FANTASY SOUL: Inside the Artists’ Ethereal Universe – QUIN CAT

Words by: Kimberly Haddad

Presented by S CAFE

Photographer DRAKE HACKNEY @drakehackney

Creative Direction VIKTORIJA PASHUTA @viktorija_pashuta

Producer/CFO JACKSON CHONG @jacksonchong_

Stylist OTHEEZ @otheezystyledit

Makeup KSENIYA BERNKHARDT @kseniya_bern

Videographer GEORGE MASIN @georgemasin

Special Thank You To ZEVARRA LOFTS @zevarralofts

Showroom IVAN BITTON STYLE HOUSE @ivanbittonstylehouse

Catering VAVA OMAKASE

It’s rare for me to interview an artist and think, damn, I really want to be her friend. But Los Angeles-born singer-songwriter and fairy-cat Quiñ, otherwise known as Bianca Leonor Quiñones, is an absolute dream girl. Chances are, you’re already familiar with the multifaceted artist. Her magnetic aura is one of sophistication and grace and her vocals evoke an enchanting dreamlike essence that is simply unmatched. But if you find yourself unacquainted with this intoxicating kitten, add her to your playlist immediately. From her most recent singles “Thinkin Bout You II” and “Crush”, ethereal tracks that will hold you spellbound with a cavalcade of bewitching echoes and chimes, to her debut album Galactica (2016) and the 2019 EP Lucid, featuring collaborations with Infinity and 6LACK, Quiñ has embraced her songful super- powers and created a versatile genre of music coined “Fantasy Soul.”

As a woman who has always experienced a pro-found spiritual and physical connection to cats, Quiñ adopted the handle Quiñ Cat, an alias that honors both her last name and deep love for the feline species. “I’m Bianca Lenore Quiñones and Quiñ Cat kind of pays homage to each part of me,” she said. “It’s been an interesting identity thing for me. Like, Quiñ is the creative side of me who writes songs, but I’ve been introducing myself as Bianca, more and more. I go back and forth between names, but the reality is, it’s whatever I want at all times. It’s been a strange journey—putting all of these different pieces of myself together and categorizing them only to realize that I’m just one big body of a person.”

Growing up around a medley of musicians in a vibrant home always pulsing in sounds from social gatherings and free flow drum circles, Quiñ developed a passion for music at a very young age. Her father played the conga and trumpet and she quickly took a liking to family friend Patrice Rushen, an American jazz pianist and R&B artist who often joined in on the jam sessions. “I was so young, I didn’t really know to what extent anyone was a musician,” she said. “There were just instruments everywhere and a lot of really good music being played.” Completely awe-inspired by the drums and taken by the fire in her belly to explore sound independently, Quiñ would frequently lock herself in Rushen’s studio, a place that allowed her to marinate in the magic of music alone, on her own terms.

While music was always an interest for Quiñ, it wasn’t something she openly shared with those around her as an adult. “I was really shy,” she said. “If anyone asked me to sing, I would just shut down, especially if I didn’t know them. This fear was deep though, and it made me so curious as to why I was the way I was and I knew I had to explore that.” During her second year of college, Quiñ experienced her first real heartbreak, a distraction that caused her to withdrawal from classes until she decided it was time to embark on a whole new journey.

In the fall of 2009, Quiñ asked her mother for a one-way ticket to Oakland for her birthday. “I had this thought that I could always go back to school, but at the time, I just wanted to get a job, live a little, and figure out who I was,” she said. “I really felt like I was sent over there by a higher power or that my higher self was controlling the operation. It just kind of allowed me to have an open dialogue with my spirit. I was going through something emotionally and it was as if my heart kind of broke open and created this opportunity for me to learn myself in a new way.”

Leaning further into this notion, Quiñ looked inward, examining her inhibitions around music and made a promise to herself that if anyone ever asked her to sing, she would face her fear and do it. “I didn’t know what I was afraid of, but it was extremely uncomfortable,” she said. “I’m a great writer. The poetry I’m writing now is the best I have ever written and my voice naturally sings. It was really just embarrassment, but I knew if I could get my mind out the way, let my voice do what it does, and let my soul just write what it writes, it would be the perfect formula for some- thing great. As soon as I made that commitment and bet on myself, I became this musical magnet.” Showing up for herself and practicing consistently enabled Quiñ to feel confident in her artistry, an effort that led her back to Los Angeles to pursue music full-time. It wasn’t long before she began collaborating with friends and recording songs, and the more music she created, the more opportunity she attracted. After gaining a large following on Soundcloud, where she put herself on the radar by releasing various tracks with other artists, Quiñ released her first project, Galactica, a sequence of mesmerizing songs that live on their own little planet of futuristic soul, honeyed electronica, and mushroom chocolate.

“I came up with the genre “Fantasy Soul” because people kept asking me what kind of music I made and I didn’t really know how to describe it,” she said. “It’s a mixture of so many different feelings and situations, traumas and beauty. My spirit is writing the music and it comes from deep within my heart and soul. I use the term ‘fantasy’ because that’s where my imagination lies and I go to my imagination to pull out these stories. It’s a very intuitive experience.”

Greatly inspired by her younger brother Michael, a high school student who writes stories and scripts he releases online, Quiñ continues to tap into her craft, deepening her spirituality to create and share her art with the world. “Spirituality is a big part of my creativity,” she said. “My creativity is my purpose and when I’m not in my purpose, I’m just sad.”

After undergoing a phase where she admits to selfishly hoarding all of the music she was making, Quiñ has plans to release new tunes for the rest of the year. “Sometimes, I create a lot of fog between me and my soul and I’m unable to create, but with my spiritual practice, I get closer to my true self, my highest self, the one who makes all of these things and comes up with these ideas. I’m just a vessel for it. So, this is the year I’m finally emerging with the music I’ve been keeping to myself. I want to share it now and that’s the theme for the year. I just want it to uplift everyone and shit…I just want everybody to feel good.”

BUY ISSUE 21 HERE