葵斯汀

Kristin Hsiao

 

Kristin is a singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer based in Taiwan.

 

In the early days, Kristin primarily focused on playing and composing with acoustic guitars. Her enthusiasm for rock music led her to start playing electric guitar and join a band at the time that played grunge, garage, and shoegaze styles. With the band, she frequently performed at various venues. Later, she formed her own band, which not only inherited the style from the previous band but also incorporated elements of Pop, Emo, and Post-Rock. They have performed at many large-scale events such as Rock in Taichung and Ho-hai-yan Rock Festival. Besides releasing an independent EP with other bands, she has also contributed to a compilation album, "Kun Dao Qi Yi (鯤島起義)".

 

After learning music production in 2013, Kristin independently launched the "Kris ABCD (克莉絲甲乙丙丁)" project in 2014. The project mainly focuses on creating different styles of music each week based on four different aspects or personalities of Kristin, which are A, B, C, and D. In addition to the styles mentioned above, the project includes Alternative, Psychedelic, Experimental, and Instrumental genres.

 

Kristin won second place in the 9th Myfone Mobile Creation Award and did promotional video scoring for Sun Moon Lake Marathon in 2015. In 2016, she began publishing original music and covers on YouTube under the name "葵斯汀 Kristin Hsiao." She has performed in various locations and was honored to be invited to perform at the Taipei YouTube Space. The same year, she collaborated with British rapper Josh Norman and released their first single, "Life Changes." She also released a solo single called "Whatever."

 

During 2017, she served as the community manager for YouTube and released "Classic Man," the second single with Josh Norman. In addition, she reproduced and released the early work "Tipsy" and joined the jazz band Extreme. Her collaboration with Josh Norman continued in 2018, with their third single "Fairy Tale". Additionally, she began using loopers and samplers in her solo performances, instead of just playing acoustic guitar.

 

In 2019, she initiated a project to create two micro-creations every week. During this year, she released her first original album "Skin In", which she wrote, arranged, mixed, and produced. Furthermore, she also composed the entire soundtrack and released the theme song "腐朽" for the game "Greedy Cristal".

 

As part of the promotion for her debut album "Sink In", she toured with her band in 2020. It was during this year that she started exploring and studying synthesizers. Her single "Flaking" and first instrumental EP, "Where do we go", were also released. Moreover, she is the first Taiwanese musician who was invited to participate in the "Music Production for Women" contribution project.

 

In 2021, she released her first sample pack and second EP "Destination". In 2022, she was honored to be invited by Kim Bjørn, the founder of BJOOK, to conduct an interview for his new book "PATCH & TWEAK with KORG". She scored sound effects for pixsee AI Smart Baby Camera and collaborated with Canadian musician Antonio de Braga on their first ambient album, "TIME".

 

After releasing singles "Trap" and "Never Learn", she released her second fully self-written and produced album "Moulting" in August 2024.

 

Kristin's music journey showcases her growth and versatility as a musician, and her ability to create and produce music across different genres. She has won recognition for her work and continues to experiment with different sounds and instruments.