Artist Of The Week #205 - Queen Kwong
This week’s Artist of the Week is Queen Kwong who has just released her new album ‘Couples Only’.
Queen Kwong is the alias of LA-based Carré Kwong Callaway. Her new record record features a series of Carré’s close friends, including Roger O’Donnell of The Cure, Laura-Mary Carter of Blood Red Shoes and Kristof Hahn of Swans. It sits somewhere in the middle of PJ Harvey/St Vincent/Fiona Apple.
Carré was discovered at the age of 17 by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. A few years ago, she was diagnosed as one of very few asians with cystic fibrosis in the US - as a result of the condition, she’s prone to episodes where her lungs fill up with blood and she’s literally drowning. Her husband left her just months after the diagnosis, leaving her homeless.
Couples Only arrives as a fearless account of all she’s faced. The worst betrayals and accepting the deepest losses; it's the realization of one's mortality and the impermanence of everything we know and cherish.
She took a moment to talk to us about how the album came together.
Hey there Queen Kwong- how are you? So your album is out now, how does It feel to have it out there in the world?
I’m good! I’m excited to have the record out and for people to hear it and connect with it. It’s kind of a relief after so much time and build-up.
It is called ‘Couples Only’ - what is the meaning behind that?
I was at a rollerskating rink with my BFF Laura-Mary Carter from Blood Red Shoes and there as a sign there that lit up and said “Couples Only” for when the rink is reserved for couples. I was at the end of the recording process and I hadn’t thought of a name for the album yet but when I saw that sign, I knew that was it. I think it’s the perfect tongue-in-cheek title. Laura and I returned to the rink a few days later to take the record cover photo.
Where was it recorded? Are there any behind the scenes stories from the creative process you are happy to share with us?
It was recorded at producer Joe Cardamone’s house. He has a small, one-room home studio. There aren’t any dramatic behind the scenes stories but I can offer a couple fun facts. Because the album was improvised and written as it was recorded, the lyrics were inspired by whatever I was feeling or seeing in the moment. The opening track, I Know Who You Are, starts with me singing the line “Ginger, sweet Ginger…” because I was singing to the studio dog, Ginger, who was sleeping near my feet while I was trying to come up with words. None of the other lyrics in the song are about her, though. She’s far too nice to deserve that!
What are the key themes and influences on the album?
The album is an extremely personal account of my experiences from 2019 to 2021. In that timeframe, I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, my husband blew up our marriage in a very sudden, dramatic way and I lost literally everything within a matter of months. My life was completely turned upside down and I found myself living on friends’ sofas for a year. So, that inspired a lot of the content on the record. However, despite how personal those matters are, I think the general themes of the record are themes anybody can relate to: loss, betrayal, facing mortality, and having to pull yourself up and find a way to laugh at all of it.
Do you have a favorite lyric on the album? If so and why?
The lyrics are mostly very painful so I’m not sure I have a favorite. The Mourning Song is probably the most meaningful, lyrically, but it’s also the most heartbreaking. On the other hand, there are some humorous, cutting lines in songs like Sad Man and Biggest Mistake that make me smile. “I don’t want to be 40 in LA doing cocaine, dropping the same names, playing the same games…I don’t want to be another sad man in another sad band talking about the deal that never came…"
If the album could be the soundtrack to any film - which one and why?
That’s a great question but I don’t have a good answer for it. It’s so personal that it’s like the soundtrack to the darkest period of my life. I guess it’s time for me to make a movie…haha.
Now the album is out there - what next for you?
I have a couple more music videos in the can that are coming out soon. One with Johnny Knoxville and another I made with some of my best girlfriends. Then, sometime later this year, I hope to get back to touring and connecting with fans again.
