Sirens: Interview with SingerSen

Last year, I had the great pleasure of discovering SingerSen’s music. It blew my mind right off the bat. It became one of my favorite albums of the year [1], and her song Drunk became my favorite of the year [1].

Since then I’ve been following Sen through social media and got the chance to communicate with her through Weibo. So I asked her if she could take some time from her busy schedule to answer some questions. After some back and forth, here are the results~

SingerSen:Hi, Amy, 首先我要表达我很开心可以得到 YAM Magazine的喜欢和支持,这让我得意的把头发都甩了甩,尽管此刻你看不见。尤其感谢你给予我的毫无保留的支持,谢谢你。我现在才是刚刚开始做自己的音乐,能够在这个阶段得到你们的认可和鼓励,我心情很愉快,这对我真的是很好的鼓舞,哈哈。

Hi, Amy. First of all, I want to express that I’m very happy to be able to gain the approval and support of YAM Magazine. This made me so happy that I even flipped my hair, although you can’t see it. I want to especially thank you for giving me such strong support — Thank you.

I have just begun doing my own music, and to be able to receive your affirmation and encouragement makes me very happy. It’s a very good encouragement for me.

It’s my pleasure to be able to listen to your music and to have discovered you at such an early stage of your career. Though, I read that you started singing very early, when you were 4-years-old or so. Did you grow up surrounded by music? Is anyone in your family a musician?

是的,4岁就登台演出了。大概是因为我的哭声超级大吸引了发掘我的那个老师吧。我的家里没有人从事音乐领域,但我想我的音乐天赋大概多少受到我爸爸的影响吧。我爸爸不会唱歌,可是他居然可以自学成才,会演奏7种中国乐器,并且可以边听电台正在播放的音乐,边记录下这首音乐的谱子,而这一切都是他自学的。他很厉害,一直是我的英雄。小的时候,只记得自己是幼儿园的明星,老师和小朋友都很喜欢我,因为我唱歌很好听。但是到了开始上学以后,我突然患上了口吃,并且脸上开始长雀斑,于是变得非常的羞涩,基本把所有对自己的幻想,梦想都关进了自己的卧室。我经常会在我的小屋子里,涂着省下自己零用钱买的口红,穿着我妈妈的衣服,拿着手电筒大声的唱着所有自己喜欢的歌,奇怪的是我唱歌的时候从来不口吃,呵呵。等到有人敲门,我就会马上擦掉口红,装作什么事都没发生。小时候喜欢一个人玩,会幻想所有我假设发生的事情,这些想法会让我觉得自己很与众不同,这感觉很好。我喜欢做梦,做白日梦,我想这也是我的歌曲为什么总是给人幻觉或者脱离现实在做梦的感觉吧。

Yes. I begun performing when I was 4. It was probably because I was so loud when I cried that my teacher, who first found me, was interested. I don’t have anyone in the family who’s doing music, but I think my musical talents was probably influenced by my dad.

He doesn’t know how to sing, but he’s somewhat of a self-taught genius and learned seven types of Chinese instruments by himself. He can also listen to the music on the radio and then write down the song’s score. He learned everything by himself . He’s very impressive and has always been my hero

When I was little, I remember I was the star in preschool, all of the teachers and kids really liked me because I could sing well. However, after going to school, I suddenly started stuttering and grew lots of freckles, so I became very shy and reserved, hiding all of my imagination and dreams into my own bedroom.

Often, I would hide in my little room, put my mom’s clothes and the lipstick I bought with my spare money, and sing all my favorite songs with a flashlight as a microphone. Strangely, I never stuttered when I sung (laughs). Whenever someone knocked, I would immediately wipe of the lipstick and pretend nothing happened.

I also liked to play by myself and would imagine all sorts of things, which would make me feel special — I liked that. I love dreaming, dreaming in the daylight, and I think that’s why my songs often give people an imagined world or a feeling of leaving reality.

I think that comes with growing up as an only child. I used to dress up as Michael Jackson in Remember the Time [MV] when no one was home (laughs).

amy

YAM Magazine editor, photographer, blogger, translator and part-time web designer. Film junkie, music junkie… and lately series (a.k.a. TV) junkie.

10 Responses

  1. Camiele says:

    Ummm…. she seems like the most fun EVER! I’m defniitely gonna have to listen to her. She takes a very Icelandic approach to her music. I only say that because the Icelandic artists that I’ve listened to tend to start with nature and allow it to shape the way they make music. I love this earthiness, this organic and untouched way of creating music. It’s beautiful. And she seems just as beautiful.

    • amy says:

      @Camiele, she does. And at the same time… not. It’s a mix of Icelandic/Chinese, she does have Chinese ethnic influences in her electronic music – a little bit like Sa Dingding does, but at the same time the both of them have very distinct Chinese ethnic influences. xD

      You should def. check her out – her album review has a link for streaming. :)

  2. Stephanie Chan says:

    SingerSen is so awesome!!! Thanks for introducing me to her stuff :D Can’t stop listening to her music, and I love her style~

  3. margot says:

    omgosh, Amy. Thank you so much for this interview! It’s great. I’ve just found SingerSen not even 2 hours ago and I’m already addicted. I look forward to her full length album.. if it hasn’t been released yet, I’m still researching her. haha;;

    • amy says:

      Hi @margot, glad to see you commenting!! xD It’s easy to get addicted to SingerSen’s sound. I haven’t heard from her full length yet, but she did have a new EP out early in the year called Ghost Street.

      • margot says:

        @amy, Thanks~ I’m usually a silent reader/follower ^^;; and yes!!! I actually stumbled upon the Chinese version of Ghost Street on tumblr and it took off from there. The song Drunk and its MV really got me. They’re so unique it’s hard NOT to like it. Although I suppose it would also depend on the person who hears/sees it.

  4. Surreal18 says:

    I really like SingerSen.I’ve just discovered her music one week ago and I feel fascinated about her unique style & voice.Interesting interview.

  1. January 20, 2013

    […] more about SingerSen in her interview with Amy from YAM here and watch the MV […]

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