Music is known to express emotions we cannot verbally convey, and for Xingfoo&Roy’s Daniel Chan, that is precisely the case.
On 15 March, the homegrown singer-songwriter debuted his solo studio album titled otw through a side project endearingly named your friend, dan. The album, a ruminative seven-track record, embodies themes of pensiveness and emotional expressions of melancholia.
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Amidst all the emotions felt and the trepidation that likely came with stepping into a new venture, Dan’s sole passion for what he does and wanting to share his music with his audiences led him to rise to the challenge. They also enabled him to recognise vulnerability that comes with the unknown and turn fear into strength.
Dan shared: “I generally feel negative emotions very strongly and it's very easy for me to spiral but I figured that what helps is trying to embed these feelings into something like a song. If you break down specific bits of what you're feeling, loneliness/isolation, lack of motivation, fear, helplessness, and find a note, synth, or sample that can represent any of those feelings, it helps you to recognise these feelings and digest them instead of wallowing.”
As a rising artist in the local electronic music scene, Dan also brought his music public to Enclave Bar at the Golden Mile Complex last month (31 March), where he played a scintillating set that lasted over an hour.
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In an interview with Hear65, Dan talked about the songwriting processes and inspirations behind otw, making electronic music, and his aspirations for your friend, dan.
Hi Daniel! Congratulations on the release of otw! What was the inspiration behind the album?
Thank you! The first few songs of the album were made when my partner was on a 20-day trip and I was alone at home. To be honest, I wanted to just do something productive, and learning how to produce is something that I've been super intrigued by so I just forced myself to write a song on my computer.
“I wanted to see if it was possible to translate my thoughts and feelings at specific moments in my life into something other than an emo/punk-type genre.”
I've only written band-type music for the past 10 years so I wanted to see if it was possible to translate my thoughts and feelings at specific moments in my life into something other than an emo/punk-type genre. I made the first one that I liked quite a bit, which was ‘more t me’. So I just decided to make more! I gave myself a goal of making at least seven songs that I'm proud of so the writing continued after my partner came back till like maybe late December. But I think I had at least 40-50 drafts haha, [and] a ton of them are terrible.
How did your interest in electronic music first start?
So my partner kim made a playlist of electronic music that she liked for me when we first started dating, at that time I didn't really have a lot of exposure to this type of music and to be honest, I didn't really know how to appreciate it, I guess. I was drawn to very literal emotive music and electronic music just didn't do it for me. But the artists that she showed me were pretty unique and it more or less altered my perception of this type of music. Some of the artists that really stuck with me and kinda showed me what was possible were Mount Kimbie, Max Cooper, Gesaffelstein, Moderat, and Âme. So yes, credits to kim aka @metal_upa.
The album marks your foray into music that’s composed using instruments on your computer. Walk us through what that process was like. Is there anything that you learned about music or yourself as an artist from this breakthrough?
Process wise, I have a zoom h6n recorder that I actually use for work (in film production), so I have a bunch of random ambient sounds from different places. I made a beat with royalty-free drum samples, wrote a chord progression, and tried to make it match the emotion that I was going for in terms of chords, tones, and whatever. Then I layered those on top of each other and then started working on all the other layers. I went back 50 times to redo specific sections, add stuff, etc.
“It's (electronic music) quite wild, you can more or less do whatever you want as long as it feels right, which is very nice, but also very scary.”
Something I learnt is that like in my type of band music there's more or less a structure to a song, but for electronic music, there isn't at all. It's quite wild, you can more or less do whatever you want as long as it feels right, which is very nice, but also very scary. I think making music really helps you to appreciate the stuff that other artists are making a lot more, and I found myself getting more and more into new and different artists the more I make music. It's totally a hole, but I really like being able to appreciate different types of music now.
You mentioned that the album comprises themes of isolation, fear, and disillusionment. What was it like recognising those emotions that you felt and the process of embedding them into your debut album?
I think in emo music, the emotions are shown very literally — very in your face with the shouting and the lyrics. I generally feel negative emotions very strongly and it's very easy for me to spiral but I figured that what helps is trying to embed these feelings into something like a song.
“I generally feel negative emotions very strongly and it's very easy for me to spiral but I figured that what helps is trying to embed these feelings into something like a song.”
If you break down specific bits of what you're feeling, loneliness/isolation, lack of motivation, fear, helplessness, and find a note, synth, or sample that can represent any of those feelings, it helps you to recognise these feelings and digest them instead of wallowing. I think my emo music made me wallow and my electronic music helps me to move on with my life. They go hand in hand I guess. I need to have phases of self-pitying before deciding to resolve my issues. Haha.
“I think my emo music made me wallow and my electronic music helps me to move on with my life.”
How would you like listeners to feel after listening to otw?
I guess if anyone listens and feels something (anything!) it would mean the tracks are already a great success. I wasn't specifically trying to conjure any emotions for others who'd listen, but I guess if you resonate with it when listening then I'd be super glad!
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“…if anyone listens and feels something (anything!) it would mean the tracks are already a great success.”
Can we expect more electronic dance music from your friend, dan going forward? What other music genres will you be keen on exploring through your solo project?
As of right now, I have two new tracks that I wanna release when I find a pocket of time! I'd say they're more or less the same kinda genre, not too sure. Please let me know if you find out haha. If I get really good musically one day, I'd love to write an ambient album inspired by Kin Leonn. Maybe in my next lifetime or something LOL.
"If I get really good musically one day, I'd love to write an ambient album inspired by Kin Leonn.”
Are there any local musicians that you would like to collaborate with in the future?
Oh dude, I've been really into Kitty Purrnaz. [She’s] so good. Elias Soh has also been posting some super mindblowing stuff, so I'm really excited about that.
Finally, could you tease what is coming up next for your friend, dan?
I think the next single's a lot darker and sadder, but dancy and heavy at the same time. I used it for my closing song for this DJ set that I played on the closing day of Enclave Bar. If you wanna hear a leaked version, it's on YouTube!
“I think the next single's a lot darker and sadder, but dancy and heavy at the same time.”
Listen to your friend, dan’s otw here:
