From virtual dorm room jam sesh to The Sound of University of California-Berkeley, “Stay” by Emielyn and Sam Quiñones is finally out and getting the recognition it deserves. Released on October 15, it chronicles the highs and lows of what Sam terms “crushing on irrelevant white boys” during a college party type of scene. Through melancholic harmonies, Sam and Emielyn beautifully highlight the emotional turmoil caused by m*n who send mixed signals for sport, which most others can certainly relate to…myself included.

Shot by Holland Keller

I had the pleasure of chatting with Quiñones about the new single, aka their first-ever Spotify release, and the beginning of an exciting new chapter in music. They walked me through meeting Emielyn, roommate turned bestie, and how they wrote “Stay” back in January but recorded the demo here in Berkeley despite intentions to meet with Emielyn’s producer in LA. While production may have benefitted from an actual studio recording, everything happens for a reason, and the fact that “Stay” was recorded in the Berkeley dorms just makes it that much more impressive. Again, this was Sam’s first stab at releasing music into the universe, whereas Emielyn has been working with a producer for some time now; getting to bring their songwriting to life over the course of the last nine months has really opened the door to future solo endeavors.

That having been said, Sam is a college student before anything else, and there’s no telling what the future may hold. They are currently studying Forestry at Cal, and my number one question was how they managed to juggle both classes and music, as midterm season is notoriously brutal here. To that end, Sam made clear how they are passionate about both, and therefore make time for both no matter the circumstances. If the opportunity to go full steam ahead into music were to ever present itself, then Sam would drop everything in a heartbeat, but in the meantime, they will continue to find balance in class and a makeshift studio. By the same token, “Stay” has also been a really healing experience for Sam, given the way it has made them reflect on their relationship to music in the closet versus out. 

While music has always been a huge part of their life, it never used to be the way Sam unwinds; rather, they actually hated being thrown into the forefront of it all because it was never for themselves, but always for other people. They grew up in a church where their parents highly encouraged them to lead any musical endeavors, but for this reason, music was never really focused on Sam or their identity. Against this background, songwriting has been a huge part of taking a step away from the church and coming out as openly gay. They can now use music to get thoughts about personal growth and identity out in the open, meanwhile turning the whole process on its head. In different terms, they have taken something that was historically forced upon them for the sake of other people (not to mention within the confines of a heteronormative religious institution) and made it their own.

Shot by Holland Keller

Further, “getting to play the guitar not as a man is such a good feeling,” due in large part to the hypermasculine nature of the instrument. We talked a lot about how when you think about the guitar, your brain automatically jumps to a man because of the sheer number of male guitarists in the industry. Learning how to play the guitar as a woman is one thing, but mastering a stereotypically masculine instrument that used to be forced on them as gender-nonconforming, directly challenges the gender binary, together with the traditional notion of masculinity in relation to music. Likewise, I’m glad to call Sam my new favorite enby in music, just in the same way they love and respect the work of Boyish, which is their no.1 nonbinary musical inspiration as of right now.

Looking forward, Sam can’t wait to keep tabs on what kind of playlists their fans and friends are adding “Stay” to. They will continue to bask in the praise from old friends and complete strangers too but also cannot wait to see the response to their first-ever solo, released on the 12th of this month.

Written directly before the house show for “Stay,” it’s called “20” and unpacks their feelings on recently leaving their teenage years behind. Given the nature of “Stay” alone, I think it’s safe to assume that whatever Sam graces us with next will be just as much of a banger, so definitely look out for more tracks by them. Be sure to keep streaming “Stay,” as well as “20,” and stay tuned for a follow-up article on the upcoming musical genius brought to you by none other than Sam Quiñones.

Article by Nico Chodor

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