So when can we expect your solo recording to be out?
The album should be coming out sometime in the next few months in the fall.

When and how was your solo album recorded?
I recorded the album at Xiao He’s home studio from December to March. From April to June it was mixed, and we recently just finished the artwork.

You recorded the album at Xiao He’s house? How do you guys know each other?
Yeah, he has a studio there. Besides being a good friend, he is my producer, mixer, engineer. Low Wormwood was performing in Lan Zhou at a bar call Time bar, which he happened to be at. We have known each other for around four years now. We’ve become quite good friends as we see a lot of things the same way – life, how music should be.

So how do you think music should be?
I think music should come from a quiet place from within, but still be very powerful at the same time. Whereas some bands play their music really loudly to impact the listener on a physical level, I prefer music that is played softly, to impact the listener on a spiritual level.

What kind of music do you like to listen to?
Some of my favorite music is World music. Music that uses the instruments, rhythms, and culture of a native land.

What is it about World music that draws you to it?
World music is a type of music that encompasses the many aspects of human expression and facets of life. It’s music for the common people and their everyday life. In this natural setting, musicians are most free to create honest and innovative music.

So you don’t like this type of music (Wang Lee Hom’s “Kiss Goodbye” playing in the coffee shop background)?
No. I don’t really like pop music because it’s usually fake.

So, what are the songs on your upcoming album about?
A lot of the songs are about feelings, emotions, and ideas I’ve experienced in my daily life. It doesn’t matter when or where – I can be cooking, in the shower, or reading the newspaper at home – and if something inspires me – I’ll do my best to convert what I’m experiencing at the moment into a song.

Does creating a solo album take away from your contributions to your band, Low Wormwood?
No, not at all. In our band, it’s four people with four different ways of thinking, living, and making music. Putting all that together is what makes it fun to make the music, and for the music to be exciting. With the band, there is structured time where we get together and practice. With my solo record, it’s me writing songs outside of that, in my daily life – whenever I’ve been inspired. It’s music that is very personal.

Do you have any issue with having such a personal record and having many people listen to it?
Not at all. I use music to express myself. And the closer I can get to that, the better.

What do you want your listener to feel when they listen to your music?
Care, love. In China, a lot of people need it. They’re chasing a lot of different things, doing things that they don’t really want to do, and in the process they lose sight of what’s really important. For example, one of my songs on the album, “Hei Qing Man” (“Hey young man, where are you going?”), discusses the excesses of material wealth. Chinese society focuses a lot on how much money you have, your status – and often-times people lose themselves in this chase. I’d like my music to help them find their way.

You can see it when you look around on the subway. Some people are so tired from work, so tired from the never-ending chase, that they have no time to care for themselves. They’ve sacrificed very important things only to end up with empty material wealth and superficial happiness.

I feel that artists, whether through their art or music, have a certain responsibility to their audience. Whereas bands like Joyside or Carsick Cars use rock n’ roll music to express joy and heavy metal bands can use music to express rage, I like to use my music to express care and love.

Your ideology and music sounds quite spiritual. Where does this all come from?
It all comes from my heart, my soul, my own understanding. Music is just a medium for expression, just like a movie or a painting.

Looking into the future, do you think your music will change?
I won’t force myself to change just to change. It’s difficult for me to change the whole world, and it’s also difficult for the world to change me. As long as my audience can truly and intimately understand me, I’ll be happy.

What's the significance of your band name – Di Ku Ai (Low Wormwood)?
Di Ku Ai is a type of grass that is very basic and earthy. It doesn’t grow very high. It’s the kind of grass I used to eat in my childhood. We chose this very simple type of grass that we ate as children to represent the simple yet fundamental nature of our music.

Do you have any personal heroes?
Sun Wu Kong (Monkey King) is a hero of mine. In an ideal world, all humans would be like him. He is extremely loyal, child-like in his innocence and appreciation of life, and doesn’t care about what other people think about him – even people with great power.

Are there musicians that have been influential to you in your thinking?
Not currently. But when I was younger, I really looked up to Jim Morrison. I think he’s really a genius, and a true artist. A lot of people only think of him as a crazy hippie – amped up on sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll. However, I’ve read about his life, and he is much more than that. He was an extremely knowledgeable person and a deep thinker. There are stories about him making bets with his friends where they could read a line from any book in his room - and there were thousands of them – and he could tell them the name of the book, the author, and the page number.

People idolize him for the way the way he sang, expressed himself, and the way he lived. The thing is, all of that was a result of him being true to himself – not him trying to be a certain type of person.

He influenced me for a long time, but these days, I haven’t come across anybody that can influence me like that anymore. Oh, I really respect Steve Michelson, who has traveled all over the world, learned how to play local folk instruments, recorded this music and spread it around the world.

While parting ways, we discussed bands like Joyside, and how authentically punk they were. Liu Kun remarked:
Regardless of what type of music you play – whether it’s punk, indie, hip-hop, whatever – as long as you can be yourself, that’s all that matters.

I don’t know if as many bands are like that now. It’s been said that punks sleep earlier these days. It’s not the external sound or image that your project, as long as your music comes from you, from within – that’s all that matters.

For more information and tracks from Liu Kun's band, Low Wormwood, check out their Myspace page