Treading the unknowns of the future, Connie Yoon is composing an articulate balance between her artistry as a ballad-pop musician and her desire to carve out a place for herself in the audio-engineering world.

Connie Yoon, formerly known as CJ Parker, emerged as an artist at fifteen years old, pumping music out of a small studio space in her Pennsylvania high school’s music department. The limited technology and space to create tested Yoon’s adaptability, and she made do with the resources she had access to. But it wasn’t only the ability to express herself through vocal-heavy ballads and piano-centric compositions that drew her to the music world. The intricacies of audio production became equally enticing.

Yoon spent time during Covid isolation reworking and remastering her work as CJ Parker, including her EP, Monochopsis. “I want to be taken seriously as an engineer, too, so I’d like that to come across in my music.” – Yoon

When the inspiration for new music struck, Yoon’s priority shifted away from her remasters and onto her latest project and debut album: threshold. With threshold, Yoon not only recognizes, but welcomes the impact of Covid on her album. Making the shift into isolation, her production process had to be reevaluated to suit the latest regulations. Yoon acknowledges the limitations that she faced as a result of recording vocals at home over quarantine, but credits the environment for the “homey, bedroom pop type feel” that she fell in love with along the way.

“This is the first project I’ve had where I feel good about everything.”
– Connie Yoon

Yoon holds “dance of broken hearts” closely, naming it as one of the songs from threshold she feels the warmest towards. The track sensitively frames the heartbreak of a relationship reaching its ending. It is an emotional ballad grounded by a waltzing instrumental, reminiscent of the traditional, melancholic style perfected by artists like Adele. Lyrically, “dance of broken hearts” is a strong indicator of the intelligence and heartfelt penmanship Yoon pours into each track of the album. Perhaps the most delicate songwriting decision is made when Yoon replaces “this” for “my” in the final repetition of the chorus: “This dance of back and forth can even break my heart of stone.”

Trailing her growing love for music, Yoon began to pursue audio engineering as she entered the Music Industry Program at Drexel University, finding a certain niche within the area of sound design in film and other visual mediums. Since discovering the process of sound design and foley, Yoon has taken on a minor in video production, mentored with an audio post production engineer, and began her latest project– LYNC Sound.

LYNC Sound is an audio production company co-led by Yoon and her classmate at Drexel University, Nathaniel Lemisch. Inspired by the task of developing a senior project, LYNC Sound aims to provide the best quality audio to elevate a film or any piece of visual media. Yoon and Lemisch are working to combat the frequent overlooking of the value of sound in film, and to emphasize the importance of sound as a component that improves the believability of visual media. Together, Yoon and Lemisch are a complementary pair, finding learning experiences in each other as they figure out a joint workflow. Yoon expresses her gratitude for her partnership with Lemisch, commending their collaboration for her ability to remain calm when facing challenging projects.

LYNC Sound’s Philadelphia location has nurtured an environment for Yoon that offers ample opportunity to expand her contact book. Considering Philly’s smallness as a city, she values the ability to develop more personal connections with other members of both the local music and film industries.

“In a bigger city you can have a lot of connections, but some of them just aren’t as viable.” — Connie Yoon

Alongside newfound connections, Philadelphia brings new perspectives. Before making her way to the city, Yoon recalls feeling like a “big fish in a small pond” in her hometown. Moving to Philadelphia was a humbling experience, where all of the “big fish” found themselves in the same room. This sudden realization for Yoon brought on a level of imposter syndrome, but at the same time became a catalyst for her to work even harder.

This year brings college graduation for Yoon, welcoming change once again. Following the recent release of threshold, and with her will to establish a name in the audio engineering world, Yoon’s career journey and LYNC Sound have taken priority in her life and set her work as a musical artist to the side. However, Yoon has managed to craft a certain harmony between her experiences with songwriting and engineering. There is a point where exploring new technologies in quiet Pennsylvania at 15-years-old meets immersing oneself in audio post production professionally at 22. It’s at that point where Connie Yoon begins to make a justified place for herself in the music industry.

Find Connie Yoon at:
Instagram - @cnnieyoon
Spotify - Connie Yoon

Photography by Isa Matisse and Sam Zeller:
@isamatisse, @sammmzellerr

Connie Yoon

Kaleah Lee