Jian Kellett Liew, known professionally as Kyson, is an Australian singer, songwriter, and producer.[2]
Early life
Liew was born in Adelaide, Australia.[3] He later moved to Sydney, Australia where he went on to study a degree in audio engineering. After graduating, he spent the next several years in Berlin working as a musician and sound artist under the name Kyson and various other monikers.[4]
Career
In 2012, Kyson gained attention for his remix of Bon Iver's "Holocene" on 4AD Records.[5] On 29 October 2012 Liew released his "Blackstone EP" on Moodgadget Recordings.[6] He was signed by Friends of Friends Records and released his first studio album The Water's Way.[7][8]
In 2015, Kyson, alongside Italian musician and producer Matteo Pavesi, co-produced the debut album of singer-songwriter Alice Phoebe Lou, which was released on 13 May 2016.[9] The same year, Liew founded the art and music collective Average Negative with musical collaborator Chris Hill.[10]
In April 2016, Liew released his second album, A Book of Flying, with Friends of Friends Recordings.[4][11]
In 2018 Kyson released a series of AA singles, "Every High / Clear Air" and "Have My Back / Forest Green", in collaboration with B3SCI Records and Majestic Casual Records. The two releases were also part of a limited edition white vinyl record, with artwork by B.D. Graft.[12]
Pitchfork has described Liew's style as, "combin[ing] soft touches of electronic keys and rickety, pinprick rhythms, with his half-whispered lyrics and drifting melodies wrapped in sheets of textural field recordings."[6] Liew has also been described as having an, "enigmatic sound, a blend of indie, acoustic and electronic music."[13]
Collaborations
In 2014, Liew collaborated with Detroit-based musician Shigeto on the track "Water Collides".[14] In 2017, he collaborated with Australian artist Amber Cronin to create the spatial installation "Sawaru" at the Nexus Gallery in Adelaide, Australia.[15][16]
