Scott Quinn Interview

You may not know of Scott Quinn, but as one of the writers who collaborated with BTS on the track A Brand New Day from the BTSWORLD OST we couldn't pass up the chance to have a chat with him and talk about how a chance tweet brought up an opportunity to work with BTS. Join us as we go behind the scenes and find out how this project came about.

By 
Alisa Lyakhovaya

Hello Scott! Thank you so much for joining me for this interview. I’m so glad we can finally chat all about this wonderful collaboration! 

Thank you for asking me! :)

So, shall be we begin? Could you please introduce yourself to our audience that might be unfamiliar with your work, prior to the release of ‘A Brand New Day’? 

I’m Scott Quinn and I’m a Yorkshire born - London based Artist and Songwriter. I’ve been releasing music for the past 4 years as a solo artist and be writing songs for a bunch of other people in that time too.

How did the collaboration with BTS come about? How come so many great minds ended up coming together on this project? 

This track came together over about 2-3 years from when RM shared one of my own songs on twitter completely out of the blue. I remember the moment vividly, I was walking around the V&A museum in London when all of a sudden my phone was buzzing like crazy and I couldn’t figure out why. It was then that I first witnessed the incredible love and loyalty of ARMY. I’ll be honest, I didn’t know who BTS were at that point and the whole thing took me by complete surprise. I received THOUSANDS of messages and I took a lot of time (and thumb power) to reply to as many as possible as I’ve always felt that if someone takes time out of their day to message you, you should return the favour.

Anyways, I chatted on DM to BTS for a little while and we discussed getting into the studio together but then the boys BLEW UP, and practically took over the world so they got a bit busy haha. 

It was a pleasant surprise to receive a demo in my inbox over a year later from Mura Masa’s team asking me to write a song for BTS! When I got the track I immediately went into my bedroom, hit record on my voice notes app and played the demo for the first time, sketching out a rough melody and any ideas that came to mind. The melodies I sung on that very first play through are the melodies that became ‘A Brand New Day’.

Did you need to pitch any of your previous work before signing up for the project?

No I just wrote to the demo and sent it off! Having an existing connection with BTS helped a little when it came to talking to the Bighit team but ultimately I think the song sold itself. 

Did you know that Zara Larsson would be one of the vocalists on the song?

When I first wrote the song I had no idea. I originally thought it was just going to be a Mura Masa x BTS song. It was a few months later when I heard whispers that Zara had recorded a vocal demo and that the song was possibly going to be a J-Hope single but then it went quiet and plans got pushed back. 

I actually thought the song wasn’t going to be released once everything went a bit quiet, so you can imagine how excited I was to hear only a few months ago that the song is going ahead and that it's a BTS x Zara Larsson collab!

Have you worked with Mura Masa before or was it a first for all of you guys?

I haven’t with Mura Masa before no! I love his music though and would love to work with him again. 

Did you have an idea of where you wanted the song to go, or did you just let it happen organically?

I have learnt to just trust my gut instinct and let the melodies flow naturally. The first scratch recording I made in my bedroom was the final melody, which is ace.

Did you get a chance to work together in person or has it all been long-distance?

The whole process was done long distance and from all around the world! Which is amazing. Mura produced the track in his studio, I wrote the song in my bedroom then Zara worked on some of the lyrics with another writer Max Wolfgang. BTS worked with their team in S.Korea and then it all got stitched together into the track we hear now. 

In your opinion, does working long-distance affect the level of authenticity that artists/creative minds involved are trying to deliver?

I usually like to be in the room with the artist so we can talk about what they’re feeling at that moment or things that are going on in their life that they want to write about. It would have been so difficult to organise that with everyone involved in this track, everyone was just so busy and flying all over the world haha. The whole process for ABND was so easy though and I think the song only improved as it was passed around!

How much in the first draft is different from the final version? Has the song changed conceptually after you submitted it to BTS and BigHit?

As soon as I heard the flute sound on Mura Masa’s original demo and knowing that BTS were becoming more and more prominent in the west, I knew I wanted to explore some of S. Korea's heritage and retain some of that in the song. The original concept of the song was based around the Daegeum* and I was originally hoping for that to be the final lyric as it would have been cool to celebrate Korea's culture in a pop setting. However the final lyric is beautiful and conveys such a positive message which is something that BTS does so well. 

I recorded the draft version with backing vocals and some sample FX that actually ended up in the final version! 

