Meet Jazley Chua | Vocal Producer & Mixing Engineer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jazley Chua and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jazley, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
Hello! My name is Jazley Chua; I was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I’m a vocal producer and mixing engineer based in LA but have recently been working remotely in Malaysia due to the pandemic. At 12 years of age, I started my journey in music by joining my middle school’s Chinese Orchestral team, which I continued to be a part of until the age of 16. I played the dulcimer or yangqin, a Chinese stringed instrument. We held orchestral concerts at my hometown in Batang Kali, and we even joined competitions. Before the foray into music production, I was convinced that my professional road to music was in the dulcimer. And yet, despite the Chinese Orchestral being a vastly different form and style of music from the music I currently produce, it played a significant role in my music foundation. Before all of this music production stuff, I was really into Chinese orchestral and even wanted to study performance in dulcimer.

From 2016 to early 2017, I enrolled and studied at the International College of Music (ICOM). I met a local artist Ali Aiman, who was also my lecturer during my time there. Upon hearing his music, I was entranced by how minimal it was, which was something not many local artists were doing at the time in Malaysia. His music was one of the reasons that inspired me to pursue music production. I wanted to learn and know how to create music like his.

So in the late 2017, I moved to LA and pursued my studies at the Los Angeles Recording School. Along with that dream, I bonded pretty close with some of my peers from college. We soon started a band called “Walk the Waves” which kick-started my career as an artist, vocal producer, and mixing engineer.

It was around this time my focus shifted mainly to audio production. During my time with Walk the Waves, I got to sharpen my skills in mixing engineering and vocal production, which I am grateful for. Whenever we’re in the mixing process, I’m always interested in the tones and sounds from other records. I would always give suggestions and experiment with the tonality with my bandmates.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My biggest milestone so far is getting to work with an artist from Belgium, Roberto Bellarosa, the first winner of “The Voice Belgium”. I vocal edited one of his songs called “Le Remède” which was a huge deal for me! I got to put my hands on this project through a mixing engineer I work closely with, Jerome Renard. I’m grateful that Jerome trusted and gave me the chance to be a part of this song. It honestly still feels a little surreal to me. Yeah, I think that’s the biggest milestone so far, but hopefully, many more to come, and I will work hard for them.

There’s no doubt that it’s hard. Especially as an immigrant in the US, I have to put in more work than anyone else to get my foot in the door. During my time in the States, I rarely see a woman working as an audio engineer, and I don’t have any female friends doing the audio and technical side of work either. Sometimes I get stressed
out over this because it seems so impossible for me to fit in. But if you’re a woman in this industry, always stand up and speak up. Let people listen and see you. Work hard, be patient and trust yourself. The door will gradually open for you. That’s the advice my parents gave me, and that’s what I did, and I’m grateful and lucky to meet people that would accept me and trust my skills. So, always stand up for yourself, be strong!

I would also love to share that the vocal production in K-Pop amazes me. It is one of the motivations that keep me strengthening my skills and ears and keeping me in the loop of music. There are so many tiny little candies for your ears throughout the song, and I always wonder how producers create such interesting sounds to flow within the song. I’m always trying to experiment and dig deeper into them so I can try to apply similar techniques to the pieces I work on too!

As for my short-term goal, I want to let more people understand and appreciate what vocal producers do as they take up a crucial role in music. We have to take care of many small details, and the work we do is very technical and time-consuming. Besides technical work, we also have to put our creative hat on, ensure the vocals stay enjoyable, and put ear candies here and there to keep the vocals alive. Hence, the audience listens until the very end of the song. So, the workload for vocal producers is quite heavy. Whenever you look at the credits section, it’s scarce to see “Vocal Produced by _,” and I don’t think vocal producers get the credit we deserve! Vocal Producers play a big role; if songs weren’t passed through them, they likely wouldn’t be out in public. So please tell your friends about vocal production, and keep us in mind whenever you hear a little ear candy in a song!

As for the long term, I want to create music that will heal and help people suffering or in need. The incident I had with my band, the damage in me was too deep. It was the most significant turnaround in my life. I hope that when people listen to the music I create, it will soothe their hearts and clear their minds. Most importantly, it will help them to walk out of the darkness and give them a sense of hope again.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would bring them up north more than staying in the heart of LA. Haha. When I was still living in the states, I would drive up the pacific coast highway from Malibu to Gaviota, Jalama Beach, Santa Barbara – there’s a nice coffee spot called “Dunes Coffee Roasters” and a small cute town with Danish architecture named “Solvang”! These are a few of my favorite places to stop by and chill. That will be my 3 days 2 nights itinerary if my best friends or family are visiting LA.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The person who always keeps me moving to this day is my parents. My mom and dad are the most significant impact on being who I am today. They have never stopped me from chasing my dreams in music and have always been a constant pillar of support in everything I’ve done so far. My mom has also been a cancer patient since I was 16, yet she’s always worried about my career and how I’ll be able to support myself as she’s scared she can’t be there for me.

It’s definitely a challenge to survive and make a living in the music industry, especially in audio production when you’re a woman. But as a fighter, they always push me and stay by my side even when things don’t go well. It’s been several years since I started my career in music, and now that I’m able to support myself doing what I love, it all pays off as it eases their worries. I couldn’t be more grateful for the way things are working out right now. So a massive shoutout to them! I love you, ba & ma!

Another person would be my sister, Evonne. She’s the only person I can share my music with in the family. She is a professional in the design industry. She can relate to the problems I was facing even though we both work in different sectors but in the same category. When I had just moved to LA, I was depressed and lonely. I often felt that I couldn’t fit in the groups in school and had no one to share things with, and Evonne was there for me during that time.

I also want to give a lowkey shoutout to my ex and ex-bandmate. It was a long story, but I’m going to keep it short. We’ve been working closely and putting out music together for three years. At the end of 2021, Both of them and I had different opinions, and we decided to part ways cause things didn’t work out as expected. But if it didn’t happen, I wouldn’t have gotten out of the bubble that has been circling for two years! I was very hopeless and lost, and it’s the biggest downfall in my life yet. I’ve realized a lot of true and false, and I saw how cruel reality is and what can’t be changed. I was in anger, and it made me step out and push forward that I didn’t even know I could do so much more than what I was capable of. So yeah! It still hurts me when I think of it, it’s a memorable moment that I will never forget, and it’s also a part of me. But I’m now more vital than ever and will be more in the future!

Website: https://www.jazleychua.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_jazley_/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jazleychua/