25-year-old independent singer-songwriter musician, kotoji recently released her single ‘Please Don’t Do It’ and we really love this song because it kept lingering on our minds!
The song is the first single off of her upcoming first full length album which is slated for release in end 2021.
kotoji is and will be working with other musicians to bring her songs to life. Her younger brother, fellow indie singer-songwriter multi-instrumentalist, Theron Lim, sessioned the drums, while AOR Studios’ studio engineer, Asmat Tarmimi, contributed additional piano, keys, synthesizers and mixed and mastered the track as well.
https://www.instagram.com/kotojiiii/
‘Please Don’t Do it’ is a melancholic tune about one’s frustrations with their person going down a path of self-destruction.
Close up with kotoji:
1. Brief introduction on you, your music genre and latest releases.
My name is kotoji and I’m a 25-year-old singer-songwriter independent musician from Singapore. My musical style is mainly indie rock and power pop with heavy influences from Japanese Rock as well as a wide variety of other genres. Currently, I have 4 singles to-date, with the latest one being “Please Don’t Do It”, the first (and perhaps only) single off of my upcoming full length debut album which is set to release towards the end of 2021.
2. How has it been for you during the past year of Covid-19 in terms of your music creation, your music work and daily routine?
Honestly, it’s been a blessing in disguise! Had it not been for the pandemic, I don’t think I would’ve had the time to even begin my journey as an independent musician. I think the whole situation made me reassess myself and my goals in life, and pushed me to actually do it. I was working from home and I do most of my recording from home anyway, so with that little bit of extra time I had, it just seemed to fit right into place. As the restrictions started to ease up, I became more and more busy with my day job, so till now I really only have my weekends to work on music (sometimes not even both days!). I write whenever I have the inspiration or time to, but that does a bit more rarely these days because of how hectic life is.
3. What are your reflections on yourself, people around you?
I think the pandemic has really taken a huge toll on everyone, me included. It’s quite… heart-breaking to see that in the midst of this global tragedy, we’re all still expected to (both by others and ourselves) to be productive, to be this non-stop machine. I think that drive is beautiful and a testament to the human spirit in itself, but we’re still… human. We’re not perfect, we need to pace ourselves too. This is a huge thing that’s affecting all of us. I think we can all afford to be kinder to each other and ourselves, to give time to just, exist and relax even for a bit. People preach about “self-care” without really knowing what that is or what it means to each individual. I have learned to set boundaries where need be just so I can look after my own wellbeing too, and that’s important for anyone, really. Just some things I’ve been thinking about for a long time now (hahaha).
4. What are your upcoming music plans?
I am working tirelessly on my upcoming album, and I am very excited to share it with everyone. It’s taken 2 years for me to fully conceptualise and gather the rights songs for it, so I truly can’t wait to get it all done and ready to send it out to the world. I’m also trying my best to be open to performance opportunities, though I will need to gather a band first (hahaha).
5. What advice do you have for people interested in music be it singing, learning to compose or play an instrument?
Just like Nike, I would say: Just do it. The biggest hurdle to get over is really just starting on something. That fear of the unknown can be paralyzing, but I assure you, it’s better to have tried and done, than to not have even tried at all. You don’t have to be perfect, and the baby steps are going to be your most awkward! But it can only go up from there, with practice and that curiousity to learn. So just go for it!
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