huge thanks and respect!

As for challenges, I would say it’s always the balance, being the singer, songwriter, and the producer on this track all by myself, you have to switch roles when you at each stage of the production, so that you can not only listen to the melody or something you think it’s very sweet in the arrangement, but to be able to get the whole image of what you’re creating especially at the mixing and mastering stage. Ultimately, as a producer, you have to be able to listen with two ears, one is the human ear and the other is musician’s ear. It’s always the balance.

You’ve written and produced for several other artists in the past. Was there a favorite from those tracks?

Yes, there is. A song that I wrote dedicating to the loss of our loved ones. It’s called “Always” by Ocean.H. 

Is there an artist you’d like to collaborate with?

So many! At this moment, I would say DEAN and DVSN. I have so many music heroes!

What type of artist are you striving to be?

I want to create music with visual arts. I want to be a listener and a storyteller to the world. I want to be able to create sonic-visual worlds that people can get away to, can relate to, can find strength again and remind people how beautiful our life is. I also want to make HITS. That’ll take lots of effort and experience in producing, that’s why I’m always learning and growing. 

If you could choose any country to hold a concert in, which would it be and why?

Well, that must be the States, in L.A.! By the ocean! With the sunset! With all the cute and passionate people! That will be such a blessed moment to have!

Who are your biggest musical influences?

I would say Sade and Mariah Carey. 

What can we expect from you in the future?

There are two EPs coming this year, and a short film for completing the EP story. Please stay tuned for the first EP “Hallucinating POV” that’s going to release on November 18^th! You’re gonna love it! 

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