LIKE HIS IDOLS, LADY GAGA AND LANA DEL REY, KIAN FAZELI KNEW A STAGE NAME WOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE. LITTLE DID HE KNOW, SELF-EMPOWERMENT WAS ONLY A SINGLE LETTER AWAY.
"ADDING THE SECOND 'I' INTO MY NAME MADE ME FEEL LIKE A STRONGER VERSION OF MYSELF," HE SAYS.
AS KIIAN (PRONOUNCED KEY-ON), THE MUSICIAN TAKES THE FILTER OFF OF THE VOYEURISTIC LENS THAT COMES WITH BEING A YOUNG PERSON IN LOS ANGELES, WHERE HE WAS BORN, RAISED AND CURRENTLY LIVES. THE 24-YEAR-OLD'S DEBUT EP "BEVERLY HELL" OUT NOW FEARLESSLY EXPLORES THE THEMES OF INTIMACY AND FRIENDSHIP IN A SUPERFICIAL SOCIETY WHILE PURITY RING-LIKE PRODUCTIONS, GLIMMERY AND SLICK, THROB IN THE BACKGROUND.
COMBINING THE YOUTHFUL VERVE OF TROYE SIVAN AND HALSEY AND THE ROMANCE OF LANA DEL REY, KIIAN MAKES SHARP OBSERVATION OF THE WORLD HE LIVES IN, A MODERN DAY LOS ANGELES: THE ONLY PLACE HE'S EVER KNOWN. "HUNDRED DOLLAR BILLS SMELL LIKE YOUR COLOGNE," HE SINGS ON EP OPENER "BETCH U WILL," AN ALLUSION TO A PAST FLING WHO USED COCAINE. KIIANS' FRANKNESS STRADDLES THE LINE BETWEEN FANTASY AND REALITY, POSES THE QUESTION IS THIS PERSON MY FRIEND OR IS THIS PERSON MY ENEMY?
"EVERYONE HAS THESE 'PERFECT' LIVES BUT IT'S SUCH AN ILLUSION BECAUSE ALL THESE PEOPLE ARE SO FUCKED UP, THEY HAVE SO MANY ISSUES," HE SAYS OF HIS PEERS. "I WAS INSPIRIED BY THE ILLUSION OF EVERYTHING."
MUCH LIKE THE MUSICALLY-DRIVEN GEOGRAPHICAL CONCEPTS BEHIND SIVAN'S "BLUE NEIGHBOURHOOD" AND HALSEY'S "BADLANDS," "BEVERLY HELL" IS IN IT'S OWN WORLD, KIIAN ITS RULER. MARKED BY LATE NIGHTS, WILD PARTIES AND THE FAKE FRIENDS, "BEVERLY HELL" SHOWS THE REALITY BEHIND THE CURATED INSTAGRAM FEEDS.
"NO ONE KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT ME OR WHAT I'D BEEN THROUGH," KIIAN SAYS. "THEY THOUGHT I HAD THE PERFECT LIFE."
THE TRUTH IS, HE'S STRUGGLED WITH DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, TRAUMA AND OCD. IN HIS EARLY TEEN YEARS, KIIAN REMEMBERS CLASSMATES' PASSION FOR SPORTS AND ACADEMICS. HE WONDERED WHAT HIS NICHE WAS. THEN HE DISCOVERED LADY GAGA. AFTER A STANDING OVATION WHEN HE PERFORMED A GAGA TUNE AT A SCHOOL TALENT SHOW, KIIAN REALIZED MUSIC WAS, IN FACT, HIS "THING."
KIIAN TAUGHT HIMSELF THE BASICS OF PIANO, PURCHASED BEATS FROM YOUTUBE AND WROTE SONGS INSPIRED BY LADY GAGA, WHICH LED TO HIS OWN MUSICAL SELF-DISCOVERY. THE FIRST SONG HE EVER PENNED, NATURALLY, WAS CALLED "FAME." HE WAS 13.
