More than 600 hours of work went into Au Revoir, my debut studio album. I started it in February 2026. By the time it was finished, I had scrapped a pile of songs, worked with people around the world, and started moving past the sound I had become stuck in.
The finished album has 13 tracks and runs for 27 minutes and 48 seconds. Electropop and PluggnB are the closest genre labels I can give it, but I was not trying to follow either one while making it. Au Revoir is where I said goodbye to my adolescent years and gave myself permission to make something new.
Why I called the album Au Revoir
The words au revoir came into my head one day, and I looked up their meaning. According to Google, it is the most common way to say "goodbye" in French and literally translates to "until we see each other again."
That meaning fit what I was making. The album is a farewell to my adolescent years, but the title does not feel completely final. "Until we see each other again" leaves room for whatever comes next.
It is also my goodbye to the sounds I made before this. I had felt stuck for a while, and I wanted to make the more mature music I had always imagined myself making. Calling Au Revoir my debut is deliberate. I have released music before, but this album feels like the point where I can finally move forward and make what I want.
I first planned to release Au Revoir on July 13, 2026, my birthday. Then I realized July 13 was not a Friday, so I moved the release to July 17.
Making my first studio album
I began working on Au Revoir around February 2026, but I really locked in during May when I announced and released Ikaw as the lead single.
There were a lot of scrapped tracks. Most of them will probably never surface, which is part of making an album, I guess. I kept working until the 13 songs felt like they belonged together.
Even though other producers contributed to several tracks, I still consider Au Revoir self-produced. I handled most of the production and put more than 600 hours into the full album. Hearing it become a complete 27-minute record after that much time was different from finishing another single.
Really, it is more like an album full of singles than one completely cohesive album. That is simply how the songs came together.
What inspired Au Revoir?
People ask what inspired the album and what genre it is. I honestly cannot give a clean answer to either question.
I did not have other music playing in the background while I produced these songs or wrote their lyrics. Most of the ideas just came into my head, which is how a lot of my music starts. The finished album moves through Electropop and PluggnB, but neither genre was a blueprint. I made each track by following the idea I had at the time.
An album made across six countries
One of my favorite parts of making Au Revoir was working with people around the world. The album includes contributions from six countries, including artists and producers in Japan, Korea, and Germany.
I produced tracks with some of my favorite frequent collaborators: Beomical, Bian Lee, and yunowav.
I also finally worked with YungLex on Love Live! Sunshine!!. We have been mutuals online since 2020, back when I was listening to the meme, internet, and anime rap wave. Having him on my debut album felt like bringing a piece of that time into the project I am making now.
The artwork and the finished album
The Au Revoir artwork is original work by kan1360, made under my creative direction. The cover has a spring-like feeling and centers on a Victorian maid-inspired character. That character became an important part of how I picture the album.
Au Revoir closes one period of my life. After the scrapped songs, long sessions, and collaborations across time zones, I can finally leave that period behind and start making whatever comes next.
Listen to Au Revoir on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, or your preferred platform, then view the full album credits and tracklist.