INTERVIEW: XTIE talks latest single 'Flower Town': "We need to run away from the old world of chaos and re-build your own flower town"
Hong Kong singer-songwriter XTIE released her second single ‘Flower Town’ last month. A smooth, addictive electropop track which alternates between mellow chill out vibes and dancefloor euphoria, the song has attracted attention internationally after it was selected as a semi-finalist at the International Songwriting Competition - no mean feat given there were over 18,000 entries.
‘Flower Town’ is XTIE’s second release after last year’s single, the soaring piano ballad ‘Masquerade’. Earlier this month the music video for ‘Flower Town’ was released and we recently caught up with XTIE to find out more about the song and her music career.
Hi XTIE! So good to chat with you. How have things been for you in these last few crazy months?!
I am based in Hong Kong now, everything was alright until this week we are experiencing the 3rd wave outbreak, more local cases. Gigs were back in town for a short few weeks but now it is banned again. Work is quite hectic but we really hope everything could be back to normal. But I have more time staying in the studio cooking up new music.
Congratulations on the release of your latest single ‘Flower Town’, it is a great track. Can you tell us a little about the inspiration behind the song?
Thank you! I wrote the first draft of this song during a trip when I visited the tulip fields of the Netherlands. It was so beautiful. That was my graduation trip. Everyone in this crazy world, we need to run away from the old world of chaos and you can re-build your own flower town. We all need to escape from the jungle of concrete, where we need to sit back and reflect the right way of living. I hope my listeners could find their own happiness and treat themselves better. It’s definitely a summer song!
What was the creative process/recording session like for ‘Flower Town’?
The melody was set in Netherlands, and produced in Glasgow, I was so skeptical on whether I should release this as my debut single, I wasn't confident. I have been fixing this and that for this track all over and over, I was kinda in a loop striking for perfectionism until someone told me, ‘there’s no perfect mix and you can only improve yourself in the next song’. So I decided to go for it.
Just last week you released the music video for the song as well. Can you talk us through creating the video, and what the experience was like?
It was such an enjoyable experience working with the production team. It wasn't easy, we had to reschedule our shooting dates due to a typhoon and luckily everything was okay! I kept checking the weather forecast everyday. It had to be super sunny to catch some nice shots. The video was set in a variety of architectural landscapes in Hong Kong – the renowned Hong Kong backyard “Nam Sang Wai” and industrial buildings in Kowloon Bay. Both of these locations are luckily preserved despite the highly urbanised and forgetful nature of the metropolis. Please support this video, we all got sunburnt under 33 degree celsius with the scorching sun!
‘Flower Town’ was selected as a semi-finalist at the International Songwriting Competition, out of over 18,000 entires which is a pretty impressive achievement. That must have been an incredible experience?
Yes I couldn't believe it when I got the email, I applied and I never thought this would even happen. That was pre-release and this achievement did give me more confident on telling the audience what XTIE’s stories are.
How did your career as a musician start?
I had been a musical theatre kid and an after school tune-writer since high school. By the senior years in university, I had a chance to go to Glasgow as an exchange student so I took some music production classes and started to really be serious producing songs for myself. I aimed at finishing those incomplete tunes from my high school years as a one-girl band. After returning to Hong Kong, I started an Art Management job, where I have met a lot of inspiring people and I became more determined to pursue my artistry.
What music artists inspire you as a musician, both when you were growing up and also today?
I love a wide range, from jazz, musical theatre, pop acts like HONNE, Troye Sivan, EDM artists like San Holo, Porter Robinson. Korean acts like Hyukoh, IU. Most significantly, as I was born and raised in Hong Kong, Eason Chan have been my influence since I was a kid.
You were born and raised in Hong Kong, what are some local Hong Kong musicians that you think we should all listen to?
There’s a lot! It’s hard to pick. Canton-pop is a genre that I grow up with and there are some new artists making a revolution on the ‘typical’ Canton-pop. My recent favourites are Alfred Hui’s ‘Negative’, Kiri T ‘Fuvk the Fairytale’, Isaac Chan ‘I Was’. You should all check out Tang Siu Hau, Rubberband, SoulJase too.
In the last few years there has been a lot of discussion on the treatment of women in the entertainment industry. What are your thoughts on gender equality and sexism in the music industry?
i have been questioning the fact that I got to see more men working in the music industry, I hope as a female producer, which I don't think i should label myself one, could let the audience know why the music scene needs me, regardless of my gender. Every musician tells an unique story. It’s about men and women working together to create art. Good music could come out anytime and from anyone, regardless of one’s gender and orientation, as long as they were from kind hearts. Biases often cost the industry to overlook the kind hearts, as well as talents and good work from those ‘anyones’.
What else is on the agenda for XTIE in 2020?
I will have another release in August, it’s my birthday month and I wrote something dedicated to many of those who are specially related to it! And I will also release a Cantonese song I wrote with my folks in Hong Kong for a production project. I plan to crowdfund my first EP and I hope it will be released in 2021! Stay tuned for XTIE!
‘Flower Town’ by XTIE is out now. You can download it on iTunes and stream on Apple Music and Spotify.
To keep up with all things XTIE you can follow her on Instagram and Facebook.
