Breaking Free

Introduce yourself!
I’m a musician currently pursuing a diploma in advertising, and I’m in the band Bellied Star. I joined the band through their drummer Marco, whom I first met at church. Even after we both stopped attending, we stayed connected on Instagram, and that’s how I first became familiar with his band. Eventually, one of their original band members moved to the U.S. for college, and they needed a bassist. I was originally a guitarist, but I picked up bass just for Bellied Star, and that’s how I officially became part of the band!

Wow! Was the bass difficult to pick up?
It wasn’t too hard—if a guitar has six strings, then that’s two less to worry about on a bass! (Laughs) But when it came to writing music on the bass, I had to put in more effort. I wasn’t just working with melody anymore; I had to think about rhythm too, and that was a challenge for me.

I actually didn’t own a bass until a few months ago. Before that, I was using the previous bassist’s instrument. They adjusted it for me by resetting the neck and changing the bridge so it suited my playing. I used it for the first year or two, but the biggest issue was its size. I’m quite small, so when I stand, the bass is almost as tall as me—that’s the real struggle! (Laughs)

We feel you! In terms of instruments, is the guitar the first thing you learned how to play?
I actually started with the ukulele. My whole family’s pretty musical. My dad’s an audiophile—he used to bring me along to jazz gigs, and we’d have jam sessions at home. He played blues and jazz, and my sister had her own band too. So my dad would play guitar, my sister would sing, and they’d perform at bars together doing blues and jazz sets.

My dad always wanted me to be a jazz musician, so I picked up the trumpet because I joined the concert band in school, but I eventually realised I didn’t really enjoy classical music. I thought it’d be fun, but it turned out to be super strict. So over the years I’ve played ukulele, guitar, trumpet, and then bass, but I’ve since stopped playing the trumpet.

Looking back, it’s kind of a waste lah that I wasn’t as interested in music back then as I am now. We had a drum kit, crazy subwoofers, and acoustic guitars at home, and my dad knew everything about music, but there I was as a kid, busy playing Minecraft!

Well we’re glad you found your passion for it eventually! Being in a family of music lovers, what were some of the artists or types of music you grew up loving?
My family introduced me to a lot of jazz funk and other complex stuff. I always had the ear for it because my dad used to make me sit on the couch, close my eyes, and guess the genre while he shuffled through songs. But I never really listened to that kind of music for my own enjoyment.

The artist that actually got me hooked was Twenty One Pilots. Kinda corny, I know (laughs)—but back then, I hadn’t explored enough to find bands like Nirvana yet. I was just stuck in that box of whatever everyone else was listening to. Looking back, it kind of had a negative effect on me. When I started writing music, my dad tried to teach me music theory, but I didn’t get it at all. I had to break through this mental block that told me I needed to understand everything perfectly before I could write anything good.

Interesting! It’s not super common to see girls on bass in bands, how has it been for you?
This could easily turn into another full interview, but there are both pros and cons. On the downside, people sometimes don’t take me seriously, and I’m the kind of person who wants to be taken seriously. One of the things that really took a toll on me when I first started was during an interview, this guy asked how I got into the band, and after I explained, he said, “Orh, you can just say groupie lah.” I was flabbergasted! And there’ve been comments suggesting Bellied Star is only successful because of how I look, which is bullshit.

But on the flip side, girls sometimes come up to me after shows and say they’ve been trying to learn the bass, or that their younger sister saw me play and got inspired, and that’s been really encouraging. At the end of the day, I’m very passionate about what I do lah.

And yeah, I feel very strongly about being a girl in an otherwise all boy band. Even though the guys are my best friends, there have been times they’ve talked over me, and I’ve had to step in and tell them, “You need to listen when I speak.” It really comes down to being assertive and confident. Man, I could go on and on about this!

We love the spirit of standing up for yourself—something we hope all girls will eventually learn to do! One last question: what are your hopes for the band in the next 5 years?
Obviously, the goal is to make it big, or at the very least, build something sustainable. I want to see the world through the band. Touring Malaysia last year, even if it was just Penang and KL, was such a great experience. When I was in KL and saw girl musicians on stage, I told them, “We don’t really have this in Singapore,” and it was eye-opening to see. That’s the kind of experience I want to keep gaining through the band.

Within the band, we have this understanding: if something affects any of us in the long run, the person comes first, and the band comes after that. Hopefully, we’ll be successful. It’s a bit scary to think about, but more than anything, I just want it to be something that can support us in the long-run.