Kardias Quing is a Vancouver-based singer/songwriter of Filipino descent who delves into the indie R&B and alternative pop genres. In this interview, we talk about her passion for music and how music and spirituality go hand-in-hand for her. She discusses how spirituality differs from religion, and describes her music as uplifting and focused on awareness. Quing’s new song “You Are” was released on Nov. 19 and is available to stream on Spotify.
I see that you have been making your music for almost 10 years. How did you get into making your own music?
It’s quite interesting because the music that I’ve released so far, the composition and production side has been through the amazing craftsmanship of my producer, who I’ve known for 13 years.
It all started with me and him just jamming and writing acoustically, and then we realized there was something special with us. When I started writing with him, things just came to me effortlessly. I almost reference it as like a holy space, the kind of flow I get into. It’s such a special thing to share with someone.
I remember being in high school, in a Filipino youth group, where we used to sing songs about God. It was an emotional experience to just surrender. And people who were not even good at singing used to sing too. I really admired that. So around that time, I really noticed how much I loved singing with people and harmonizing. I also sang a little bit at family gatherings sometimes.
Have you always had this inclination toward music?
I think it goes way back to my dad’s family. My grandfather on my dad’s side was a professional violinist in the Philippines. But I never got to meet him. Also, my uncles and my dad used to play on the radio in the Philippines, a long time back, and even my cousins are incredible musicians. There are just so many people in my family who play music. And my dad writes music really well. So I guess you could say that I have always had this musical influence.
How did you form this connection between music and spirituality?
One day, I think I was just cleaning the house and blasting Bon Iver. I was listening to this song “Woods.” It’s a beautiful song that keeps repeating the lyrics, “I’m up in the woods / I’m down on my mind.” It was almost similar to the situation when you are in a group worship. There’s singing and then there [are] just moments of instrumentation.
And in that moment, I could experience that feeling again, but without the context of religion. It was absolutely beautiful to me and moved me to tears. So with my music, I just wanted to re-create that space and that feeling. We truly are resilient. And we just need to be reminded of it. You can say my style of music is that it’s [an] uplifting kind of music. It’s almost like creating an atmosphere, a positive space. I think my music brings in a state of honest awareness. With my music, I try to create and navigate unconditional love for yourself.
What can you tell us about your latest song “You Are” and your other upcoming work?
The song discusses how we are basically just taught that we are small. But there is so much more to us. Yes, it is spiritual, but if you really look at science, it goes hand-in-hand with spirituality. It was kind of a breaking point for me that our souls are so vast and there is so much potential within us. It has almost created a curiosity for me, just thinking what boundaries can we push past. I think the universe reflects back to you what you think and believe you are capable of.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Image: courtesy of Kardias Quing
