We caught up with Inch Chua, who’s back from her travels for a few weeks before heading back to Los Angeles in January. (Portions of this interview were edited for content. But it did not affect the results in any way.)
So what has happened since the writing and recording of Wallflower and now the new songs?
The last album was released in Aug 2010 and it has been pretty good so far. On hindsight, looking back at the album, as an artiste, there are a lot of thing I wish I could have done better. You just nitpick. And it’s sort of preparing myself to write the new album. So over the last few months, other than big projects like being the spokesperson for NEA Eco Music Challenge, the 313@Somerset event, and all that, I’ve been trying to write, but for some reason, I was uninspired. I was having a huge writer’s block because the Wallflower album was a kind of coming of age album, very introspective, I wasn’t really sure, first time doing an LP, and just getting my footing. So a lot of the year, it’s been a lot of soul-searching, on what I really want to convey, what it means to be an artiste. And along that journey, a lot of opportunities have opened up for me in the United States. And I was faced with the conundrum of whether I should release an album here in Singapore or whether I should record the album in the States and try to fully understand the culture of being a musician in another foreign country.
Of course, we have to ask your thoughts about that Facebook posting earlier this year. And Olivia Ong wrote you to go to Taiwan. Did you take up her offer?
She’s really nice, but I haven’t really had the chance to follow-up with her. It was an informal invitation, but I was like, “Whoa, did Olivia Ong just invite me to go to Taiwan?” But I already had plans. And I would really like to go up there, but she’s pretty busy as well. But I would definitely love to meet up with her.
Were you surprised how that Facebook post got around?
It was really a private posting on my Facebook. But it got out because I had a lot of friends asking me whether they could forward that post out. And since they were friends who asked so I was like, “okay”. And then one thing led to another and like, Mr Brown posted it up, and The Online Citizen posted it out. And it suddenly seemed like an anti-Singapore post and that was never my intention. I think it doesn’t really matter what the public really felt, because when it appears on channels like TOC, there’s a very political slant to it and when it has headlines like “Singaporean artiste disses Singapore”, that’s like, wow, you’re really asking for reactions. But none of that was in the posting that I wrote.
(Photo by Jason Ho)
But what comforted me about that post was that a lot of musicians came to me and said that the post struck a chord with them. And I think that’s important. Those who understood what I was talking about, I didn’t need to explain to them. But a lot of other people didn’t understand, and the point of that post really wasn’t so much to say, I’m leaving!” but about how the inferiority complex in Singapore can be quite bad. And not just in the music scene, but across other industries too, if you think about it. It was a very interesting week. I think I wasn’t tired of the industry, I’m not. I love the community here. I’m very proud that the local music community is very tight-knit, with people like Leonard (Soosay) and Daniel (Sassoon) who really believe in the scene. Patrick Chng, who’s been figting for the secen for a very long time. It was a personal decision that I felt I needed to explore and equip myself with more knowledge about how the music industry really worked on a global stage.
You headed out West. Why LA?
Simply because I was presented with opportunities. I felt LA was interesting, it’s a really good idea for a lot of musicians, because that’s where movies are made as well, and the music industry is there too, so music placement in movies is a lot easier. So strategically it made more sense. Plus, music and movies go hand-in-hand. And when you go there, throw a rock and you’ll hit someone creative or in the entertainment industry in some form. Practically everyone. It’d be weird if you asked someone, what do you do, and he said, I’m a plumber, and that’s it. It’s more like, I’m a plumber who models. It’s such an interesting city, and it’s an immigrant city as well, a lot of people you meet come from somewhere else.
You also took part in Kollaboration 11. What was that like?
It’s a huge movement that goes across the United States. Their tagline is empowerment through entertainment. And it really tries to empower a lot of the Asian community, especially the arts and media.
(Inch at Kollaboration 11. Photo by Ezekiel Lux for Kollaboration)
I didn’t really feel like it was a competition, I was more like, “I’m playing at the Nokia Theater!” You go backstage and you see all the portraits of people who’ve played there, like the Foos played here, John Mayer, Beyonce, and you’re like whoa! And there’s a dressing room with your name on it! Haha! That place is such an establishment, it’s sacred to me, so it was cool to play on that stage. And it didn’t feel like a competition because the other contestants were such cool people. You just chill with them backstage and I was the new girl there. I was a intimidated at first, like, am I good enough to be here, and you start to second-guess yourself, but then you meet these cool artistes, people who have been there for a while, and it’s pretty cool to just hang out with them and I made some good friends. It was nice to be connected to the community there as well. That was important for me as well.
