Q&A: Crystal Chen’s “Love Letter” is a Soulful, Cinematic Masterpiece.
A LOVE LETTER IS SEALED WITH A KISS AND SENT AWAY WITH NOTHING BUT LOVE — Crystal Chen, a Tamaki Mākaurau–based Chinese–New Zealand musician and visual artist has returned just in time for Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day with her latest single, “Love Letter.” It's a soulful, jazzy, R&B track with a post-disco undertone, where Chen “passionately implores a lover to write to her.”
Inspired by a real-life love letter that the artist found in her desk, the track is brought to life by a 1940s Shanghai-themed music video. Chen co-directed the music video with her production collaborator Kenny Sterling (Matt Hunter), who also helped with the writing, production, and recording of the song itself.
After returning from her trip from China, during which Chen visited 18 different cities, she began working on a photography book with her mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Capturing memories on their 35 mm and 120 film, the book will be showcased as a mixed-media memoir, as the two share the story of their mother-daughter relationship in addition to their experience with Alzheimer’s. The project will also illustrate Chen embarking on the journey of discovering her roots.
Read more down below to hear more about “Love Letter,” Chen’s upcoming plans, and her trip to China with her mother.
LUNA: Crystal! We are happy to have you back! How have things been since we last chatted with you about your previous project, “let’s kiss, not fight”?
CHEN: Happy to be back! Things have been pretty hectic, although summer is treating us right, now — I’m aiming for a calmer yet productive 2024. I made the decision to put my work on pause for a moment and traveled/photographed half of China with my mum, and [we] began the process of creating a photography book/memoir together. We’re back in New Zealand now, so I’m straight back into work and making music. I am really happy to release “Love Letter” and its music video.
LUNA: That’s so great to hear! Thank you for sharing. You are experimenting with a different sound this time around. Can you tell us what sparked the idea for “Love Letter” sonically?
CHEN: This sound has heavily influenced a lot of my writing lately. The idea came naturally as I wanted something grand and I knew I wanted horns in this track, but the sonic mastermind has to be Matt! Matt Hunter (who goes by Kenny Sterling) played most of these instruments, and he’s on that ’70s soul buzz that brought it all to life. I also love the authenticity of handwriting a letter to somebody, so that older sound really drew me in and encapsulated that feeling.
LUNA: The music video for “Love Letter” is so beautiful and cinematic, and I love the 1940s Shanghai-inspired theme. What was it like directing the music video alongside Matt Hunter (Kenny Sterling), and what scene was your favorite part?
CHEN: Thank you so much! It was a dream come true. I am grateful that I could incorporate aspects of my culture into this music video and have Matt supporting me alongside. Directing my own music videos in the past has been challenging having to play all the roles, so Matt really took the stress off. We are both film nerds, and he got the idea and vision immediately — having those opium red tones consistent throughout the music video and being hands-on with the set decor, hair, makeup, and styling was super special. It also feels good to work on both visuals and audio with the same person because you just know that the visuals will do the song justice and vice versa.
It’s so hard to pick my favorite part but probably the 麻将 mahjong scene. We had this crazy gimbal that went overhead to get a bird's eye shot of the mahjong table, which was super buzzy as the room was dark and our director of photography, Caleb Corlett, was operating from afar so we couldn’t see the camera and played a game of mahjong in real time! I also had my mum in this scene and she looked like a natural — initially she was feeling insecure but I don’t think she had to do any acting.
LUNA: Can you tell us about the materials used to film the music video?
CHEN: The mahjong table, vases, tea sets, orchids, Chinese-style pillows, and lotus incense holders were a few of the many props I brought from home when we filmed the music video. I got the cast to raid 旗袍 qipao (traditional Chinese dress) from their mother’s closets, and the Chinese traditional paintings in the back of one of the scenes were painted by my mum.
LUNA: I heard you took a trip over to China and you traveled to 18 cites there? Can you tell us what that was like?
CHEN: That felt like an idea I had in my mind for the longest time that I can’t believe became a reality, because I had to leave everything behind. It’s so hard to answer that question with one answer, but I can begin by saying that I was fascinated by my own culture in ways that make me proud. It was difficult for sure, traveling with someone who has Alzheimer’s, whilst not being good at reading mandarin. Packing four seasons into one suitcase was hard, too. I realized that I have the rest of my life to work on my career, but for my mum, her memory is getting worse every day so I wanted to devote this time to her.
Having the idea to create this photography book was a goal that carried me through some tough times when I wanted to give up. I taught her how to photograph again and held her hand through it all. I watched her be curious and interact with the world around her like I once did. My mum was definitely my muse during this trip, as she approached traveling in a way that allowed the two of us to be completely immersed in it. I also think I fell in love with photography all over again, as taking photos of your loved ones feel a lot more intimate than a client. We would visit villages and she would spark up random conversations with locals, which caused some special moments.
Going back to the motherland was an experience like no other — I really missed my grandparents, and seeing them age was bittersweet. I’m really glad that Mum and I photographed them — those are pictures I’ll treasure forever, just like a love letter.
LUNA: Wow, Crystal, that was really beautiful, and I thank you for being so open with us. Can you tell us more about the photobook you are working on with your mother?
CHEN: The photobook will be a memoir as well as a photography art book. I want it to be mixed media, with Chinese calligraphy, transcripts from conversations with my mother, diary entries, etc. The idea to create a photobook was always there, except it was more for the Alzheimer’s condition, as I wanted to give Mum something to flick through to remember people, places, memories... Then I realized that although she’s like Dory from Finding Nemo: she’s still healthy, she’s still intelligent, and she’s still capable of taking photographs with a lot of encouragement. So instead of making a book for her I thought, why not make a book with her instead? One we could publish? So I bought her old 1960s Hasselblad back, one-way tickets to China, and a ton of film, and took off.
I’m really really excited about some of these photos. I’ve done a lot of dark room prints, and I think that process reflects my work a lot. Musically, too, as I prefer live instruments over programmed. I’m keen to have all the photos be hand-printed scans in the book, but I have to make more money before I do that!
LUNA: Any other upcoming plans for 2024?
CHEN: Yes! I’m working hard on an album at the moment. I shoot my shot and now have a dream of a manager on my team, so it all feels legit now and I’m so grateful! “Love Letter” is going to be a part of a soulful project coming out after the album, but before that I’m having my first headline show and I’m going to release a live recorded project.
LUNA: Question for fun: What is your favorite part about the Lunar New Year?
CHEN: The food and 红包 hong bao (red pocket money bags)!
