Living in the city of Hong Kong, whether climbing high mountains to overlook the land, or walking into narrow alleyways to quietly observe the various scenes, the incessant pulse of the city always enters the body without mercy. The surging energy invigorates the spirit; the sluggishness allows the brain to recalibrate its pace, but the rhythm always changes unpredictably. Have you ever thought about whether the city’s recognized pulse belongs to your own life rhythm? Living here, what kind of feeling is the sound of the city?
About this indescribable sound, perhaps this singer-songwriter who has just successfully completed the “HERE & THERE” concert can open up everyone’s visual, auditory, and tactile senses, leading everyone to find their own rhythm of life.
After nine years in the industry, everything surrounding AGA, aside from his deep features, is related to music. Growing up in a musical family, giving up studying music abroad, and then entering Shuwen’s recording studio to embark on a singer-songwriter career, even winning both the “Ultimate Song Female Singer Gold Award” and the “Ultimate Song Singer-Songwriter Gold Award” last year, becoming the first female singer in the local music scene since 1996 to win both major awards. As AGA said, “It is music that has always led me down this path.” It is precisely this inseparable bond with music that has allowed this musician, who excels in interpretation and composition, to gradually captivate listeners with recent works like “Between Rationality and Willfulness” and “What are we gonna do,” exuding an unfathomable infectious charm.
However, what is most interesting is the power that attracts music and AGA to each other? AGA, who has always been firm in music creation, what has he learned from this journey? Let AGA rarely share by speaking.
To learn to start over
A chance encounter led AGA to meet producer Shu Wen nine years ago, and since then, they have been in and out of the recording studio. Even AGA couldn’t help but sigh, “Entering the ninth year, there has been no pause.” Last year, the environment, circumstances, and life became difficult, but it turned out to be AGA’s most fruitful year since starting out. With the album “So Called Love Songs,” she won three major awards at the year-end “Ultimate Song Chart Awards Ceremony,” becoming the first singer-songwriter to win both the “Ultimate Song Chart Female Singer Gold Award” and the “Ultimate Song Chart Singer-Songwriter Gold Award” in the same year since “Heavenly Queen” Faye Wong in 1996. Finally, bringing some comfort in a tough year.
After 24 years, the music industry once again rewrote history, but how does AGA, who has always been devoted to creation, digest such a precious harvest? She shared a little story. “Actually, after receiving the award that night (Ultimate Song Chart Awards), I went back to the studio because I was still recording ‘CityPop’ at the time.” It may sound surprising, but perhaps every singer-songwriter still enjoys being in the recording studio, surrounded by keyboards, microphones, and consoles. That extraordinary award and recognition may not necessarily require a big celebration, but a little self-reward seems reasonable, right? AGA further shared that before reaching the studio, she did stop by “here” to indulge a bit: “The first location was a convenience store, where I bought all my favorite snacks. I remember clearly, I was still in my Ultimate Song Chart Awards outfit when I walked into the store.” After a whole year of hard work, quietly enjoying snacks after winning the award, AGA realized, “I think, sometimes happiness is very simple. Sometimes you don’t necessarily have to celebrate or deliberately do something, but rather just follow your heart, decide what you want to eat or buy at the moment, and then do it to be happy.”
“After every awards ceremony, the next day I always start with a blank slate,” AGA candidly admits that she has never been a planned person, whether in life or music. Since the age of nine, she has affirmed her love for music, acknowledging that music is almost everything to her. Even though she never plans how each step should be taken, AGA realizes that in the world of music, notes and melodies have always been guiding her. “So, I often feel that if the world didn’t have music, it would probably be gray.”
The mindset of starting from scratch actually carries a different meaning: “I feel that each new piece of music is like a new chapter in life.” AGA admits that what still makes her happy is the feeling that creating is a fun and joyful thing, “Every time I sit down, I look forward to creating something.” She explains that because she rarely plans ahead, each time she creates a new style or melody, “the whole process is more like unwrapping a gift, and then I can create the entire song. Interestingly, during the creative process, the melody of the entire song often emerges, as if I had already heard this song in my mind, and then inspiration or a voice will appear,” this somewhat abstract but joyful scene, AGA describes herself at that moment as a messenger, transforming everything she hears, thinks, and feels in her mind into musical notes.
