Earlier this week, I had the honor of attending the Special Olympics Showcase in MiaoLi.
Thank you Freda Feng, the President of Special Olympics Asia Branch, for inviting and arranging an amazing day trip!! On a deeper note… I actually had a difficult time gathering my thoughts for this recap… Watching and embracing the Special Olympics Athlete’s performances was, to say the least, bittersweet. Many thoughts, emotions, and questions (some contradicting each other) washed over me like a tsunami… One particular thought was, “Can you imagine how powerful and intelligent these amazing kids would be if they were without disabilities?” To me, they are completely climbing an intellectual and physical mountain. An uphill battle to just do the “basic” daily things we often take for granted… Yet they still go above and beyond what is expected… The thought that came next was, “what about the children and adults without disabilities? Are they (including me) applying that same tenacity and drive to live life to the fullest? To make the possible, and often times, needed impact in this world? Now what about the parents? The task of educating and taking care of children already is an extremely difficult task… To add the extra attention, effort, everything really, just pulls at my heart… especially after realizing this is a life long responsibility… And the teachers? They are truly out of this world. Spending their time educating the next generation to try and build a better future and community. The patience and compassion they have is on another level… This is something we all can learn and be better at… Overall, this experience was one of the best I’ve had in a while. I definitely recommend people to support, or at least take some time to learn about the Special Olympics!!
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One of the most painful things in life is recovering from the loss of a loved one. However, if you are willing to face it, life usually brings some kind of alternate beauty… Within an 18-month period starting in late 2008, I had lost my brother and two close cousins, all three were under the age of 25. It felt like my life was a never-ending spiral downward, and I just hoped to wake up from the nightmare… It was during this time my perception of life drastically changed… The things I worried about and/or were concerned about, seemed not to matter anymore, and my focus became doing what mattered and was meaningful to me. My parents also discovered the most important thing to them was the happiness of their children, so they asked me what I wanted to do with my life. Subconsciously, music has always been an outlet for me, but it was during this time I really “heard the music”. Music had become my support, my life, my savior, and that’s what I wanted to do. In 2010, with two suitcases, I decided to go to Taipei and walk my path. During the past few years, many young close friends had passed, bringing back the feelings and memories of my own experiences… The pain of watching the elderly send off the young and the impact it makes on a whole community is unbearable and indescribable… However, through music, we can come together to cope and celebrate our fallen friends and family. I want people to remember that they are not alone, that it’s okay to be down, emotional, and let their feelings out… I hope my composition will help find some peace and beauty in the world that’s left… What's Going On In This World
Music and Lyrics by: POLO WL A Mother’s not supposed to send her child away… A Father’s not supposed to cry all day… What’s going on in this world??? Why did we lose another Angel??? A Sister’s not supposed to send her blood away… A Brother’s not supposed to send his blood away… What’s going on in this world??? Why did we lose another Angel??? {I keep thinking to myself everyday what did i do... what could i do...} We need to say it One more time We need to thank you For being in our lives From all the hearts that you’ve touched For every single kiss & every single hug You’ve brought happiness Down upon us… You Shined your smiles Down upon us… We’ll never forget As long as we live You’ll be forever OUR SPECIAL GIFT A Mother’s not supposed to send her child away… A Father’s not supposed to cry all day… What’s going on in this world??? Why did we lose another Angel??? A Sister’s not supposed to send her blood away… A Brother’s not supposed to send his blood away… What’s going on in this world??? Why did we lose another Angel??? And why… Does it have to be this way? And why… Do we have to feel this way? I’ll Try I’ll try to push away this pain I’ll try Until we meet each other again!!! {I’m tryin to Keep it together Cause I know you wouldn’t Want us to be soo down and out but its not easy… It’s not easy staying strong or moving on When you know that days of building memories with you are gone} We need to make it right In our minds We need to fake it Just to get by Nothing will ever be the same We’ll remember all the good days And why… Does it have to be this way? And why… Do we have to feel this way? I’ll Try I’ll try to push away this pain… I’ll try Until we meet each other again!!! It was a pleasure getting together with talented fashion designer Alexander King Chen and chatting about his new project, "Kill Burn". He explained that this is the sequel to his Art Sci-fi short film, "Inhuman Love", which is a 2020 Brooklyn Film Festival Finalist. Also, he passionately shared that the concept of this new film is "recognizing the dangers of certain modern mental illnesses", something I feel is an important topic to express and shed light on. I am definitely excited to collaborate on such a meaningful project!!!
I am soo honored to work with Master Engineer 王家棟 (David Wang) again for my upcoming album! I have always felt that he could hear the picture I want to paint and magically bring it into better focus.
I met 王家棟 around 2010 while observing someone else's project at his studio, "Barok Studios". At the time, I was starting to get into the art of recording/engineering, and did not know any terminology, what to listen for, nor studio equipment and their uses. Basically I was a blank slate and eager to learn/absorb as much as possible. Since I didn't know the terminology, I had no idea "how" to ask any questions, so I quietly sat, listened for the different changes along with how those changes came about, took photos and wrote down the names of the equipment, and noted all the words I did not know (luckily they were all in English!!). I remember going back home and spending soo much time researching every equipment I saw and their uses, every word I didn't know, and started to understand the reason for each sonic move (which I still continue to do). I must admit that 王家棟 was the person who opened up the world of recording/engineering to me, and I am blessed that it was someone of his stature who did so. It has been over 10 years now, and our relationship continues to grow. I had talked with 王家棟 many times about recording a full album, and finally the opportunity arose. At first, I did not tell him that I would be recording in Taiwanese, nor the "genre" of the album. It wasn't until he heard the tracks did he asked me, "I thought you are doing a "jazz" album." I smiled and replied, "It's different. Right!?" That was the basic conversation before we embarked on our journey. After months of recording, we finalized the tracks and 王家棟 began the mixing process. The mixing process is one of the most nerve-racking periods of time in production for me. During this time, I completely shut out and try to forget my recorded compositions, so when I listen to the final mix, I have a fresh and more neutral perspective. It is definitely easier said than done... Overall, I am soo grateful to work with 王家棟 at his studio "Barok Studio", and feel this upcoming album really captures my life. I am soo proud and happy of the overall progress and sound!! I am grateful to be able to collaborate with 許傑輝 on my upcoming album. He has a great knowledge about the Taiwanese Language and brings a different dimension to my composition.
At the the time, we held a listening session with 許傑輝 to see what songs "spoke" to him and if he would be willing to write lyrics. He asked me about the reason and story behind each of my songs, along with my personal mindset and background. It was refreshing because that is something I do whenever I start to compose! Once he heard my "rock" composition, I could tell that his mind was already churning with ideas. A month later, 許傑輝 and I got together to discuss his lyrics. He told me about the story and his reasoning behind the lyrics. It totally blew me away! During the recording session at Barok Studios with master engineer 王家棟, there were all sorts of energy and emotions. However, once everything was sorted out, it was smooth sailing. I am sure our song will make the same impact to you all as it did to me!! Can't wait to share it with you all!! |