Today, we have the distinct pleasure of speaking with Peach Illusion, the rising indie pop stars hailing from Shanghai. Their unique blend of dreamy melodies and introspective lyrics has captivated audiences across China, and we’re excited to delve into their creative process and journey to success.
Can you describe your typical songwriting process? Does one member typically take the lead, or is it a collaborative effort?
In our 2018-2022 albums, every song started with QuanQuan (our vocalist and songwriter) writing lyrics and melodies first. Then the whole band would work together in the rehearsal room to arrange the music for recording or live performance.
But with our new album Still in Love, something changed: a few tracks actually began as riff ideas from jam sessions in the studio. QuanQuan would take those raw ideas home to craft lyrics and melodies, and later XueJia handled most of the audio editing. Now, instead of one person leading every song, we’re collaborating more as a team. We want to capture those spontaneous sparks and turn them into music that truly sounds like us — it’s all about building Peach Illusion into a tight creative crew, not just a band.
How important is improvisation and experimentation in your creative process?
Just like our name, we try to capture the illusionary, indescribable parts of life. That’s why we love to improvise based on a vibe or scene we imagine or experienced, it helps us save those feelings that fit the mood. And music is actually a very subjective thing, often an unintentional burst of inspiration can create a big splash of water.
In our view, experimentation is what makes indie music different from mainstream. We’re always seeking new sounds unique to us, aiming to break through existing styles and create a fresh, innovative Peach flavor.
Peach Illusion formed in Shanghai in the summer of 2018. What was the initial spark that brought the band together? What were your individual musical backgrounds before forming the band?
Peach Illusion started with college friends who had similar music tastes met through campus society in Xiamen. After moving to Shanghai, we gradually formed the band. QuanQuan and XueJia are childhood friends from Shaoguan, a small southern city in Guangdong, and have known each other since kindergarten. Bubble comes from Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, a northern city in China. Before the band, QuanQuan was a law school student writing folk songs with her acoustic guitar, Xuejia a sociology student obsessed with Britpop, and Bubble is a drummer who’d been playing since childhood and studied drum playing at Shanghai Conservatory Of Music, In 2022, QuanQuan was pleasantly surprised when she saw Bubble’s drumming video in a WeChat group of friends, and she reached out to Bubble. Coincidentally, Bubble also really liked the softrock style with a bit of pop flavor of Peach Illusion’s songs. After jamming together a few times, Bubble gradually became an official member of the band. Our story just began in Shanghai’s vibrant music scene.
What are some of the biggest challenges and rewards you’ve experienced as a band since your formation?
In 2022, we faced a big change: two original members left China, so only QuanQuan and Xuejia remained from the original four. This happened right as we were transitioning from a student band to a professional one — honestly, we felt a lot of uncertainty about the future.
But things turned around when we met Bubbles, our young, talented drummer born in the 2000s. During that break, we really thought hard about what kind of music we wanted to make. Over two years of working through our differences and challenges together, we’ve rebuilt Peach Illusion with fresh ideas. Our bond is stronger than ever now, and we’re excited to keep pursuing a professional music career
Looking back on your journey, what are you most proud of accomplishing as Peach Illusion?
(QuanQuan) I am proud that Peach Illusion has released over 60 songs over the past six years since our band’s formation. I can see that we’ve created music to conserve every treasured moment in our life and also give friend-like accompaniment with our listeners and audiences, which makes me believe that constant thinking of life and self will infuse ourselves with an enduring creative vitality that continues to fuel our artistic journey. (XueJia) I think a few songs of Peach Illusion that really have that power to relieve one’s heart, which made me satisfied. (Bubble) Last year’s album was my first album release since I joined the team and it was also the first time in my life that I was involved in an album recording, which made me proud and happy.
What are your future goals and aspirations for the band? Where do you see yourselves in the next few years?
Our goal is to be a timeless band, creating more great and fun music that shares the charm of Chinese indie music to the world and connects with people globally through performances and major music festivals.
After making our latest album “Still in Love”, our musical direction is clearer. In the coming years, Peach Illusion will expand in the Asian market with our unique style and appeal to more people.
You mention a longing to “immerse yourselves in the realms of imagination and rhythmic lines.” How do you translate that aspiration into your songwriting and musical arrangements? Can you give a specific example from one of your songs?
Our music is quite versatile, often shifting rhythms within a single song to create a sense of moving from one scene to another, like changing camera angles. As we all love groovy music, our tunes always blend imaginative beats with rhythmic lines.
Take “有些事搞砸也没关系It’s Okay to Mess Up” as an example, It features three rhythmic shifts, mixing funky, reggae, and rock elements. This showcases the inner thoughts, external realities, and raw emotions in the songwriting through different instrumental arrangements, inviting listeners to join us in this sonic journey.
Your music is categorized as indie-pop. What indie-pop artists or bands have influenced your sound, and how have those influences shaped your unique style?
When we were young, we were influenced by indie music from Hong Kong and Taiwan. There were city folk musicians like At17, Cheer Chen, and Crowd Lu. There were also mainstream pop singers such as Faye Wong and David Tao. Therefore, when it comes to writing lyrics and composing music, we pay more attention to the expression of the content. The words we use are fresh and close to real life.
In terms of the music vibe, we were influenced by alternative rock/shoegaze noise rock music such as Jesus and Mary Chain, Yo La Tengo, Yuck, and Honeydip, etc. At the same time, we really like Shibuya-kei music from Japan (Cornelius, Towa Tei) and the city-pop music from the 1990s (Makoto Matsushita, Hiroshi Satoh, Tatsuro Yamashita, Anri). There are quite a lot of elements similar to dream pop, shoegaze, and city pop in our music. From 2019 to 2022, a Korean drummer Nayoung joined our band. During that time, we also got to listen to some Korean indie music like Balming Tiger, Se So Neon and The Black Skirts, and it influenced us a little bit.
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