Quoin

Quoin is the name under which I release my music. Pronounced "coin," a quoin is an architectural term for the stones that provide stability to walls built from less durable materials—a fitting metaphor for the role music has played in my own life. While I'm a Portland, OR-based musician, I'm also a visual artist and animation filmmaker. In the mid 2000s, I wrote music and toured throughout the United States as one half of the psych-folk duo 2% Majesty. Then, after a five-year hiatus from songwriting—and five years of sobriety—I found myself swept into an unexpected burst of creativity. Between January and February of 2026, I wrote thirteen songs in two months. Armed with a nylon-string guitar, I followed wherever the songs led: telepathic connections, flow states, city summers, moments of wonder, reflection, and transformation. The experience surprised me as much as anyone. The music draws inspiration from the sunlit folk and pop sounds of the 1960s and 1970s, infused with a touch of garage-rock energy. I played every instrument on the record and produced it myself, with mastering by T.W. Walsh, whose work includes projects with Sufjan Stevens, Foxygen, The Shins, and Father John Misty. Layering harpsichord, organ, electric guitar, drums, tambourine, and analog synthesizers around vocal harmonies and nylon-string guitar, I set out to create songs that feel both immediate and emotionally resonant. -Ryan Sullivan