How singer Jason Yu uses music to connect with people
As an independent artiste, you are in complete control of the production and mastering of your music. What do you look for in a pair of true wireless earbuds?
When I first tried Devialet Gemini, they were great but didn’t blow my mind. I realised I was just listening to the wrong song before picking something more bass-heavy – a fuller-sounding track – and hearing the difference. In terms of the frequency response, it’s a much wider spectrum and you can really feel the bass. It hits a lot harder than the conventional Active Noise Cancelling wireless earbuds. The noise cancellation is also really effective – I could not hear a word when people were talking in front of me.
What is it like being a performer during the pandemic?
Recently, the National Arts Council set up a pilot programme for buskers. We would have to set up behind a drum shield – a piece of clear acrylic plastic – and I felt like a zoo animal. [Laughs] They do it so people keep their distance, but I felt it really took away the live performance. I’ve also done a lot of virtual performances since the pandemic began but singing a song in your room alone, with no one watching, is a very different experience from performing outside. The attention and positive reaction from the crowd drive me.
How has busking helped you as a musician?
Before I started busking, I had no practice as a performer. I was always too reserved to approach spaces like bars and ask if they had a spot for me to play at. With busking, the barrier of entry felt low enough – you’re singing to yourself, and people come to watch you. There wasn’t any stress or pressure. Now, all the time I spent busking has helped me develop a kind of stage presence – it helped me learn how to interact with a crowd and banter.
Do you consider yourself an introvert?
I’m an introvert, really but my work forces me to be an extrovert in a way. When I was in secondary school, I was so introverted it was almost a handicap – I just felt like I couldn’t speak up. Growing up, I felt like a people pleaser. I just wanted people to like me. I felt like I was losing who I was and I realised it was very unfulfilling to just keep working towards what other people want of you. Music has always been a big part of my life – now, I’m trying to reflect on why I was always so drawn towards it.
I think it is because I started doing it from a young age and got a lot of validation from that. The first time I went onstage to sing, I was probably 5 and at 14 I joined a band competition with some friends. All that external validation definitely had something to do with me wanting to become a musician. I wouldn’t say that was the only reason but I’d be lying to myself if I said it wasn’t a reason.
How has your music helped you work through some of those anxieties?
There’s this song I released last October – “Anyone”. There’s a line that goes, “Can anyone hear me, can anyone see me.” The song describes a general sense of not feeling loved or appreciated. It wasn’t a romantic sort of thing but a feeling of being misunderstood. It does seem super self-absorbed – like I’m making everything about me – but I just wrote how Ifelt then. After I released that song, people came up to me and said that they loved it, or that they felt relieved that someone knows exactly how they are feeling. A lot of people actually resonated with it, which was surprising because I thought that not a lot of people might understand that feeling of being misunderstood by everybody. I felt like I wasn’t alone and that actually, we are all in this together.
Photography MUN KONG
Art Direction IZWAN ABDULLAH
Styling MANFRED LU
Production BRYAN GOH
