Keydom and Shoku Collaborate For the First Time on “MORE TIME”

In Keydom and Shoku’s new single “MORE TIME”, the pair ask, “What crazy things do we do to prioritize people we’re romantically drawn to?” 

“They both are very scared,” Keydom told me this week in an interview about the couple described in the song, “and I just sing as the person who wanted to start making the first move, even if they felt like this might not go well.” 

The song is the first time Shoku and Keydom have worked together, but the collaboration was a natural choice for the friends. “Me and Keydom both met in EXPOSITION [a collective for independent artists]. I think we started getting real close after he made a verse on one of my demos and we just started talking from there,” Shoku said. “So we’ve known each other for almost a year now. We’ve gotten close since.” 

The pair both opened at separate dates for JUNNY, a rising R&B singer from Vancouver, on his European tour, an experience that Shoku described as “surreal”. The opportunity came from EXPOSITION’s manager Chris who texted Shoku as he was on his way to a friend’s birthday. “ I’ve never freaked out so much on a public train before in my life,” he said. “During and after the staff at the venue and the fans were all amazing. They really made me feel special and I felt like my hard work was finally paying off. My hands were filled with adrenaline from holding the mic. When I walked off I started crying with joy and DJ Minjeong, JUNNY’s DJ, came and hugged me and congratulated me before she went on.” Later that night JUNNY and Shoku took a polaroid together, which Shoku still keeps with him. 

Keydom was the first person Shoku FaceTime’d before he went on stage in London. “He’s always been super supportive and like a brother to me. He’s the type of guy to always make you laugh no matter what,” Shoku said.”

The idea for the collaboration came to Keydom when he was opening for JUNNY in Germany. He tapped his friend and DJ, PRAVE Daniel to produce the song. “I wanted to show that PRAVE is not just a DJ but a producer too,” he said. “He showed me the beat one week before the show and I loved it on the first listen.” 

“So I finished my parts and asked him if he could hop in three days before the concert.” Shoku worked fast and sent Keydom “this beautiful verse” in less than 24 hours. 

Keydom’s lyrics are often tinged with depressing colors, like the concept of “MORE TIME”. “Sometimes I sneak in depressing events, like my cheating ex in the lyrics,” he teased. His music can make bold swings with loud bangers, like on “Rendezvous”, or more introspective tracks like “Overthinking”. “I love building climaxes in my songs,” he said. “You also can’t really categorize my music under R&B or HipHop. It’s like a funky mix with a lot of genres I sometimes sneak in. The music Keydom creates reflects how insular his life is. “Honestly I’m very comfortable being alone all my life,” he said. “I’ve just been doing music alone in my bedroom with my home studio setup.”

For Shoku, music and comedy are the most natural ways he connects with audiences. “If I were to describe myself, I’d say I’m an emotionally powered person who wants to make sure everyones having a good time,” he said. “I think I’m still in the early stages of my artist career. I don’t know what type of music I’ll make in a couple of years but I know that I’ll be staying true and connecting with as many people as I can.” 

Shoku and Keydom both come from Europe. Growing up in Munich, Germany, was an experience Keydom described as challenging. “I had my best moments and worst moments there,” he said. “Honestly the only good thing I remember are my casual days with my lifelong friends and loving family.” Shoku’s family immigrated from Albania to London in 1999. His first memories were of learning English by watching The Godfather.

Families played an important role in where both artists are today, sometimes even serendipitously. “When my Grandma came over to see my birth, she told my mother to give me 2 things, a microphone [the toy ones] and a football, saying that i’d never give them up,” Shoku said. “Those 2 things were the core parts of my upbringing.”

As an adolescent, Keydom received a lot of support from his father, who encouraged him to believe in himself. “There was a period of time when I was young where I was really lost and messed up and my dad and I always had these talks,” he remembered. There was one thing that Keydom’s dad said, though, that changed how he thought about life. “He said, ‘Son, no matter what you do or how you feel, don’t forget that only you have the KEY to your own freeDOM. This kinda stuck with me.” 

Music, he began to think, could be his key to freedom. “I created [my stage name] when I was at my grandma’s place making my first beats in 2016 so I changed all my socials to Keydom.” 

Shoku and Keydom have worked towards being musicians for years. “I have a musical background. I started in school choirs going abroad and performing in places like Notre Dame and then performing in my choir for Prince William and Princess Kate. This was way back since 2016 and onwards,” Shoku said. “It was only during covid, maybe summer 2020, where I went to a studio with my best friend Kyza and he just asked me to try rap and singing.”

Before he became a musician and producer, Keydom was a dancer. Once he settled on his stage name, though, Keydom started to make more beats and he began to rap in 2017. For a long time, he said, he didn’t believe he could sing. “But I slowly got better at singing in 2021.”

Shoku and Keydom are both members of EXPOSITION, a collective that uplifts and supports independent artists. EXPOSITION is not strictly for Asian artists, but there is a focus on showing the diverse talent of the global Asian music community.

“EXPOSITION is just not like anything I’ve been a part of before. It’s a place where everyone, no matter how big or small, works together,” Shoku said. “We’ve got a dedicated channel where we all drop demos for other artists to get on. I now have a couple big artists on some of my songs from this.”

When I asked what makes the collective important he referenced how EXPOSITION is debuting so many hugely talented Asian artists. “Its existence is so necessary for the music industry,” he said. “They do promote Asian Indie music/Artists and because of its existence they are pioneering a wave of crazy talented Asian artists, such as Ethan Low, Koven Wei, Melatonin Boy, and Aleebi.” 

For Keydom, finding a community in EXPOSITION has been revelatory. “I love all my friends in real life but I was the only guy making music. There was nobody I could compete with or grow with. No one could criticize my work with real points,” he told me when I asked what he likes about working in EXPOSITION. “I really enjoy taking part in music projects with these people.”

What both musicians have found is a community of like-minded artists who push each other to create innovative, honest music and who support each other as they work their way through the music industry. “Honestly I love them. It’s like a little cute family which grows tall together day by day,” Keydom described. “No one is slacking and is very passionate about it. They make me a better me.” 

Keydom and Shoku both have plans to release more music this year that connects with fans. “If you like music where the song vibe changes to the emotions you feel on that day I’m the place for you,” Keydom said.

“I’m just trying to tell my story and have fun with everyone through my music,” Shoku said. “Music is the most pure part of my life and I want to share my love for it with everyone, hoping that it makes even one person's day better.”

“MORE TIME” is available now on streaming services.