Performing her songs in front of live audiences was not something that came easily to Linying earlier in her career.
For the Singaporean singer-songwriter, who is now based in Los Angeles, music has been a way to "make sense" of what she's been through, and due to the personal nature of her songs, there was shame and fear attached to baring her soul in the presence of many unfamiliar faces.
When she was back home in January, the 'Take Me To Your House' singer told Hear65 that she now enjoys being on stage a lot more than she did in the past.
Credit: Jovian Lim
While her songs continue to be reflections and thoughts about matters close to her heart, what is different about today's Linying is her changed attitude towards sharing them with others.
She explained: "Now that I feel a lot more at ease with myself, I then feel a lot more at ease performing for people too. And I don't see it anymore as like this fan-artist relationship; I see it as an exchange that we have."
"These are people that listen to my music because they are like me, and I make music because it feels great to be understood by people who are like me," she continued.
In the final month of 2023, Linying had opportunities to bring her music to two very different stages, LA-based live music venue Resident DTLA and Gardens by the Bay's Celebrate YOUth!: Electric Garden festival. The 29-year-old described the experiences as "intense", but also shared that they gave her much to reflect on.
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During her eight-song set at Resident DTLA, Linying found herself "plugging stuff in" on her own as a sound engineer would, which was reminiscent of her early days as a musician when she did not have an audience and just did what was "fun" and "felt good".
"I kind of think that that's what creates an audience, right? It's you being in touch with what makes you feel good and the things you want to say without thinking about how it's going to be received," she shared.
Just weeks later, she was on stage in front of her local fans who had braved the rain to sing along to songs they had committed to memory — a sign of how far she has come since the beginning of her journey.
"I think those two experiences were very stark and because they were kind of close together as well, they reminded me that in every situation, there's something to love about every part of the journey when you're making music. You know, the start, the end, whatever you think is the end, which it probably isn't, there's always something to appreciate about it," she said of her two shows.
In an interview with Hear65, Linying shared what her latest EP, House Mouse, means to her, revealed her definition of happiness, and talked about the importance of making music that people can relate to.
You released a brand new EP, House Mouse, last November. A belated congratulations on that! How does the project fit into the bigger story (of your personal journey) that you’ve been sharing with your listeners through your music over the years?
I think House Mouse, which is the title of the EP, is just a great snapshot for me at this point in my life. And I guess all bodies of work that I put out are, but this one specifically is really special to me because it came after a time of a lot of great personal change, and in my environment as well, I just completely uprooted and moved to a new place.
"[House Mouse] is really special to me because it came after a time of a lot of great personal change, and in my environment as well, I just completely uprooted and moved to a new place."
And I think that the difficulty that I had navigating all of this change came through in being able to find things to appreciate. So it was like the collaborators that I worked with, the team that I worked with, they were all so open and instinctive and intuitive. And it was the most immediate process that I'd ever had making music. Because I think a lot of the time when I make music on my own as a solo artist, I'm just obsessing [over] and perfecting everything, and there's no one to keep me in check. But this time, working with the team and seeing how everyone just involves each other and seeing the level of investment they have in the music, I really started realising that it’s not just myself anymore — it belongs to all of us. I think that’s what makes this one special, and right now, I feel very proud that I was able to really capture how it felt like. For the rest of my life, I will be able to listen to these songs and remember that this is the time in my life when this is the stuff that happened.
What are some interesting things that listeners have told you about the EP since it was released two months ago?
So I have a Telegram chat with my... I guess my core listeners. And every now and then, they just send photos and things that they feel [about my music]. And someone put this screenshot of this excerpt that says, "Belonging to ourselves. In reality, the only true belonging that exists and the connection that underscores everything else is the powerful sense of belonging to ourselves."
Anyway, it goes on for a really long one, but they just said, "It's giving porcupine." And that's something that I appreciate so much about this listenership, you know? Everyone kind of shares their experience of these songs and that's just one example of the many lovely messages that everyone shares about this EP that I really love.
