Koinu has been on a roll in just a few short months. Varien, who is Koinu and is continuing to run both projects, has been dropping an abstract array of bass music – recent Koinu releases have contained everything from puppies to anime girls. Grasping a concept of what’s around the corner with the next track feels undefined. Which makes it particularly fun!
Given the element of surprise. We wanted to catch up with Koinu aka Nick to dive deeper into the project and the messages within.
Your profile photo is interesting, what mood are you trying to convey from this photo?
The profile photo of me throwing some peace signs while wearing Pyrex-like streetwear is totally an act. I think I burst into laughter the second that was taken and I realized “what the hell am I doing”. I’m trying to exaggerate this sort of Tumblr/Soundcloud culture that’s risen lately. I emphasize their behaviors because I think there’s for me, a lot of comedy gold in subcultures like that. I felt ultimately that it was more cringy than it was making a statement, so I changed it to a cute anime kawaii girl version of me, named Koinu-chan!
Will Koinu’s musical spectrum only include bass, could you see the alias releasing a sad or slow song?
Absolutely, I am touching up the last little bit of an EP that is more in alignment with future funk, j-core, and future bass. There’s some parts that definitely are slow, like this one “intermission” track. Koinu can have variety too, not just Varien!
Will Koinu’s collaboration be with more international artists or North American artists?
I am going to do my absolutely best to only work with International artists, as Varien has worked only with American, Canadian, and British singers! It also keeps everything on brand.
Will all Koinu’s music be self released?
We’re not against a great label deal or anything at all, we’d actually like that a lot! However for now, the attitude is just to deliver good, fun music for free and turn it into opportunities from that place.
What are some themes your live shows will feature?
With Koinu I’d love to get very Gorillaz type concerts going. I think it’d be interesting to watch incredibly crafted visuals rather than yet another white guy DJing!
What do you think about VR and dance music, could you see yourself applying it in some way to your brand?
VR is promising, but right now I think it’s clunky and not even close to what I needs to be. I’d love to work in that space when it does get there, creating worlds and collaborating directly with artists and programmers on releases. Imagine if Monstercat uploaded a song three times a week that you were supposed to literally immerse your mind into. There’s so many possibilities. So to answer your question, I’d say that VR is connected to all of my projects, present and future. Dance music may not be.
After a year, what do want to look back and say you achieved through Koinu?
I feel like I should say something substantial here, but really the honest truth is that I wanna look back and feel I had a lot of fun. That’s it!
Connect with Koinu:
https://www.facebook.com/imkoinu
https://twitter.com/imkoinu
https://soundcloud.com/imkoinu
https://www.instagram.com/imkoinu
http://www.koinu.me
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