80Peach Illusion was founded in 2018 in the city of Shanghai. Two members of the band, Quan Quan and C.c met in their hometown, Xiamen, at Xiamen University and became the original members of Peach Illusion. When Quan Quan moved to Shanghai for school, he convinced C.c. to move too. They first started as a two-person band in 2017, but quickly met great people that joined the band as well. The newest member of the band is the bassist, Xue Jia. He is an old friend of the original members from Xiamen and happened to be in Shanghai. The former bass player Shax retired because he wants to try a new musical style.
Their music is said to be dreamy and romantic, or in other words, as sweet as a peach illusion. If you go to their Weibo and WeChat public accounts, you will find that they love life and love to share that love with their fans – whether it is the songs they recently listened to, their favorite artists, movies, books, or any aspect of their daily life.
Behind the Music is a Q & A series that follows mainly new bands in efforts to show the lives behind the music-making. This issue of Behind the Music features Peach Illusion to talk about some fan-favorite questions.
从春来开始就被期待的夏夜
the summer night that has been expected since spring
Meet The Band
Quan Quan《圈圈》 Vocal/Guitar
Xue Jia《学家》Bass
Na Ying《哪影》Drums
C.c | Guitar/Synth
Q&A
If you had to choose a song to introduce your own band to a first-time listener, which one would you choose and why?
Quan Quan: "Fireworks" 《花火》, because the lyrics to the arrangement all symbolize a peach. I feel that every member is shines in this song, it is currently my favorite piece of ours.
Na Ying: "Fireworks" 《花火》!
Xue Jia: “Bad Tastes” 《低级趣味》, because the intro’s dialogue is perfect!
C.c: The title song of this year's new album, but the name isn’t released yet!
How has your living environment affected your music?
Quan Quan: I grew up in Guangdong, went to university in Xiamen, met C.c., and formed our full band after living in Shanghai. These three cities have greatly influenced my music and constantly refreshes my thought process of music-making.
Xue Jia: I try to find a little romance in a noisy city
Na Ying: I know that Peach Illusion was influenced when the original members started studying in Xiamen, and then influenced again when they started working in Shanghai. As a Korean person, I think Peach Illusion’s music represents the feelings and struggles of young people in China.
C.c: I have stayed in a lot of different places. Every place has an impact on my lifestyle and aesthetics. People from different places see life differently, which affects what is expressed in their music.
What do you like to do other than music?
Quan Quan: Cooking hahaha
Xue Jia: Watch things on bilibili
Na Ying: Chat with people
C.c: I have a lot of interesting hobbies. . . Raising small animals, planting flowers, playing basketball, etc.
What are three things you can't live without?
Quan Quan: Music, love, Oxygen
Xue Jia: Water, women, food
Na Ying: My phone, laptop, charger
C.c: Plants, sunlight, other similar things
Do the band members like similar or different music styles? How has this affected the band's creative process and your results?
Quan Quan: Haha, I think the songs that we all like have similarities, and of course we each have our own preferences as well. I like to describe that our band is a tree trunk and each member paints a different color flower on the tree.
Na Ying: I joined the band in the latter years, and the original Peach Illusion music that everyone knows and loves is composed and written by Quan Quan while produced by C.c. If the new bassist and I give too many opinions at the moment, the band will change drastically. The original members have several years of experience, so we think it is important to understand each other and what we want to convey to our audience. That being said, the music that each of our members likes is different. Our differences don’t have a great impact on the band’s music, because anyways, the music style we all love are more gentle and sweet.
C.c: In my opinion, there are differences in our music styles, but our band is the overlap of everyone’s tastes.
What do you do backstage while waiting for a show to start?
Quan Quan: Street shopping, eating, drinking, and talking, hahahaha.
Xue Jia: I haven’t been in a show yet!
Na Ying: Daydream, look around the venue (need to explore every new place), comfort anxious Quan Quan
C.c: Drinking alcohol and looking for cuties
What animal best describes the band?
Quan Quan: Coral
Xue Jia: Leopard Cat
Na Ying: Rabbit
C.c: Dudu (my cat)
If you can choose any other band to perform with you, which one would you choose?
Quan Quan: YMO
Xue Jia: Pizzcato five
Na Ying: ADOY, because it is popular in China
C.c: Chet Baker
What do you like to wear for performances?
Quan Quan: Overall dress and shirts
Xue Jia: Fleece sweaters
Na Ying: Pink clothes (I try to find something with peaches but it’s hard), but I used to wear leather jackets
C.c: I am the king of flower shirts, but the winter makes it difficult and I end up wearing some interesting outfits
What is your least favorite thing or struggles with the band?
Quan Quan: There’s not a lot of problems. I would like to work on going outside of my comfort zone. I am not very good at expressing my opinions, but we need to cooperate as a band. This process is quite painful, but it is essential to our growth.
Xue Jia: I haven't formed a deep connection with the band yet, so I don’t know.
Na Ying: If you are a selfish person and your voice is the loudest out of everyone’s, then it’s better to be a one-man band.
C.c: One problem is finding the balance between an “artist's temper” and teamwork. This is really difficult but the most important aspect of a band.
Starting in June (if C.c is not lazy!!), there will be a series of release plans for their upcoming music, so stay on the lookout for upcoming music from Peach Illusion!
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