Sion Expands His Eccentric Discography

The unique artist describes each song on his new album, sociavoidance, and how his music stays authentic.

Photo credit: Instagram

Please introduce yourself and share three words or phrases that best describe your music!
Hi, I'm Sion, and I'm a singer and producer based in Seoul. I would describe my music [as] “versatile,” “an acquired taste,” [and] a good balance between electronic and organic.

Is there a particular reason why you released “O.o” as your first new song of 2024? Does that song represent your next era?
"O.o" served as a reminder to myself to stay true to my gut and not overthink things. All this chit-chat about marketability and "listener-friendly" music caught me in a big dilemma, which almost made me hate music in general. I'm not sure if I still [see] "O.o" as a "good" song, because it was really a song whose main purpose was to break through that invisible wall of constant self-questioning and denial as an artist. I didn't really have the sanity to put together something that sounds complete and cohesive, but it definitely helped me find my way back to the joy and excitement of making music. It is a very important song in my discography that serves as a milestone for myself, reminding me to focus on what's really important: just making music that I like!

What were the three biggest sources of inspiration when making sociavoidance?
Time, mental health issues, and the music I listen to in my everyday life. 

It's been a while since I dropped my last EP, so both my label and I agreed that I needed to release something again [soon]. However, I [dealt with] pretty huge burnout and just recovered from it with the release of "O.o." About a month after "O.o" dropped, my label and I started planning my next EP, and I was told that if my EP dropped later than June, it would be too late to regain momentum. The problem was, I had basically no demos I was satisfied with, besides "avoid!" I had to come up with five more tracks that fit the narrative and musical style of "avoid!" within two months. Crazy, thinking back [on] it. But I generally work five times better under pressure. I think my label knew that. Even though I had several mental breakdowns in the process of making this EP, I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out. I'm genuinely proud of myself for pulling this off in two months.

I have always had mental health issues, such as panic attacks, social anxiety disorder, and depression. But social anxiety specifically [has gotten much] worse over the years, so it made sense for me to talk about the thing that [has] bothered me the most recently. I think many people have social anxiety without even [knowing] it, so I felt [like] many people could relate to [this music] easily.

Musically, I listened to a lot of electronica [while making this album], specifically botanica, which is a rising sub-genre of electronica featuring more organic, nature-inspired sound designs. It served as the main inspiration musically, but I also took inspiration from jazz, abstract hip-hop, hyper-pop, dance-pop, neo-psychedelia, [and more].

Please talk about each of the tracks on sociavoidance!

“(sociavoidance)”: This track introduces the listener to the overall tone, manner, and soundscape of the album. I wanted this track to blend naturally into the actual first track, "avoid!," so I had to keep the sound design similar to it. This song features a Discord conversation with one of my best friends, Darlene Park. She is 21, just like me, and is a genius in the fashion and arts industries. We often talk to each other for hours about the industry, art, and life in general. This track features just one little part of our lifelong rants.

“avoid!”: Friends probably already know this track, because I uploaded a demo version of it on my Instagram a few months ago. I remember being really proud of this demo, because it felt so different from the stuff I used to do, so I just had to spoil [it]. Thematically, this track is about my social anxiety. Musically, [it] expands on the botanica soundscape of the first track, with a slightly more pop-centric twist.

“expired!”: I really didn't expect this track to turn out this catchy and bouncy. I thought it would end up being a lot darker, but somehow my brain decided to make the hook super-colorful. That's what I love about music; you don't even know what you're going to do next! Thematically, this track talks about past relationships and how I came to understand that some relationships just aren’t meant to work out.

“karōshi!”: This track feels like the most important one message-wise, because it directly talks about the passing of my friend a few years ago and [describes how] I processed his passing. I thought it’d be best to display this topic and atmosphere by switching quickly between two musical worlds, so I went for a blend between abstract hip-hop and ethnic down-tempo.

“incognito!”: I like this track the most musically, because it was simply such a joy to make. It's very experimental and has hints of genres such as nu-jazz, hyper-pop, contemporary R&B, DnB… and [it has a] very wide [vocal] range. I feel like this song is the closest my music could get to maximalism, even though it still tries to maintain the minimalist aesthetic of my production. Thematically, it is very similar to "avoid!," but it gives more introspective phrases [to] my general thoughts on the music industry.

“moon!”: This track almost didn’t make it on the album, because I couldn’t get it finished until deadline day. Ending with a weird track like "incognito!" just didn’t feel right, so I decided to keep it simple with this one, tidy up what I already had, and not rearrange too much. In the end, I think it was a good choice to include this track, because it really helps elevate the emotional structure of the album and works as a great send-off. Thematically, I talk about the difficulties of being in this music and celebrity scene, meeting all these beautiful and perfect people, and ending up feeling like a nobody. It is all underlined with [a] metaphor [involving] the moon and the stars.

What previous Sion era is sociavoidance the most similar to, and which musical era is it the strongest opposite of?
I feel like there is nothing really similar to sociavoidance in my discography, but mentally, I feel like my “Molting” era was somewhat similar. I just made music that was true to me, without thinking about numbers and reception. I tried to achieve that feeling on this one again. The opposite [might] be my love era. Musically, it feels much simpler and more indie than sociavoidance.

I would love to know more about your unique music videos! 

How do you come up with the ideas for them?
Most of the time, I rely completely on the director, because I feel like I have almost no talent in video-making. I just sit down with the director and try to [come up with ideas] based on the lyrics. 

Is there a particular reason why you wear goggles in many of your music videos?
The goggles serve more of an aesthetic purpose than [a deeper one], although during my “live” music videos, they were part of the uniform of the Flying Fish Cult. 

Do you like leaving your music videos open to different interpretations, or do they have very specific meanings? 
I always like to leave some room for interpretation, because when I watch movies and music videos, I prefer the ones that give you freedom [from] expectations. I wouldn’t say at all that my videos have no specific meanings, but we just try to keep it more of a secret, to let the consumers decide for themselves. 

What’s the story behind your collaboration with Zior Park, “BYE BYE BYE”? 
Although Zior and I have been in the same label and crew for a while now, we never made a single song together. So the day Zior asked me to join "BYE BYE BYE," I was really happy to do so. During the music video, my role was to capture and torture Zior, and it was a pleasure!

What are your goals for the rest of 2024?
I want to release more music, maybe some singles and one EP. I already have some musical [styles in mind,] such as Frutiger Aero [and] Utopian Virtual, but let’s see how it turns out. I’m also going to perform in Germany for the first time, and hopefully I’ll get to [see] a lot of familiar faces!

Lastly, is there anything else you want to say about yourself or your new music?
My music is increasingly getting more bizarre, experimental, and quirky, but I feel like it’s also getting more true to myself. I hope my fans will enjoy this transformation, because it’s far from being done!

Check out sociavoidance here!

View the Substack version of this piece here!

Answers have been edited and condensed for length and clarity.