Fun fact: If you listen carefully you can actually hear one of my vocal samples in there that still says “Like a Daegeum”. Pretty cool to have my vocals along side BTS and Zara Larsson!

Were there certain lyrics you loved that didn't make it into the final draft of the track?

I actually love all of the changes that were made. Some of my lyrics were kept and even direct translated into Korean which was cool. The new concept and lyrics had a much more universal and positive message which I love. 

Did you know much about BTS World when you signed up for this collaboration and that ‘A Brand New Day’ would be one of the most impressive collaborations BTS have ever done? 

I had no idea about BTS World when I wrote the song, which is funny because it works so well with the game. I loved all of the OST releases but I’m honoured that you think ABND is one of the most impressive. I actually downloaded the game when it first came out and find it to hard to keep the boys happy so gave up! Haha. I’m sure they’re easy to manage in real life.

When you start writing a song, do you already have a general idea of the structure you are going for? Or does it change a lot during the writing and production process? 

I’ve been writing songs for a while now and I think the more you do it the stronger your instinct takes over, so the whole process felt quite intuitive for me. As I said, the first scratch recording I did outlined the whole song in the first go which felt great and then it was just about tweaking lyrics/melodies in order to help it flow better. I may share that demo online at some point, it would be ace for people to hear how it all started.

Certain articles refer to you as a musical prodigy. How far do you agree with that and how much does it affect your working process? 

I haven’t seen any articles saying that but if you find any please send them to my mum, she’ll be well chuffed! Haha

Were you already familiar with BTS’ music? Did you have an idea of which member would be suited to a particular part of the song?

After RM shared my music on twitter I went into full BTS mode and listened to everything they had ever released. They release music in so many different styles and genres which is something I love about them. I didn’t have any particular members in mind for any particular parts.

Having written songs for Western artists before, was there anything about working along with BTS and the BigHit producers that stood out to you the most?

BigHit are a great team and super supportive. We email a lot and exchange demos regularly and the whole process for this release was super easy. I actually went to the BigHit offices in Seoul when I was out there writing last year. it was great to see where the magic happens!

Have you noticed a shift in the way foreign artists, that do not sing in English, are perceived by the western audience? Do you think the music industry has become more accepting of that?

100%. Artists like BTS and Rosalia are producing amazing music and people can connect with it even if they can’t understand the language. I think it also adds a certain element of discovery to the whole process too. Searching for lyric translations and guessing what the song is about purely based on the feel of it rather than directly from the lyrics. Music is a universal language and its breaking down barriers now more than ever.

How far do you agree that embracing and encouraging multicultural collaborations is absolutely essential in today’s cosmopolitan society?

I’m all for it. I’ve always had a personal mantra of 'Collaboration over competition’. The world is in trouble right now and we need to work together to save it. Music can help do that, I have no doubt.

BTS Army are known for being very protective of their favourite artists. How has the response been so far? Was there anything you were particularly surprised with?

BTS ARMY are some of the most passionate and loving people I have ever encountered online. Never before have I seen a reaction like it. So many beautiful and supportive messages. 

Hearing how a song helps or affects a person always makes me emotional; whether it's a song I’ve written for someone else or one of my own songs, it's so powerful to hear how something I have made has made an impact on someone's life. A Brand New Day is such an uplifting song and it was amazing to see the #abrandnewdaychallenge with people  from all around the world from all different background posting videos of them dancing to the song. So many smiles and a lot of love! I love Army.

Many thanks Scott for taking time out to answer our questions. We look forward to hearing some more great songs from you.


*According to Korean legend, there was a small mountain island in the middle of the East Sea during the Silla Dynasty. The mountain was shaped like the head of a turtle with a bamboo reed growing on top. This reed would divide into two bamboo reeds during the day and combine back into one bamboo reed at night. When the king heard this strange story and went to the mountain to see this, he met a dragon. The king asked the dragon to explain the strange phenomenon. The dragon told him since there was a clapping sound after the two reeds combined at night, it would bring him good fortune to use the sound in governing the world. So, the king cut down the bamboo and made it into a flute, which he called the Jeosdae. It was considered a gift from god with magical powers. When played, the enemy would retreat; the sky would clear up in a flood; and rain would relieve the drought. The Jeosdae came to be also called the Daegeum, and was touted as a Manpasikjeok (a vanquisher of so many troubles) or an instrument of peace.