M'sian Bakat List #5: This Singer From Sabah Writes Songs Based On Facebook Comments
Have you heard of a song about pizza?
By John Lim — 12 May 2016, 05:33 PM
The Communications student has been singing from a very young age. In fact, she learnt how to sing in Mandarin before she could speak the language!
Lau said, "According to my parents, I've always loved singing - I've been able to sing before I learnt to speak! I learnt how to speak mandarin through learning Chinese songs as a kid, and joined many singing competitions too!"
Early exposure to music led Lau to start singing and songwriting seriously at the age of 13
"I’ve been listening to music in my dad’s car since I was a little girl and my earliest memories consist of a mix of classic rock (Deep Purple, Queen), folk (Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel) and current popular music.
I started truly getting into singing and songwriting when I was 13 because of Jewel. I wrote the most songs at the time of my life when I was listening to John Mayer. I continued to be inspired by a lot of other musicians today," she said.
In a bid to set herself apart from many local singer-songwriters, Lau decided to source lyrics and materials for her songs from Facebook comments!
"It started as a writing exercise, a way to flex my songwriting muscles. About 2 years ago I posted a poll to my followers on my Facebook page and they had to pick a song topic that I would write about.
That idea stayed with me for another 2 years, and I noticed that on the Internet, musicians mainly do covers as a means of attracting an audience. I thought, “Why not original music?” I toyed with the idea of just writing songs by myself and posting it, but then I remembered my attempt 2 years ago and realised that I could make the audience a part of my songwriting process," said Lau.
Lau usually picks comments that has recurring themes to compose a song
"For example, one week I asked my followers what their favourite food was. A large majority of them answered pizza, so it HAD to go in the song. I would try to include other suggestions into the lyrics (as many as I can incorporate)."
Admittedly, Lau recognises the difficulty in the challenges
"It is tiring writing songs week after week and including everyone’s comments into one song is almost impossible," said Lau.
However, her tenacity to improve and better herself as a songwriter has helped her secure a nomination at this year's VIMA Music Awards!
The VIMA Awards is Asia's first independent music awards. Launched in 2008, the awards features music acts from all over Asia. Lau is nominated for this year's Best College Act!
Lau's first EP 'Contemplation' will be out very soon. Stay tuned for that, guys!
Be sure to follow her on Facebook and take part in her next song challenge!
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