Hongjoin, Young Asian Musician Inspirational For Music With The Concept 'DIY'

A talented young musician from Singapore based in Boston, United States (US), Hongjoin (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - A talented young musician from Singapore based in Boston, United States (US), Hongjoin, made his entire music production process with 'DIY' (do-it-yourself) which means self-employment, usually inside the house or place of residence.

The 21-year-old musician who has just released his second mini album F(OOL) is experimenting with writing song lyrics, recording, and producing music by self-taught by watching online tutorials, one of which is through the YouTube application.

"So actually all my songs that you hear on music streaming platforms, they are made on laptops that I use to help me right now," Hongjoin told Antara, quoted Friday.

Amazingly, the musician who was recently named SPOTIFY RADAR Singapore Artist in 2023 did not come from a musician family like several young musicians circulating. Hongjoin's love for music begins with the experience of life and feelings that he begins to put in the verse for the sake of the verse he wrote.

He said writing songs was his way of expressing all the emotions that were packed in his heart and mind.

"In the end, making music is for me to solve problems in my head, it's about how I translate them into songs," he said.

With his stored talent, Hongjoin can even write his hit song Leave in the Summer Time in just 10 minutes.

"Yes, I was very sad at the time," joked Hongjoin.

Even so, of course, there are many challenges that he faces on his musical journey. The musician, who appeared at the birthday concert of Shawn Mendes' album in 2021 in Singapore, said that he had worked on many songs in quite a long time, such as his latest song from the album F(OOL), namely In Another Life and Long Way Home.

"I made In Another Life really within a full year, and Long Way Home for about a month, I really worked hard in making this mini album, but producing music itself is a very fun thing," he explained.

Despite doing everything alone, the indie-pop and alt-rock genre musicians said they received a lot of help and support from those closest to them, getting a lot of input about the music they created.

Furthermore, the talented young man inspired by The Beatles and Jeremy Zucker did not forget to advise young people who have a passion for music like himself not to stop playing music and dare to try.

"Many are talented but too worried about taking the first step, I think this is the most important thing, just do it, you won't know what the future will be like," said Hongjoin.