ALL THE WHILE, KIIAN WAS STILL DEALING WITH ANXIETY AND AT 21, SPENT A WEEK DISCONNECTING FROM THE WORLD AT A SOBER LIVING HOME FOLLOWING A THREE-WEEK OUTPATIENT PROGRAM. IT WAS THERE HE MET A FELLOW MUSICIAN WHO INTRODUCED HIM TO JOHNNY WHAT, THORALD KOREN, AND ISSAC KOREN OF THE POP TRIO B R A V E S, WHO WORKED WITH KIIAN ON "BEVERLY HELL."
THE FIVE TRACK EP WAS WRITTEN AND RECORDED IN AS MANY DAYS. KIIAN WOULD WRITE EACH SONG IN A MATTER OF 15 TO 20 MINUTES AND PERFORM THREE VOCAL TAKES AND LET IT BE. THE FINAL PRODUCT HITS AUDITORY ALT-POP PLEASURE CENTERS WITH DARK WAVES OF STRINGS AND SPLINTERING DRUMS.
"IT WAS SO FREEING," HE SAYS OF THE PROCESS. "WHEN I DID IT, I FELT HEALED FROM ALL OF THE THINGS I WENT THROUGH: THE SHITTY FAKE FRIENDS, THESE GUYS WHO BROKE MY HEART. IT WAS VERY THERAPEUTIC FOR ME."
UNDER SYNTH SWELLS HE SINGS," ALL THE PRETTY PEOPLE LIVE IN BEVERLY HELL" ON THE EP'S TITLE TRACK, A SEEMINGLY STRAIGHTFORWARD STATEMENT MIRED IN THE COMPLEXITY: THE UNAPOLOGETIC ADMISSION OF THE SMOKE AND MIRRORS GAME THAT IS THE MILLENNIAL WORLD ORDER, THE ONE WHERE THE MISUNDERSTOOD REIGN SUPREME.
"MY MAIN GOAL IS TO INSPIRE PEOPLE TO BE THEIR AUTHENTIC SELVES AND LOVE THEMSELVES, TO SHOW PEOPLE THAT ARE LABELED A 'FREAK' THAT THEIR MINDS ARE BEAUTIFUL," KIIAN SAYS. "
"I WANT TO BE LIKE, WAKE UP, BEING DIFFERENT IS THE FUTURE. IT'S COOL, AND NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED OF. I WANT MY AUDIENCE TO LOVE THAT PART OF THEMSELVES AND LEARN TO LOVE THEMSELVES IN THE DARKNESS INSTEAD OF TRYING TO ESCAPE IT."
NEWS:
GALAXY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2020 COVER STORY
ROKU X VYBED OUT TV BEST NEW MUSIC "BEVERLY HELL" EP FEATURE
"BEVERLY HELL" X TIMES SQUARE NYC
VYBED OUT RADIO "PARTY FRIENDS" MUSIC VIDEO POST
QUEER ACCESSORIES
JON ALI'S AUGUST 2020 PLAYLIST FEATURING "PARTY FRIENDS" BY KIIAN
GALAXY MAGAZINE "PARTY FRIENDS" SINGLE PREMIERE
GALORE MAGAZINE "BEVERLY HELL" SINGLE PREMIERE
THE PRELUDE PRESS INTERVIEW
STAGE RIGHT SECRETS INTERVIEW
DIAMOND DEPOSITS TRACK POST & REVIEW
THE LINE OF BEST FIT TRACK REVIEW
LISTEN HERE REVIEWS TRACK POST
ALL THINGS GO (PLAYLIST ADDED)
DASH RADIO
FUTURE HOUSE CLOUD INCLUDED "BEVERLY HELL" IN THEIR FUTURE OF POP SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
UNCLEAR MAGAZINE ISSUE 19 - JANUARY 2018 - PRESS OPEN TO DIGITALLY READ
"BEVERLY HELL" ON QUEER NECESSITIES: BILLBOARD PRIDE'S JULY 2018 PLAYLIST