Mary Sue

I wanted to start with the actual title itself "Voice memos from winter in China." I know that there's a lot of recording on this album of the live shows during this tour. But did you start recording the “studio” songs after you got off that tour or while you were on tour?

I think most of the beats and stuff were made during and even like, right before we got on the train on tour. And we just felt so much energy and I guess nervousness and that was the outlet. That's what came from it. Like most of it was recorded during the tour, like, after our shows in the hotel rooms. I think it's also the fact that for once we're like living off our music. In Singapore, it's like, really, almost like unimaginable to be able to do that. It was that escape that I think just pushed us so much, even though we were like, physically tired.

Why is it impossible in Singapore?

I think Singapore is very results focused. They don't really care much about the art scene and anything they do. There's not much support where people are too busy trying to survive these crazy living costs, I think the creative scene has never really developed a sustainable route. Unless you’re like selling out, to be like, stars.

I can tell on the album itself from the recording, the fan reaction in China was good. What was your response to those shows?

I think it was really shocking, because I think one thing is that they were definitely-- I don't think they would fully comprehend what I was saying. I think they just really tapped into my energy and what we're putting out to the audiences based on vibe, and it was really surprising. Also, it's like, it's probably the biggest crowds we ever played. Based on population size, China's gonna have bigger crowds and the plane for like, 400 packs. In Singapore, max we’ll be playing like 100, and that's like on a brilliant day.

Do you feel like those crowds in China were just more you know, accepting or wanting to have that sort of energy as compared to some of the crowds in Singapore?

I think it's just a population game, like Singapore is a small country. And obviously, in China, the people who are into the more underground or that niche is going to be just bigger in general. And it was a very open crowd. We were touring with like the Japanese funk band and like a Chinese post-punk band, this eclectic mix of like, genres and the audience would just really receive. I just never had that experience in Singapore. I think they expect something more palatable. I don't know. I guess that's the best thing I can say. Mix bills--I don't think they're super common. You feel like they don't fully appreciate it. It's just more of a surface level.

I'll get a 'I like the way you rap.' It's like, 'oh, you sample that's like Kanye West.' It's not nothing deeper than that. They're like 'oh, yeah, like Jay Cole.' [sighs] I'm like, Yeah, great.

[Laughs]

It's definitely improving slowly. I think that's over time. But in China there was like, people would tap in there like ‘oh navy blue!’ And like, Earl Sweatshirt.

Sorry. I'm cackling at the Jay Cole just because--I can hear the disappointment that comes with that.

I would just react and say, yeah...tight. Thanks, thanks. Because I know they don't mean anything like that. They don't. Like, that's the closest reference. They're climatized.

I wanted to ask about your process with sampling. Because obviously, this is a wintry album. But I found a lot of the samples you used in the production and beats sounded very warm and welcoming. And I was wondering your process for finding samples and what songs or snippets of songs kind of hit you and make you start writing?

When I look for a sample, I mean, I'm always on YouTube, listening to music. I don't I don't like vinyl. I’m like ripping off Youtube. I think my other album was a little more darker. But this one was, it was generally a happier album. Just looking for like, solo r&b songs. ‘90s or ‘80s r&b. I think the parts that get me the most are the adlibs when the r&b singer goes off. Like that, whoooooos and the hype and the height of an emotion. I'm always looking for the height. And then I loop the height. My sounds are short. So like, there's no point like building a narrative. I want to remain in that height of emotion.

Did you think about the length ahead of time?

I'm gonna say it's on purpose. But really, I just don't really enjoy writing hooks. And I just like songs short. I think I see my album more as one big song than many small songs and they're just different sections of one big song. I don't like writing more than two verses like, that's, yeah, I think it's too much.  I think Some Rap Songs also was really short, condensed.

The other thing I was thinking about, is you have the song “Stand Up part one,” which is really bouncy, in terms of the beat and really happy but the lyrics are pretty dark, you know, talking about your family, and I was wondering about the dichotomy between bouncy, happy music and you trying to go through some grief in that song.

I think there was dark moments and all the songs--like that happier tone, it's like acceptance, you know, there's like five stages. There's beauty and that comes with going through those tough periods. Like, if I didn't go through those periods, I probably wouldn't be making music at all today, and I wouldn't be able to meet the people I've met, you know, through the tour or whatever. It would be a completely different life. And it's like, sometimes you're you got to be grateful for what happened regardless of if it might hurt sometimes. It’s a thankfulness for whatever happened regardless.

Have you found rap art in general has made it so you can express or explore your emotions easier?

I never made music before like before, I made it when I was in the army. And I was just like, because in Singapore, we have like mandatory military service. There was just not much to do and like, a lot of time to think and write. I wouldn't have made it if I was completely content with everything in my life. So everything comes from that want to explore and want to reflect. I wouldn't really call myself a musician in that way. Like, I don't really make it for the music that really makes me just put the emotion. I'm trying to express it. I don't think I'm very technically gifted.

I wanted to ask a little bit about the sequencing of the album, you were talking earlier about kind of it feeling like one big song. You'll have a couple of songs, and then you'll cut away to a live show. And I was wondering about the choice of that, is that just trying to get the listener into that setting of like, feeling like they're the live show?

I really wanted the audience to feel like the listener is--the songs are the smoke breaks, where I'll be out with the people and talking. And then we go back into the show. The moments that really last, the moment that we're not playing, like, we're interacting with people. And those are the songs. And the shows come in, it mixes well. That's the feel that I wanted.

The last song “smoke break”--your voice sounds is very different. Why did why did you close with that? Is that just sort of kind of wrapping everything up?

It's actually a full live track, right? We only played that song once on the last day of our tour.  But what we did was, we sampled the band, the Japanese Funk band called Bing, bang, boom. They were with us the night before, in like a hotel room, everybody made the beat and put it in the setlist. I feel like the official album ends on "Post Tour Blues" like consoling people. And these are just a live cut that we have to put in just to shout out the friends that we made along the way.

Do you see that as an avenue going forward of kind of sampling bands that you're touring with?

I think we wouldn't have done it if---they were just so friendly. Like they became genuine friends. Yeah, I mean, like, it'd be cool. I'm not very sure how many more tours I'll be getting. That was really a very lucky situation to be in. So yeah, I mean, like, if they're if I'm going on tour, then why not?

I did want to ask about what I feel like is the most different song on the album, which is “Expired Toffee.”

I think for me, I'm Chinese Singaporean but Singaporeans, majority of us, speak English as our first language. Our Chinese is not as sharp and especially mine is not. So like, it was like a challenge to write that song. I had to like sit down and use like the dictionary, translate words and like find things that rhyme. But the track is not sampled at all. It's all produced by Kenzo my guitarist and it was meant to like replicate old Chinese soul songs like back in like ‘60s and ‘70s. They had they always had this like pentatonic scale type thing. And, like, I remember I played it one time in my bedroom and my mom kept saying to me, like, why are you playing oldies? And I thought, like, I think like, that's like our biggest like sense of achievement for the album to achieve that sound. That meant a lot to us.

Do you feel like you're a sentimental or nostalgic person?

Oh, yeah, I think very often. To a fault I feel in some ways.

I got that sense from this album because a lot of it's like, looking back and having like bittersweet feelings.  

I think people like will be thinking like, 'yo, it's just a one week tour.' It's like ‘why is the entire album about a one week tour?’ It's kind of over exaggerated, but I guess we're nostalgic people we'd like to look back and like those things grow bigger as time goes by. One of my band members I was with saying like he's so he's so glad this album came out because like it's an immediate teleportation to where we were. That’s the best thing in the world.