Actor Joel Choo’s love for music needs no second-guessing, but the time has yet to come to live the dream.

Are you more of a dreamer or a doer? I guess I’m more of a dreamer — I dream first. I dream big before taking action upon that. What has your music-making journey been like thus far? I studied Music and Audio Technology back in Singapore Polytechnic, where I learned my fundamentals. I also have a band, Maxime, with a few of my friends from polytechnic and we’ve been trying to make an EP for the last four years. We were supposed to release it this year but due to COVID-19 and procrastination, we will delay it for another year.

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How would you describe the music you make? The genre would be indie, pop-rock, also a little bit punk. If I were to describe it, I would say catchy and entertaining. Have you considered pursuing music-making full time? No, I would rather focus on acting because music to me is something fun that I don’t think I can fully commit to as a career. I think it will also take the fun out of it. [Music is] a way for me to relax and I don’t think the kind of music I like to make can put food on the table.

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What does music mean to you? A way of getting to know myself more and getting to connect with people. What are your musical aspirations? To share my music with people. If they enjoy it, I’m happy. If I perform for them and they have a good time, it makes me happy as well. What are your views of the local music scene? I think the local music scene is blooming. My first exposure was when I was 14 years old and since then, I’ve seen so much growth in different genres. I think our local music is on a similar level with stars from America or China.

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How does style sit with music-making? It’s one way to present yourself — your style brings out your character. I think it’s very important to have your own individual character and style to be in the music industry because you want to stand out and appeal to the audience. What can we expect from you in the near future? Hopefully you’ll be able to hear my original music and probably the EP from Maxime next June.

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Photography Mun Kong
Styling Bryan Goh
Hair and Grooming Sha Shamsi using Boy de Chanel and Hanz de Fuko

This story about Joel Choo first appeared in the November 2020 issue of Men’s Folio Singapore.