You have a new album out – “Deeper than Purple”. Would you like to talk about it?
Deeper Than Purple is the second instrumental album since Dragged and it delves deeper into the world that was first depicted in Dragged.
In Deeper Than Purple, I wanted the music to sound more organic so I kept the recording process to just guitars, drums and bass. Keyjohan Ismail and Azman Nirwan, both of whom played in my first album, is my drummer/producer and bassist/co-producer respectively on Deeper Than Purple. And their experience has been invaluable to the recording process..
The grey and somewhat haunting cover that you see on the 3-panel cover was painstakingly drawn (credits to design studio Luscious Ink for the artwork) to visually represent each song on the album and the album itself. Deeper Than Purple tells of the life journey that I am on, with each song relating to an episode or phase that had a lasting impact on me.
The musical styles used in Deeper Than Purple is also more varied. From songs like “Rachel's Dance” to “Mocking Monsters”, you can hear hints of bossa, old school rock. The haunting sounds from the fretless guitar in “What The Moon Said” was inspired by the Middle Eastern stringed (and fretless) instrument called the oud.
What are your influences?
Growing up in the seventies and eighties, I listened to a variety of music. Deep Purple, The Beatles and James Taylor (to name a few). And then there are guitarists such as Scott Henderson, Larry Carlton, etc. But I say Allan Holdsworth and Jeff Beck are two of my biggest influences in guitar instrumental music.
Which one song would you recommend to Play Guitar Singapore readers for an introduction to your music?
It helps to listen to Deeper Than Purple and Dragged in its entirety as both albums were written like how a scriptwriter writes a drama serial, where the songs are like episodes and putting them together gives the complete picture. If I've to choose which are the more popular songs to listen to, then it will be “Rachel's Dance” and “Sorry I'm Late” from Deeper Than Purple and “Rescuing Rukia” from Dragged.
What are you doing nowadays?
I teach and do workshops, playing event gigs, working closely with local design houses Gnuka Studio and Luscious Ink on sound design and composing for websites, and of course promoting Deeper Than Purple.
Understand also that you’re a guitar teacher at a music school. How does teaching differ from performing? Which of the both do you enjoy more? I see teaching and performing as different tools leading to the same result. Both are ways of expression: (1) using words for teaching and (2) music for performing. Teaching serves as way to impart knowledge and to guide the students in whatever they are learning. Performing is about communicating with to the audience what you like them to hear through the songs. So both yield satisfaction for me, especially when I see my students getting better in their playing and the audience enjoying the songs.
Could you list the guitar gear that you use live for your performance?
For electric (guitar) gigs, I will use the Valley Arts guitar with DiMarzio pickups for both the neck and bridge. Pedals-wise, there is the Nova System; Sahasrara and Manipura pedals by The Om Labs (of which I endorse and The Om Labs made a RM limited edition version of the Sahasrara), and Morley Bad Horsie Wah.
For acoustic sets, I use the Yamaha LLX36C (which I endorse) together with Yamaha's Magic Stomp.
How is the compositional process like for you? Do you start with the guitar when you write a song?
Before composing a song, have a story in mind; what is it that you want to convey in the song. Once that is set, what kind of setting or mood you like the song to have to help bring the story across and then decide on what instrument to use to achieve that.
I call this process the 3 Ms: motive, mood and mode. It doesn't have to be in the flow as described above but these are the 3 key elements that I use when writing songs.
Do you compose with any other instrument besides the guitar?
It helps that my mobile phone is able to record sounds. I'll use the phone to record when I've a tune that comes to my head (by humming out the tune), which I will further work on it at home. It also helps to have a music software such as Logic Pro to help in the composition process.
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