This entry might come as a stark contrast from my previous entries of late. It really does seem as if this blog has its phases: sometimes it's all cameras, sometimes it's all photography, sometimes it's all life updates and recently, it's all travel.
Well, my life is exactly that. Throughout the years I've been dabbling in so many things to the point that I've actually been known as many things. And this past weekend, I was given the opportunity to regain my status as a music journalist, by doing coverage on Korean singer-songwriter Roy Kim's showcase in Kuala Lumpur.
This was Roy Kim's first appearance in Malaysia
Roy Kim was in town for a few days to promote his latest album The Great Dipper. The artiste has previously produced two full albums, solidifying his position in the Korean music industry as a talented songwriter, composer and singer.
A unique and down-to-earth guy, Roy Kim is known to create music that is sincere and honest, relying mostly on his acoustic guitar as the main instrument. In fact, his whole performance during the showcase was solely played on his acoustic guitar, which was a great delight to fans of purely live music like myself.
In the morning of the showcase day, Roy Kim sat down with the media to answer some questions regarding his inspirations, his experience as a singer-songwriter and his future plans.
Roy Kim was very frank with his responses, often showing slight frustrations when put on the spot with questions that required him to choose some of his favorite things
One of the best stories the American-educated singer told was a response to the question: What is the weirdest thing that happened during your recording sessions?
"I remember this one time we were recording and I was drinking a lot of wine, along with the producer. It was just the two of us. While we were recording, a song came to me and we recorded it and I remembered it sounded so beautiful. Somehow the two of us passed out and we slept in the studio that night.
Come the next morning, once we were sober, we listened to the song we recorded. It turned out I sounded like crap!"
His truthful answers and super chill vibe made the press conference seem more like an ice-breaking session with a new friend. After about half an hour of the interview, Roy Kim thanked the media immensely for taking such an interest in him and was very looking forward to performing that night.
"Do people in Malaysia do this *crosses thumb and finger to make a small heart* ? When I do this in America, they all look at me funny!"
The showcase started at 7.30PM at Paradigm Mall, a shopping complex adjacent to the forever congested Damansara-Puchong Highway.
Roy Kim started off with his rendition of a Chinese song Cloudy Day, which is featured in his digital single album. Immediately displaying his versatility, Roy Kim had no problem singing the song in full Mandarin.
He proceeded with my personal favorite song of his titled Love Love Love and other crowd favorites. Roy Kim also took the time to chat with the MC for some short questions during the intermissions. It was then when he revealed his favorite Malaysian food was "Sambal Kangkung" (a typical Malaysian dish of spicy water spinach) much to the surprise of everyone as it was a very unusual choice for foreigners. Of course, most creative people are known to be unusual.
Roy Kim closed his performance with an encore of another very popular song called Bom Bom Bom.
He conducted his own fan chant
Ending the night with Bom Bom Bom
I had an excellent time covering Roy Kim's short visit to Malaysia. Roy Kim announced that he would be going back to school in Washington this Fall and will be on hiatus from any music activities for a while, and expressed his utmost gratitude to the Malaysian fans for giving him such a warm welcome. He said he was glad that his last live performance was in Malaysia due to such loving fans.
Here's wishing the dude the very best for his studies. I hope to see him back in Malaysia for a full concert soon!
Big thanks to Warner Music Malaysia for inviting me to cover this event. Check out all the photos in this entry and more at QZ Photography's Flickr gallery here.
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