For her, this process is actually like a process of contemplation and meditation, and the mindset of starting from scratch is the driving force and the source of inspiration.
The creation in my eyes is actually quite “selfish”
Nine years of uninterrupted creation may sound a bit burdensome, but when it comes from AGA’s mouth, it exudes a sense of ease. But is it because of ease that one feels comfortable, or is it because of comfort that one learns to be at ease?
Although I can’t call myself a loyal fan, those iconic songs are also on the playlist, from early hits like “Hello”, “One”, “Superman”, to mid-career tracks like “Orphan”, “Conquer Me”, “3AM”, and more recent ones like “See You Next Time”, “Tonight”, besides the evergreen “No Term”, the emergence of the new song “CityPop” is believed to be a surprise that many fans did not expect. Being able to have AGA immediately return to production even after reaching the top, one can probably imagine the significance of “CityPop”. AGA shared that the pre-production and post-production of “CityPop” took a full four months, constantly composing and modifying, all for a certain “feeling”.
“A girl born and raised in the city, writing about the taste of the city, the sound of the city,” AGA explains the true origin of “CityPop.” She continues, saying that “CityPop” can represent herself quite well, stemming from being influenced by Japanese songs since childhood, especially by the 70s and 80s City Pop representative, Tatsuro Yamashita. She always feels that the sound of this city is like a symphony. Whenever she walks on the streets, she is always moved by rhythmic scenes, so she really hopes to turn it into a song. In addition, the outbreak of the epidemic has changed everything, including herself. AGA shares that because of this unexpected epidemic, she has learned to enjoy solitude, and this song simply hopes to bring happiness and positive energy to people through its melody.
The reason why creation is so attractive that people are deeply immersed, more or less, is because it cannot be separated from “oneself.” AGA agrees that every creation is actually a soul-searching stage, in which the recorded traces are the growth or evolution of different states. She also admits that she is a person with both internal and external aspects, but influenced by the fate of water-like constellations, she is in different states every day, and each song under her pen is actually more like different experiences, the only constant being that these works all represent AGA. How can one’s own experience move others, or how can one make others feel what you want them to feel? AGA answers: “I don’t know either, because I have always been ‘selfish’ in my creative work, and many times what I want to write is what I want.” As a creator, AGA believes that the first key is often to learn to “have fun.” She believes that when you are enjoying what you are doing, whether it’s the melancholy of Dark, the power of Rock, or the lyricism of R&B, fans or audiences will ultimately feel it after the work is completed.
Through a “selfish” pursuit of a broader creative path, AGA believes that even she herself never expected the wisdom behind it to be so intricately related to life. Due to the pandemic, AGA has not seen her family for a year and a half. Although she was used to sacrificing time with family and friends due to work, this time it feels different, and the valuable outcome is that this period has led AGA to more reflection. “This is already the ninth year, but there has been no pause,” she continued. “So, recently I started to feel that it’s time to stop and rediscover life.” The destruction caused by the pandemic forced everyone to pause, and AGA was no exception. She shared that the pandemic taught her to be alone, to take a little time every morning to choose coffee beans, brew a satisfying cup of coffee, and play with her four loved ones at home, allowing herself to settle down and face all the work ahead with the calmest mind and state.
“Because if you lose the rhythm of life, without a small sense of self-space, losing the feeling of life, it’s not good for your own creativity. So this kind of life is now a priority for me.” Creating and living are indeed inseparable, but the subtlety in between is not so clear and easy to understand. Getting used to leaving more space for yourself to live, or learning to enjoy the pleasure of being alone without being noticed, is the greatest joy of life.
Bottle neck, also the expectation in creation
Resetting my mindset, it means that the beautiful night will come to an end and turn into beautiful memories. Coming here, I couldn’t help but ask AGA, “What are you most curious about on your musical journey right now?” AGA smiled, lowered his head in thought for a moment, and said, “I think what I’m most curious about myself is not knowing when I’ll reach the bottleneck position, haha.” After saying this, AGA showed a slightly shy smile.
