Sapporo-born producer and DJ Qrion returns to Last Night On Earth alongside Spencer Brown with their new two-track release MT. DS, landing February 27, 2026. The EP marks Qrion’s latest chapter on Sasha’s imprint following her 2021 debut on the label, and it continues a working relationship with Spencer Brown that has developed through studio sessions and touring crossover.
Both artists arrive here with defined identities: Qrion with a catalog spanning Anjunadeep and Global Underground, and Brown with releases on Bedrock and Higher Ground while running his own imprint, diviine.
In this conversation, Qrion steps away from release mechanics and instead outlines the habits that shape her consistency. She details pre-show rituals, the role of exercise in maintaining clarity, and how community feeds her creative process. The discussion connects directly to the tone of MT. DS, which blends driving low-end structure with melodic restraint and studio discipline. Her reflections clarify how routine, physical preparation, and memory all influence the records that ultimately reach the dancefloor.
Below, Qrion speaks candidly about staying grounded while balancing touring, studio time, and collaboration. As MT. DS prepares to land on Last Night On Earth, this interview offers insight into the mindset behind the release and the systems that sustain it.
Interview With Qrion
Do you have any rituals—pre-show, weekly, seasonal—that help you stay inspired or grounded?
When I’m not on tour, I’m almost always at home, so lately I’ve been really conscious about building routines. On weekdays especially, it’s genuinely hard for me to wake myself up properly.
Even before events, I stick to very simple routines, waking up at the same time, brushing my teeth, drinking warm water. Nothing special, but consistency matters to me. I train at a boxing gym twice a week, which helps me build up my immune system and prepare physically for touring. Before every set, I always take a ginger shot always in one go.
Where do you go (physically or mentally) when you feel your creative energy dipping?
I also spend a lot of time walking outside. Sometimes I listen to music, sometimes I just wander around my neighborhood without any real destination. But exercise is the most important thing for me. When I get endorphins naturally, my mind feels lighter and my creative motivation comes back.
Are there any specific places, people, or environments that consistently recharge your relationship to music?
The people around me are a big source of inspiration.
I feel very lucky to be surrounded by talented friends/people like Spencer Brown, Massane, and Jordin Post. We message each other, hang out in person, and exchange ideas. I also have friends who play in bands or work as music journalists, and I sometimes get advice from them too.
When I go back to my home country, I feel deeply recharged. I love snow, it reminds me of when I was 19, quietly making music in my mom’s house without paying rent, just hiding away in my room.
How do you manage the pressure to constantly discover new music while keeping it meaningful?
As a DJ, I play a lot of other artists’ music, so I naturally check charts and Beatport every day. I also listen to music that’s more mainstage-oriented, even if it’s not exactly my genre. I don’t really care about genres, if something feels good, it’s good. That’s my simple rule. I don’t feel much pressure about it.
What’s your relationship to boredom—and do you ever use it intentionally to spark new ideas?
It can be a bit difficult as a person, I tend to dive straight into something when I find it interesting and completely block out everything else, but once that excitement fades, I lose interest very quickly. When I get bored, I naturally start looking for something else to get absorbed in.
Sometimes that’s LEGO, sometimes it’s something completely unrelated to music.
But whenever I try something new, my creative energy comes back, so I try to trust myself, follow whatever I’m curious about, and then return to my usual music making routine.
Is there a moment you return to in your memory when you need to remember why you do this?
There are two moments that really stand out for me. The first was when I was 18 and went to my first electronic music event, I saw people performing live sets with pads and computers, and I immediately thought, “I want to do this.” The second was when I was 20, playing my first international show in San Francisco.
The people on the floor didn’t know me at all, I wasn’t American, I wasn’t speaking Japanese—but seeing everyone smiling and dancing to the music I made was unforgettable.
What has surprised you about where inspiration actually comes from, versus where you thought it would?
Going to DJ events, concerts, and spending time in nature all inspire me in different ways, but the inspiration for my track Miyanosawa came very unexpectedly on a train.
When I returned to Japan after a long time, I took the subway I had been riding since childhood. Before arriving at Miyanosawa Station, there’s always a conductor change, and the train shakes quite strongly at that moment. When I felt that movement, a flood of memories from growing up in Sapporo suddenly came back to me, and I was genuinely surprised by how vivid it was.
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