So what lessons have you gleaned from being overseas? I mean, you were at SXSW, you’ve played in Malaysia, Philippines, LA…
SXSW was great, but I kind of knew what to expect because there was Leonard Soosay with me, and he’d been there a couple of times before. But this time round, I think I learned more about how the industry really worked. It’s an actual industry there. You know, planning a new album, and like over here, usually it’s one person who’s the sound engineer and producer, but over there it’s completely different. I managed to sit in for a lot of sessions at this studio called Threshold and it was nice to observe and learn how these pros or other musicians did it – er, I can’t say who – but it was cool to learn a lot. I made really good friends with sound engineers and producers there and to see how a label is really run, how things get down. What you read on the Internet is really second-hand news. When you’re there and you see what it’s really like – because it’s not doing well now, it’s probably the worst the music industry’s ever been in – you 
can see how a lot of labels and studios are trying to cope with it and what the majors are doing. It really makes you realise that as an indie artiste you have a lot of control over what you do. I’ve met those who were signed by majors and they were all shelved, and the artistes who are doing well and making money are only on the independent labels. It’s really interesting. Those who are making constant money or monetizing what they do are the Internet people, they’re doing really well. New media has impacted the music industry so much that the majors are still trying to catch up. And it’s really interesting. Studios have come up with their own label arm – it makes sense, really – there is no hierarchy any more, the indie artiste can be on top of the food chain. And it feels like music is going back to an organic form. And it forces you learn everything – from the business side to making the music to the production side of things. It’s a steep learning curve for me right now, but it’s very rewarding, because you don’t feel like you’re limiting your knowledge or like, I can only do this one thing. If you know what you want, you have even more control over what you do. I don’t know how much I’ve grown, but I’m still learning. Actually, it’s quite scary, because the more you know, the more you realise there’s much more you don’t know. It’s a humbling process.
I’m going to put you on the spot. Some people have complained that the audiences here don’t support local acts because of their unresponsiveness. Do you agree?
I usually assume the audience is generally smarter than you… if you’re faking it, they can tell. But this comes from feedback from foreign musicians who’ve come here: It’s just the way they are. They’ll clap at the end of the songs, and sometimes you don’t know if they like you or not, but at the end of the show, they’ll say, “That was great”. They’re not like a crazy crowd, but they know what they like. It’s just that they way they express it is different to crowds overseas. The first time I played overseas was in Malaysia and I was surprised at the fact that people actually screamed. And in mid-song. I was like, “People do that?” Subsequently, you realise it’s just a cultural thing.
(Inch Chua rockin' it with Allura at their last gig before their hiatus)
Let’s talk about the new material. How far into it are you?
More than half of the album is written. I want this album to be different, because I kind of feel… I mean, the last album I did was really indie, I recorded it in my house and all that, but the next album I’m going to record it in the studio, and I’d like the quality to be of international standards. So I’ll have producers to help out with all the songs,
The album is called The Colour Wheel and it’s based on a quote by Albert Einstein – “For evil to prevail, good men need to do nothing”. That’s like the theme of the album, and it can relate to everyday life. It’s definitely going be a bigger sounding album. I’m kind of bored by that singer-songwriter with acoustic guitar thing! Haha! I’m very easily bored! I want to go back to playing rock music! I miss rock music so much! I want to go onstage and rock out! This album is going have a little more rude-sounding guitars, more gnarly sounding, more out-of-the-box. I want to push myself this time. I’m trying to bring sessionists up too. Hopefully, it’ll all pan out.
You’ve got gigs at the Pigeonhole, and Celebrate 2012 at Marina Bay. But I would say the big gig, really, is your birthday gig at the Goodman Arts Centre. What can we expect there?
It’s the Metric System and three backup singers. I want to unveil the new songs, too. And maybe a couple of Christmas songs, because it’s around the corner. And it’s also my birthday. I wouldn’t want to spend my birthday any other way, it’s going to be so fun. It’s going to be super! I really love playing with The Metric System, they guys very creative and easy to work with. You give them a rough idea and they’re really good at filling up the blanks without stepping on anyone’s toes.
This year saw quite a lot of releases by local musos. Do you think this era could really be the turning point for local music?
It’s a good thing that a lot of releases are coming out. Bad for your email box maybe, but for the scene. That’s the way it should be. If the population of musicians goes up, it would help the vibrancy. Then there would no such thing as too little music. Of course, for every one good band you find, you probably have to sieve through a few no-so-good bands, but we need more of the general population of musicians to go up, and then the encouragement for bands to get better as well. Besides growth and time itself, it’s also musicians venturing to get opportunities. It’s not so much the desire to get famous overseas, but the desire to equip yourself with knowledge of what the industry can offer you. It might be cheesy to say “uniquely Singapore”, but I really sincerely believe that Singaporean musicians have something to offer to the global market. We’re like the gateway to Asia, and we absorb all the cultures in Asia, our blend of music is really interesting in a contemporary sense. So when we go to the States, we have an edge, really, something different from the other artistes.
Really?
You’ll be surprised, but because you’re not from the States, people actually listen to you more. They are more interested. It’s a plus point, to be from somewhere else. You get a lot of imports in the States, now. A lot of artistes in the States are from overseas. So it’s a good thing, this globalization that’s happening to music. It’s quite simple: If you do good music, you will get the exposure.
So what’s up for 2012?
The new album, that’s a big thing. I’ve been invited to SXSW again. And to the Canadian Music Festival. So that’s two things in much. I’ve also been asked to take part in a musical, a Kuo Pao Kun play in June. Although June and July are good months to be in the States, because of all the festivals, I really want to do this because I have so much respect for Kuo Pao Kun. It’s such an honour to be part of this. Right now, I’m trying to organise everything.
Inch Chua performs Dec 13, 8pm, at The Pigeonhole; and on Dec 22 at the Black Box @ Goodman Arts Centre, 8pm, tickets at S$18, from www.apesnap.com/event/xxiii. Celebrate 2012 happens Dec 31, 8pm, at The Float @ Marina Bay. Tickets at S$25 from Sistic.
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