Kat Harlton
Quinn Pickering is a young singer-songwriter leading a new generation of artists who are
redefining the indie music landscape. At the age of 20, he has spent over half his life playing
guitar, writing songs, and releasing albums. With his soon to be released EP Supernova,
Quinn finds his own voice and artistic potential earning a place at the forefront of the genre.
Raised in New Westminster, B.C. to a musical family of Métis descent, his interest and
passion for music and songwriting led to the formation of his first band, World Is History, when he was just nine years old. While the music was raw, the experience fuelled his love for
creating music and performing.
Early in 2020, Quinn signed with Vancouver producer Howard Redekopp’s (Tegan and Sara
Mother Mother) new record label How Weird Sounds to release the five song EP, Supernova.
Produced by Howard Redekopp and Stefan Nowarre, Supernova showcases Quinn’s youthful
energy, highlights his reverence for classic songwriting, and puts his voice at the centre of it
all as a beautifully evocative instrument. Quinn has demonstrated a remarkable gift for
connecting with audiences through his songs, and at twenty years old, there’s no telling how
much more he’s capable of.
We had the opportunity to chat with Quinn about new music, musical influences and what’s next.
Kat: For those who are just being introduced to your music, how would you describe it? Is there anything you’d want them to know before listening to it?
Quinn: I’m a huge fan of bands that write and produce music with no boundaries. Much like the genre bending band the 1975, I take a lot of influence from bands like them. Whether I’m writing an indie pop record or a more Daft Punk/Tame Impala influenced dance track, my songs are always built on the foundation of intimate folk storytelling. To put it simply, my music is intimate folk storytelling hidden inside indie pop/alt rock productions.
Kat: You just released a new single and video for “Grapefruit” Can you talk about the inspiration behind it, and if there was a particular sound or style you were hoping to achieve?
Quinn: I remember starting this song a couple years ago on the last train home from my first night out after a breakup. I wanted the song to at points feel very conversational and intimate, but I felt like I owed myself and anyone going through something like that, the opportunity to scream the words through the city streets. I was going for the back and forth internal dialogue one goes through after a break up, everything you wish you said, everything you wish you’d didn’t say. I kept the chorus as an explosion of confessional dialogue that ultimately goes unheard, because sometimes you need to just let it out to finally get over something.
Kat: You can talk about some of your musical influences or role models? Where are you finding inspiration these days?
Quinn: I think I get inspiration from different people for different avenues of music. For example, as a songwriter and singer I take huge influence from people like Jeff Buckley, Phoebe Bridgers and Harry Styles, all of them share a timeless quality to their writing that always keeps me coming back for more. On the other side of music, I take lots of production and writing influence from Kevin Parker from Tame Impala, I love what he does with music, he comes at it from the angle of a sonic experience rather than just a song. Every time you listen, you peel back another layer of his production, yet it doesn’t feel too busy. I also love the intimacy of lyrics in otherwise not intimate songs – The 1975 and Tame Impala do it really well, and it’s definitely found its way into some of the music on my soon to be released EP “Supernova”.
Kat: How has Covid-19 and the world in general impacted your music and songwriting? and has it inspired you to find other ways of reaching out and creating?
Quinn: As scary as Covid has been, it’s brought a lot more free time, which means more time for creating, but it also means more time to overthink which I have been guilty of in the past. I can’t say it’s affected my writing style very much because I’ve always been a bit of a homebody, but it’s definitely amplified the loneliness. I really feel for people that don’t have a creative outlet right now, writing has been my backbone through these lonely months.
Kat: What’s next?
Quinn: Next is new music! The EP “Supernova” is set to release mid November with a single “Ultraviolet” coming out a month before on October 16th. I’m always focused on the next thing so there’s lots of music coming, but for the immediate future I’ll be celebrating Supernova’s release. I can’t wait to share this EP!
For more information, please visit: quinnpickering.org