Music gets the moody Malaya treatment Hmm, ‘Orang Malaya’ – what is that, a statement of some sort? Ah, yes, that would be Arief Othman, who simply wants to be recognised as an artiste who appreciates – and loves – his country, with all her cultures, ethnicities, religions and music. I’m extremely selective with works that I release and I strongly believe that less is more especially in an industry wh What are your thoughts on content creation, self-publishing and the role of social media with respect to the success you’ve enjoyed so far? Creating content for Gentle Bones is a very intricate thing for me. Also, you’re a nominee in the running for Singapore Social Media Awards’ ‘Breakout Star of the Year’ category. It also provided me with a platform to receive feedback, and work on my musical skills. What was it like starting out on YouTube back then? It was really just an avenue for me to practice and put out renditions of popular songs online. Your career began with covers – you were a YouTube star before you were touted as an indie genius singer-songwriter. I believe it appeals to every one of different ages and the song speaks of an existential. I first started off doing covers on YouTube and Until We Die, and after which my EP, really established me in the Singaporean music scene. If so, what inspired the song and the ensuing music video, and what do you think is the appeal of ‘Until We Die’? I’ve always wanted to be an artist who sang his own tunes. We catch up with Singapore’s singer-songwriter Joel Tan, better known as Gentle Bones 'I strongly believe that less is more, especially in an industry where there is just an overflow of content' Is it fair to say that you got your big break with the release of ‘Until We Die’? I would believe so. I'm going to change her life and make her fall in love with me eventually. Come on Jen, spend an afternoon with me and you'll know who you really love. I've looked up some of her interviews - she gets asked which bands she listens to and she's saying shit like White Stripes and Black Keys. '.more celebrities, some big fucking celebrities. That's when the record really starts selling, no? When you're dead.' For now, we're okay, but if we keep touring for another year, we'd probably end up in the hospital. He sees a silver lining in death by touring. What the fuck do you ask people? What the fuck do I give a shit about what the fuck you do?' I'm not the best interviewer in town, believe it or not. My friends were like, "You're not going to make an idiot out of me." You should have seen the things that didn't make the cut though. Maybe they knew I was doing "Weird Vibes". As soon as people saw me with a microphone, they wanted to turn and run away. I'll probably have to open a recording studio at some point because I won't be able to pay the bills.' Who knows? If it doesn't work out, I'll probably have to find another job or be a music industry dick eventually.
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'I'm going to try to do music for the rest of my life, but that's just trying. He'd like to be in the music business for life.
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How are you going to get a girlfriend when you're sitting in a bedroom in your underwear all the time? I learned to play the guitar pretty quickly and it turned out that I was better than most of those jokers anyway.' I was into programming computers at the time. 'The kids in my junior high school who could play "Back in Black" on guitar got all the girls. Two years on and back with follow-up record 'Salad Days', the 24-year-old multi-instrumentalist, who delivered a rambunctiously entertaining set at The Bee Publika last December, dished out some of his dirtiest little secrets to us. Mac DeMarco was plucked from obscurity in 2012, when his exceptional debut LP, '2', introduced the world to his breezy jangle-pop adroitness, perceptive songwriting and irreverent onstage antics.