Credit: Michelle Mei
"I've benefited so much from the understanding that I receive from listening to other people's music."
As a singer-songwriter, how important is it for you to know that there are people out there who can connect with the music that you make?
So important. I cannot imagine making music for nobody, you know. Yes, it is gratifying for me and it is therapy for me as well to express myself, but I think as humans, and as a music listener and lover myself, I've benefited so much from the understanding that I receive from listening to other people's music. I can't imagine how I could have grown up not having an experience that I thought I was alone in being mirrored in a song, and from that, realizing that, “Oh, you know, other people feel the same way too.” That kind of solace and comfort, you can't get that anywhere else. Or it's really difficult to find, you know, people in your immediate circle that can relate to you on every single level. So I think music does that and that's the core thing that keeps me doing this.
Credit: Ronan Park
"Contrary to what I thought, it's (happiness) not a point that you arrive at and stay at forever. I'm realizing that happiness really is a choice."
When you announced the EP on social media, you also told your fans that you had found happiness at last. What does happiness look like to you? How did it feel knowing that you had finally found what you had been searching for for so long?
Contrary to what I thought, it's not a point that you arrive at and stay at forever. I'm realizing that happiness really is a choice. I know it's very cheesy and I never used to understand it, but yeah, you know, I think it's understanding that so many things are true at once. So for me, happiness is when you're able to put your attention to which of these truths would you like to uphold and tell yourself and reaffirm are true every day because there are a lot, right? And happiness for me is to be optimistic and to be hopeful and to expect the best but also be prepared for the worst and also understanding that none of it lasts forever. When it's going to end, you're going to suffer it already. So don't suffer it twice, you know? Enjoy what you have. To me, that's what it is.
Credit: Michelle Mei
What kind of impact do you foresee this realization you've talked about having on the music that you will write moving forward?
I think the key way in which accepting happiness has informed my music is that I no longer use music as a vehicle to achieve something. I think for a long time, especially as artists — and I know many artists relate to this feeling — we often move through the world feeling a little bit different from other people, not really feeling a sense of belonging. And that's why we turn to art. We make stuff that feels special and unique.
"The key way in which accepting happiness has informed my music is that I no longer use music as a vehicle to achieve something."
And then sometimes when you gain a little bit of success, it validates you and it makes you realize, “Oh, I'm good at something after all.” And then you get all this that you were missing all your life — admiration, love, and attention maybe — and I think it's very tempting to then hold on to it or you know put all your identity into that art. Then you never want to let it go because it's given you so much, right? So you keep trying to harness it and to manipulate it to further your own desires and I think that's when it really starts getting ruined.
I think feeling happy now, I'm realizing that the music I make is not to be controlled or you know, molded for any purpose other than to authentically express yourself and find the people for whom this would be beneficial. And that's kind of how I go about doing things now. I no longer overthink what this says about me or [whether] this sound falls in line with everything I've made before. I just think [of] what feels instinctive and what feels good and what feels real and what feels true. I think it ends up achieving what I've always hoped it would, which is creating this world of understanding.
Credit: Jasmine Rutledge
Now that the new year has begun, what are some goals that you have for yourself in the area of personal growth?
I think I am realizing that I need some structure in my life. So I asked a good friend how my social media looks like to him. I said, “I don't know, it all feels real to me, it all feels authentic to me, but how does it look like to an outsider who isn't there going through every single thing?” And he said, “Honestly, it's unhinged. It's on brand, but it's unhinged.”
I'm realizing, “Yeah, you know what? You can't chase your feelings all the time.” I mean, do respect them, do follow them, respect your destiny. But at the same time, you know, feelings are fickle and very often, we all have these principles and values that we know to be true. And sometimes we don't feel like upholding them, but we know at the end of the day we want to. So that's something that I'm trying to remember. And I realized that I do work best with a little bit of structure. You can't play a good game of football unless you follow the rules, you know? Yeah, that's kind of what I'm aiming for and what I hope to be able to achieve this time next year.
Stream House Mouse here:
