WALK BY by Qwhyet (Interview 2026)

Edition Seventy-Eight – Week Seventy-Eight; Unit 2:

Written by: Mercedes Barreto

Introduction

There is something compelling about electronic music that refuses to simply exist in the background. When atmosphere, rhythm, and sound design are given room to develop, music can become an immersive experience—and Qwhyet is exploring precisely that territory. Launched in 2025 as a collaborative project between J DROONY and Hijkatelyn, Qwhyet brings together outsider house, techno, atmospheric electronica, and emotionally driven songwriting. Rather than being confined to a single genre, the project embraces experimentation and the possibilities that emerge when electronic production meets human emotion.

Qwhyet’s growing catalogue includes releases such as Winter Whimsical, POP IT, Sweat It Out, and the PARAMETERS series. PARAMETERS: TAKE 1, released in March 2026, introduced four extended tracks, while PARAMETERS: TAKE 2 followed in April with five additional pieces, including “RATTLE,” “MATTE,” “BLAQUE,” “STEELE,” and “ROWE.” We caught up with Qwhyet to discuss the project’s origins, the creative relationship between sound and emotion, the freedom of working outside conventional genre boundaries, and what comes next for this intriguing electronic music project.

Short Review

Qwhyet occupies an interesting space within contemporary electronic music. The project combines club-oriented rhythms with atmospheric textures and a more introspective sensibility, creating music that feels designed not only for movement but also for immersion.

The PARAMETERS releases are particularly effective examples of this approach. PARAMETERS: TAKE 1 unfolds across four extended tracks, while PARAMETERS: TAKE 2 expands the concept with five tracks and an even greater sense of exploration. The extended running times give the music space to breathe, allowing repetition, texture, and gradual development to become part of the listening experience. Earlier releases such as Winter Whimsical, POP IT, and Sweat It Out demonstrate that Qwhyet can also work effectively within more immediate single-track formats. Ultimately, Qwhyet’s appeal comes from its willingness to experiment. It is electronic music with atmosphere, personality, and a genuine sense of curiosity about where sound can go next.

Q&A

For readers discovering Qwhyet for the first time, how would you describe the project and its musical identity?

“Hijkatelyn: The music is everything but the name, and the more we produce our sound is only going to grow louder and more profound. But also remain tasteful, sophisticated, and refined. Through the lyrics we choose, and the beats we create, we find opportunities to capture each moment through our specific lens.

J DROONY: We make emotionally driven electronic music that moves between outsider house, techno, atmospheric electronica, and club music without treating those boundaries as fixed. At the center of it is the relationship between Hijkatelyn’s songwriting and vocals and my production, which lets us move from something intimate and melodic into something much stranger and more physical.”

What was the original idea behind creating Qwhyet, and what did you want the project to represent?

“Hijk: Our original idea was to create a project that featured my lyrics and J DROONY’s production. Up to that point everything we had worked on together musically didn’t center around those things, and was more of a solo project. As we have grown in our artistry we started naturally moving in the direction of and working from the perspective of a duo. So we decided to put intention behind it and start releasing music from that standpoint.

JD: It was also kind of a spur of the moment thing, I had been thinking of the name Qwhyet as an idea for about a year. I wanted to start making electronic music because I hadn’t yet explored that space. Up to 2025 I had been making everything from Jazz to Hip-Hop and I wanted to start making electronic music but Hijkatelyn still wanted to write. So I came to her with a track I was working on and Hijkatelyn freestyled some lyrics over it and it ended up becoming our first single “Sweat it Out.” From there the rest is history.”

Qwhyet brings together outsider house, techno, atmospheric electronica, and emotional songwriting. What attracts you to working between different genres?

“Hijk: Working between different genres is kind of our strong suit being that music is kind of therapy for us. We create pretty effortlessly, and working between genres allows us to deliver that message and our ideas as appetizing sounds. Everything we make is from within and is true to how we feel.

JD: We love the freedom of being able to bounce between genres and styles. It allows us to express our creativity in any way that naturally comes to us as opposed to being locked into a specific genre. In the past a lot of the musical work we had done was very genre specific and we found that to be limiting and we just weren’t getting the most out of it. Being able to express whatever we are feeling and the various moods and energies that we want to, allows us to create a world and sound that actually represents us as individuals and as a duo.”

How did the collaboration between J DROONY and Hijkatelyn shape the sound and identity of Qwhyet?

“Hijk: It’s pretty natural to be honest. We tend to discuss the sound and style we want for a project or a single before J DROONY starts producing it so he has a direction when he starts creating, but sometimes he just makes something and we both know that it’s a Qwhyet track. There are other times where I may have made a voice note or I get inspired by something I see or hear and then I take that to J DROONY and let him expand on that idea through his production. Everything we do and have done up to this point has been pretty organic and natural, there is thought behind it, and intention behind it but the fact that we have been working together since 2019 means that we have a pretty streamlined workflow at this point and we have a great understanding of what the other one likes.

JD: At this point it’s all about expressing our identities and identity in the most accurate and true to us way as possible.

Where can we hear more, and why should we?

“You can find all of our music on our Bandcamp, soundcloud, Subvert and streaming. We also have a merch shop, as well as jdroony.com where you can keep up with all things Qwhyet. We have a new version of our track WALK BY, coming out on August 27th, we took the original, which was a Lo-Fi House track and pushed it into a darker more club focused space. J DROONY utilized trance synths and arps and heavy industrial/techno leaning percussion, while still maintaining the emotional core by keeping Hijkatelyn’s vocals at the center of the track. It’s a much more club oriented, dance floor take on the track. In terms of why, we are pushing boundaries and doing something totally different than what is currently out there, as more of Big Hyena comes to light and more of our story unfolds I think people will naturally gravitate to us, we have some big things planned and a new EP coming next year, so keep an eye on us.”