A pleasant surprise

Just when I was feeling stressed out and tired from working on my album, a friend of mine placed this gift on my table in the morning. Last week when we met for a workout session, she found me lost deep in thought, and asked what was on my mind. I told her about my progress for my album, and how I was overwhelmed by the number of things to do to cross that finish line. As with many musicians, the path can be long, lonely and tiring, so I was really very touched when she encouraged me with this pleasant surprise. I may not be the best writer in Singapore, but at that moment, I was certainly a super happy one.

Thanks Eileen.

Sunset at Harborfront

Busy as we all may be, it only takes a moment to raise our heads to appreciate what we already have.
Such as this beautiful sunset.

For those of us who leave office only when it's dark, when was the last time you saw the sun set?

Sunset at Harborfront

COMPASS 2014

The annual dinner & gathering for writers is here again!

Every year, COMPASS is a night to catch up with fellow writers and friends, which is really fun. I remember one year when I attended with my lyricist and good friend Alex, we both watched an elderly man in his eighties go up on stage to receive his lifetime achievement award. He started his thank you speech by saying, "When I was young, I loved music." I didn't know who he was, but it was at that instance that I immediately turned to Alex and said, "Maybe next time when we are in our eighties we could also go up on stage and receive our first music award and say the same thing too - when I was young, I loved music." Hahahahaha..

Over time, that has become a vague dream of mine. Why do I write songs? Not to be famous or rich, but basically to convey certain messages through my songs and hopefully connect with other people. But once in a while, I would think it would be really cool if I were in my eighties, and my grandchildren would say, "Wow, ah ma so cool, got her own music album." Who cares how many copies did that album sell. Haha. I have fifty years to work towards that goal.

Rehearsing at library@esplanade

As much as I would like to practice my singing more, it's always a challenge to find a suitable venue for rehearsals, for I wouldn't want to be a nuisance to my neighbors with my croaking :p
Thank goodness for library@esplanade. For just $6.50 an hour, you can book the silent studio for jamming. You could also use the piano practice room for rehearsals. Not only the location is convenient, you can also enjoy the beautiful view through the window.
It's really one of my favorite places to hang out.

Taken from the piano practice room at library@esplanade

Will be heading to KL again soon for the vocal recording of Broken Promise <给不起的承诺>. Better buck up.

Vocal recording and photo shoot in KL

Was in KL for the past few days to record the song Brave Tears <勇敢的泪>, which is also the title of my new EP. Was pretty nervous, since it was my first time stepping into a studio of this size.  Struggled quite a bit during the recording too. I must admit, I definitely prefer writing to singing. But because these are songs that that are quite close to heart, and due to its theme and lyrics, it would be quite difficult to sell them to another artist anyway. The conclusion? Sing myself lor. Haha.. if not they would never see the light of day, and remain merely as tunes either in my mind or stored silently in my hard disk.

Other than recording, I also took the opportunity to conduct a photo shoot in KL. Thanks to a good friend Naomi, an award winning photographer in Malaysia, who managed to make me look nicer in pictures. Hahahaha… It was a typical hot day in KL, and I remember distinctly how it felt melting in my makeup when we spotted a random bush of bougainvillea by the road and decided to park by the side of the road and use that bush as my photo backdrop. After we were done at the bush, we proceeded to the beach. It was a very interesting place. I never knew that KL had such a beach. Dried, half-rotten tree branches and roots everywhere crawling towards the sky. Let’s just say I was glad my photo shoot there was done during the day. It would have probably been rather creepy at night. But that setting was perfect for the album. There was something about those weather beaten thirsty trees that reflected the brittle strength and resistance against the odds. It may look like a despairing situation, but we all can have hope, can’t we? Coz without hope, we would have nothing.

Attending Music Matters Academy 2014

Throughout the entire 2014 Music Matters conference, one event that was quite memorable was the Music Matters Academy exclusively for SGMUSO members. Some on the panel noted that there was an increasing support for local musicians and bands. As Sara Wee from 53A claimed, “Now we have people asking us to sing covers of Sam Willows or Charlie Lim – that never happened five years ago!”

Original photo and Instagram post by Cosmic Armchair

Original photo and Instagram post by Cosmic Armchair

It’s definitely very encouraging to know. I’ve been writing for my new album for some time now, and I’ve always had a nagging feeling at the back of my head which stems mainly from my own insecurities – will anyone be willing to listen to my tunes? So attending the talk gave me a bit of confidence. I just have to ensure that I do the best I can. Whatever the response after that is out of my hands, but at least I’ll have no regrets.

During the session, I also got to meet many new friends, including Jesse from The Bonez and his manager Mr Cozy. As it turned out, it was through Mr Cozy that I came to know of Yumemi Ikeda, whom I collaborated with on the song, <Mother>, and was eventually included in my new EP. Come to think of it, it’s pretty amazing how things turned out. I am glad that I attended the Music Matters Academy event that early Saturday morning.

From right: Ben (Cosmic Armchair), Jesse (The Bonez), and me. Original photo and Instagram post by Ben.