Image Credit Jayden Tan
“do I, do I” by inch is a homecoming of sorts for the singer because firstly, it talks about love differently. Not in an annoying and sappy kind of way (you know the kind…) because it takes some nerve and courage to address you’ve been in an abusive relationship. Call it “it was the best of times and it was the worst of times” if you will. but inch puts it the most poetically.
“do i, do i” touches on the toxic and intoxicating feeling of being in a bad abusive romance — the push, pull, pleasure and pain. It is the feeling of being in an echo chamber of the good and bad memories; the struggle with and against an invisible entity that twists, turns, and gaslights. It is ultimately about the journey of grieving, acceptance, and walking away and coming out a little stronger.
Secondly, it is her first single where she sings in both English and Mandarin — a sign of the times as inch calls it.
Here, she takes us through her latest single and the genesis behind the music video itself.
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Welcome back, inch! What’ve you been up to?
2020 was like 2020 vision. Such a sobering year on the personal front as well as for the industry. Coming off 2019, i was actively working and promoting my one-woman show, “til the end of the world, we’ll meet in no man’s land” and was slated to tour Europe in 2020.
As the world shifted into a new space, my team and I have been dancing the great tango of 2020 while pivoting to various projects. I took it as a sign to focus on efforts on a new record which I’m pretty excited to share with you guys this year.
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You singing a bilingual song is quite a character development, what was your motivation in doing so?
Mandarin has definitely not been a strong suite of mine but I’ve always had a deep admiration for the language. Its ability to be so profound, yet efficient. And partly because of aging family members, my appreciation for dialect and mandarin has definitely grown in order to communicate with them.
I catch myself feeling a little disheartened at my own proficiency, hence I’ve been on an active journey on rediscovering the language. I’ve also read some articles about how language affects thought and culture, and in ways, your identity. And I don’t think anything sticks to me more than trying to create music in a language.
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The mandarin version of “do I, do I” by inch has its own artwork shot by Jayden Tan.
Interestingly, some people think Mandarin songs are usually more sad, do you perhaps agree? Is “do I do I” then a reference to a relationship you had?
I guess if you were to draw a pie chart of all the mandarin songs that came out in any given year, the majority pie holder would be melancholic ballads. I don’t know if it’s a trend or whether it just speaks to singers that find it safest to express this particular emotion in music. I believe art is a reflection of the times, especially pop music.
“do I do I” or “欲擒故纵” is about a toxic relationship I had. Good riddance.
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I sometimes have this feeling that love songs about the pain of love and becoming stronger is kind of a generic formula, how have you made it different?
I can relate to that feeling because I too, don’t really enjoy the “what doesn’t break you makes you stronger” narrative. I prefer “what doesn’t break you makes you stranger”. I think acknowledging your part in perpetuating a bad thing is important and it usually boils down to you releasing something pretty maladaptive or strange about you.
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Is there a particular lyric you’re fond of?
“Paper Bag” by Fiona Apple, “hunger hurts, but starving works \ when it costs to much to love”
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Image Credit Nik Voon
You’re now dancing, what a joy! What was your favourite takeaway from the music video filming of “do I, do I” ?
Honestly, I was just elated to be able to show up on a set and be around other people while spending weeks working with my sister on choreography. It’s also crazy how we’ve been related for so long but have never worked together.
And truth is, I’m not much of a dancer, but I really do enjoy dancing alone to just… vent. I used to put on my favourite angry rock records and just rock out in my room. There’s something so expressive about movement, so physiological. Words don’t even seem necessary.
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Lastly, what’s next for you?
More music in a form of a 2-part EP titled “childish”. And, hopefully a rebirth of my project “til the end of the world, we’ll meet in no man’s land”
Stream “do I, do i” today or click here to catch up with our June/July 2021 issue.
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