In the 10 years since the release of Misi Ke’s debut album, Play, the singer-songwriter’s acoustic guitar-driven style has evolved and expanded with each successive release. From the electronic and alt-pop elements that energise her folk-inflected fundamentals, to her more recent collaboration with Japanese experimental collective Fake Creators, the Taipei-based artist remains fascinated with sounds. On her fourth album, BE GOOD, Ke goes big, with brass, strings and a chorus contributing to a sonic expansiveness in the service of songs that remain accessible and intimate. “This album is a return to a childlike state,” she tells Apple Music. “When I feel the wind with my eyes closed, stand quietly beside someone or simply feel everything while alive, I want to inspire feelings of longing or spiritual sustenance in the audience by any means possible.” The 10 tracks are all sourced from true stories: The title track is inspired by the perfunctory advice one gives to a child, while the big, brassy “Next Chapter” had its beginnings in an epiphany on a Vienna street. With warm, clear vocals, Ke captures a wide emotional spectrum, from feisty optimism to regret and melancholy, aided by Paige Su on the delicate duet “Empty Heart” and by TroutFresh on “Sad Face”, where the unvarnished live feel reflects the raw yearning of the lyrics. “I start from and then draw from memories.” Ke says. “I long to get back to the purest feeling of music.” Below, Ke gives Apple Music a glimpse into how the album came to be. How did you arrive at the expansive sonic style of this album? “My first exposure to music came from teaching myself acoustic guitar using online materials. My initial obsession with that sound has never changed—I still think in six strings when writing and arranging. For BE GOOD, in addition to the usual acoustic and electric guitars, electric bass, drums and synths, I’ve added instruments such as the trumpet (for the first time), percussion bells, live piano, strings and harp. It was an absolute dream having them in the studio. Maybe it’s because I grew up listening to Philharmonic Radio Taipei and going to chamber concerts, but there’s something deeply appealing to me about the gorgeous sound of an instrument. As I looked for instruments to fit the range I had in mind, it was a pleasure to find musicians capable of recording together, and to hear a melody I wrote in MIDI on the computer come to life in their hands. That pure sound—and the spiritual abundance I felt as I listened—is what I hope to bring to the audience.” As a producer, what’s on your mind when designing the album’s sound? “We were pressing vinyl for this album, so we put a lot of effort into mixing and engineering to enhance the listening experience. In particular, we brought out the 100–200 Hz range, since that’s apparently the body’s emotional frequency for courage. But it’s more than that—sounds in that range are what you make involuntarily when you’re at your most relaxed, with your eyes closed and mouth shut. Basically, bass is the most calming range. I hope that, whether people are out walking or taking public transport, they can listen to music unbothered by outside interference. I want them to feel the music resonate within their bodies and find their innate inner strength through it. That’s what I’m trying to achieve.” What was it like working with a large chorus on “Keep Going”? “This song was made with fan participation. Once the music and lyrics were in place, I arranged vocal parts for 32 fans. To divide up the sections, I asked each person to sing something—anything from a nursery rhyme to a favourite tune. From their sound it was easy to determine a part and position. The fun thing was that whether they could sing well or not, they picked up this simple, straightforward song right away. I asked Ken Wu to join the recording session with all the fans. Everyone lined up in the studio and followed the flow of the music and each other’s breathing. You can tell it’s not a professional chorus but when they all sing together, there’s real emotional tension. And when they put their heart into ‘Keep Going’, that genuine feeling is particularly moving.” How is a fairy tale of a song like “Bird Talk” based on a true story? “It really is based on my own life. A few years ago, I had the experience of my soul leaving my body—my heart may even have stopped momentarily before starting again—and I wanted to turn that ordeal into a song. But I couldn’t make it too obvious, so the lyrics to ‘Bird Talk’ are metaphorical. It’s about a pigeon and an eel—and the story of their love and enmity is told in a film script that happens to dovetail with my own lived experience. There’s a version of the song on the album and a version that serves as the theme song to the feature film Eel from director Chu Chun-Teng—which by the way I also star in.” Has your approach to writing lyrics evolved in the decade since your debut album? “In my early work, I’d adopt a relatively philosophical, self-questioning attitude to writing and singing lyrics. Now, it’s more like setting down something from the heart, writing words we all want to say but cannot, like a longing or declaration. I’m always looking for mental space and freedom, and to let myself accept the good and bad of the status quo. So most of my songs draw inspiration from real life. Even if life is mired in the mud, the act of creation ultimately lets it breathe again.”