On November 22, Qin Ming, aka vii M, a Shanghai-based music producer, bassist, and DJ, released her debut album Sublunary via the Chinese label Eating Music.

This 10-track album conceptualizes a fictional world as the artist attempts to build a “nirvana between the Earth and moon where people are still trapped in mundanity despite their wish to escape from earthly life.”

Although Qin’s music is often eclectically defined as electronica, jazz, alternative, and trip-hop, she is not restricted to these styles. Instead of tagging her music with any specific genres, Qin tells RADII that she is simply attempting to “unveil the imagery and emotions hidden behind the sonics.”

In this album, Qin conjures up an electronica cosmos with mellow basslines, organic synth sounds, and muttered words. It includes both digital and analog recordings, as well as acoustic and electronic elements.

“No matter how chaotic this world can be, no matter what stage we’re in (present or future), or whatever struggles we will go through, music, especially the sounds in our heads, can serve as an ultimate asylum to all humans,” shares Qin, explaining the core ideas behind the album.

Born in Chengdu, the capital city of Southwest China’s Sichuan province, Qin grew up playing piano and guitar. She started to play electronic bass as her principal instrument before she entered Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2017.

With the aim of creating a soundscape of her own, Qin has been producing music since 2019.

During her time in the U.S., Qin was active on stage as a jazz musician and electronic music producer.

“Back then, I didn’t think too much about what kind of music I’m going to make,” says Qin. “I was trying to absorb as much as possible, and I mainly wrote things with my free will.”

After relocating to Shanghai in 2021, Qin started a new musical journey as vii M for her solo project and live performances. Her works often blend mysterious and trippy grooves.

Two weeks before releasing her first full-length album, the title track ‘Right Now, Wrong Then’ was unveiled as a warmup.

Following the release of Sublunary, Qin said the vinyl version would hopefully be available at the end of the year. Meanwhile, she is also actively gearing up for live sets, band performances, and other solo projects.

All images courtesy of Eating Music