The appearance of the bottleneck position should be a nightmare for every creator, but coming from AGA’s mouth, it has become a musician who loves creation, with a small fantasy about the future. It’s ironic, but it sounds quite interesting. “Because all along, I have never experienced ‘unable to write songs’,” AGA shared. In the interview, AGA revealed that two new albums – one in Chinese and the other in rare all English – are about to be released. She shared that in the early years of her debut, she would occasionally talk with producers about the fate of the bottleneck position that singer-songwriters often face in their third album. She even fantasized about encountering it when preparing to start production on her fourth album: “Will I encounter it now?” As a result, fans will soon welcome AGA’s ninth and tenth albums. Over time, this inevitable stage has become an interesting anticipation on AGA’s musical journey. “However, I am still grateful that I have not experienced it. I just hope that I can find happiness in something else at that time.” From this, it can be felt that even in the face of the fear that all creators abhor, AGA still finds joy in creation, rather than any manufactured product.
For some reason, and without any basis, I have always felt that this mixed-race female singer-songwriter has a mysterious feeling – a kind of impression that is not deliberately created, but always makes people unable to grasp the essence. The best evidence may be felt from AGA sharing a song that represents herself. “If I have to choose, it would be Ryuichi Sakamoto’s ‘Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence’.” AGA described, this is a song that she has never tired of listening to since she was young, she continued: “And if I have to express myself with a song, I would choose an instrumental piece.”
Mystery or magic, AGA admits that she doesn’t quite resonate with these feelings, but she is curious about them. She speculates that this may be influenced by her personality. As mentioned above, everything about AGA has revolved around music since she started, even describing the relationship between music and herself as equivalent to AGA. AGA nods and responds, “That’s true.” She shares, “From childhood to now, regardless of my feelings, opinions, etc., I like to transform them into melodies. Therefore, I don’t really like ‘talking on the phone’.” AGA explains that the state of writing songs is actually quite interesting. She reveals that she doesn’t deliberately write lyrics, but often when composing a track, some demo lyrics will automatically come to mind, or she will be humming words, and those fragmented words are her subconscious, reflecting her current thoughts and life situation. “I know that those demo lyrics won’t be used, but I feel that every song has a life and I really want to complete it. These lyrics are also my feelings, like writing a diary, so I often get a lot of inspiration from them, such as realizing my thoughts, state, etc.” This process, rarely seen by fans, is like a conversation with herself for AGA. It even seems to establish the soul of each song.
Creation and life, creation influences life, always talking about the ideal side, learning to face life calmly, AGA also feels lost or burdened because of the identity of a singer-songwriter.
“There are always some,” AGA said. “The biggest burden is that for the dream of music, I have given up a lot of enjoyment, a lot of time spent with family and friends. Every time I look back at many photos, I can’t see myself, and I feel like I’ve missed out on many important moments. Sometimes I even ask myself: ‘How much do I really love music? Was this decision wrong?’ I used to be afraid of living a mediocre life, so I wanted to pursue the life I have now, but now I am experiencing the opposite. But now I understand: You can’t have it all, it always depends on how you look at it from a certain perspective in life, there will always be trade-offs. In life, you have to find happiness, search for the happy place in your heart, and I think this is something that needs to be pursued all the way,” this is the most patient and detailed answer AGA gave in the entire interview, sounding both sad and happy, but full of meaningful content worth savoring.
Last April, due to the epidemic, AGA was forced to cancel her solo concert. Although she finally co-hosted the first concert after the epidemic with Dear Jane recently, she finally regained the experience and feeling of facing and communicating with fans. However, this year, despite spending a lot of time in front of the stage, AGA has another bold idea when it comes to conceiving the stage and performance. “I really want to create a performance that can bring together all the creative talents or units around me into one show; and it is a space that can simultaneously include Art, Music, Fashion, as well as emotions and soul,” she shared. AGA is very confident that if successful, it will be a very impactful event, and this is something she really wants to achieve in the short term.
Listening to such thoughts, I couldn’t help but confirm my impression of AGA once again. That magic, it’s just like that.
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Executive Producer：Angus Mok
Producer：Vicky Wai
Styling：Carson Lin
Photography：Matt Hui
Videography：Anson Chan
Designer：Tanna Cheng
Make up：Vanessa Wong
Hair：Gary Sun @ HAIRMHK
Video Editor：Anson Chan
Wardrobe：Louis Vuitton ; BURBERRY ; Rick Owens ; JOYCE
