"Be Free, Be You"; I've heard a lot of times people say to me that "in society, you have to fake it to make it". I found myself subscribing to the same ideology, and never truly enjoyed what I wanted to do at the moment at any given place. There was a yearning in my heart that tells me it's okay to be yourself, no matter what people think, and ever since then I told myself that I do not want people to see a facade of me, but truly see me for who I am. I find that I can more freely express myself when I open myself up to others, and I encourage all my listeners to do the same; you'll never expect what is to come in life with all the goodness and authenticity you'll find from others too.
This song was inspired at one of the peak moments of the COVID-19 pandemic when everything seemed to be bleak and all hopes were lost for the restoration of our livelihoods and communities. I wanted to bring a positive message that everything will be alright and turn for the good in its timing. When there seems to be no one caring or understanding your situation, in reality, there will always be someone there, waiting for you, and embracing you through the storms and turbulence.
In this world, we always seek to be happy, and fulfilled and live out the best of our lives. We begin to find ourselves in this loop of constantly searching for happiness and enjoyment through materialism or fame in this world. But we may not realize that we lose out on some simple things in life such as creating moments with our friends, and ultimately what we are purposed to do here on earth. I wish my listeners would also consider this question: "Are you happy with everything you have now?" If not, I believe it is time to discover our lives' true meaning.
This Bossa tune depicts a story of a man wanting to be together with the woman he was in love with, and how badly he wanted her for himself. I decided to try something unusual for my jury/exam with a whole different direction of making music for fun. Hope all my listeners enjoy this tune!
"Daydream" illustrates one of the most exciting stages of life: teenagehood. As teenagers, we all used to daydream a lot, I mean, A LOT. Sometimes, however, we get too caught up with the fantasy in our minds that we lose track and sight of what is in the moment and the reality of life. Eventually, we would have to snap back to reality and find ourselves facing life...
Work Portfolio
Look into some projects I took on the side of my study life!
With the limited 2 weeks I was given by the production team, it proved to be one of the most hectic yet eye-opening experiences for me to foretaste music production in the industry.
One of the biggest projects I took on with a few good friends who are talented in music too. We spent 2 months gathering weekly, from online meetings till midnight, to writing the lyrics on a whiteboard, recording as a band, then finally producing a MV for this song.
Truly this was one of the moments where I saw that regardless of our background, people can be united for a mission and vision with using music as a way to speak to many lives and bless them.
First attempt to write Indonesian/Malay lyrics, asked my Sunway University friend Jesse to help out in the lyrics, playing guitar, backing vocals and mastering.
All the vocal recording was done at a DIY studio! A great experience for us to adapt and overcome in the scenario of no good environment to record in.
Taking on the challenge of rearranging these songs and adding my flair into this tune, it proves to be one instrumental tune that I really enjoyed recording.
After experimenting with the Lo-Fi genre, I decided to make one song as such when a talented rapper-friend of mine reached out to collaborate with me and gave his music for me to have my take on it.
This song was my first song ever composed in my life, looking back it still sits well with me and reminds me of where I started my songwriting journey.