Filed under: album
bevlyn April 18th, 2008
Ok here goes my first post regarding making of my album. Let’s talk about song choices.
The idea of doing an album splashed onto my head in Dec 2006, but
choosing the songs, believe it or not, was such an arduous and
head-breaking process that it lasted right up to March 07 when I had to
finally go into studio - I was still trying to finish up the lyrics of “When I’m 80” then. And the first song that went for recording was, also in March.:)
Concern #1: With such tight budget that allowed
only 5-6 songs, I was really nit-picking when it came to song-choosing.
Would this song represent Bevlyn? Would this song be commercial, just
enough, to attract the mass’ attention?
I think it is a very delicate balance when you were to weigh between
commercialism and self-expression. Honestly, even though I have my
moments of wanting a song to be in a particular fashion and style just
because I LIKE, I will not spend a couple of
thousands on a song unless I am at least fairly confident of a small
group of people who might possibly be as mad as me. Take for instance, Play with me.
This is such a dark and personal song, I didn’t know if people would
find it a weird one sticking out from the rest, or worse, a regularly
skipped-over song when people play down the list. I decided to take a
gamble, and luckily for me, the feedback I’ve been gathering is that Play with me
is one of the songs they take to the most in the whole album. So…it’s
really a gamble (I am counting my blessings I stop-short at Play with me
and didn’t put more over-the-top Bevlyn-indulgent songs). You just have
to trust your instincts, or …yah, be mentally prepared to waste money.
Concern #2: Should I have an all-English or all-Mandarin album of songs? Most people I’ve come across advised me to do a pure one,
and I don’t blame them. I understand that the market doesn’t have much
time and attention for someone whose identity is not strong (R&B
dudes like Gary Cao Ge or Fang Da Tong; or Ballad queens like Joi Chua
or Liang Jing Ru; or Rock-infused bands like FIR or 信乐团; or Jazz
personas like Olivia or Lisa Ono), and there may even exist the problem
of where to place my album in a record store when it’s out - does it
lay under the Chinese or English or Jazz section? (Just for the record
- I eventually chose to have songs of 3 languages because it’s supposed
to be a portfolio for what I can do beyond a singer-songwriter (yes I’m
using this as an excuse so I can explain my indulgence in a nice way),
and I don’t have the problem of where to place my album in the record
store because they’re simply at the new albums section, voila!)
The reason why I was facing so much internal conflicts (after
hearing so much from the external), is because all of the above are really just common sense. So which piece of common sense should I choose to accept if two are conflicting? Therefore, perhaps the most sensible thing I can hence say is: Believe in yourself and just go for it.
Because I think…when you lay something out there – anything -
there’s bound to be like and dislike from people who come across it.
Talk and opinion will always exist. What’s most important is your core, your own decision after you’ve weighed your likes, analysis of market sensitivity and objectives of doing this album.
So choose only songs that can speak for you without you opening your mouth.
This is especially so, if you are the one footing the bill - You must feel shiok.
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