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

Hi lewloh, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
“Don’t be discouraged. It’s often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock.”

One of the main struggles when pursuing such a temperamental career, is staying motivated even when no-one is paying attention. This quote reminds me that it is the journey that is important, and to pay less attention to the final destination.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
To be honest, there are a lot of hardworking and out of the box writers out there. I think what I bring to the table, is my perspective as a bisexual POC, writing within a genre that is predominantly white and pretty. My writing is sometimes metaphorical and layered, but at times on the nose and pointed. I rarely beat around the bush, and try to inject multiple perspectives within a song. I started my music career in Singapore, where the arts are rarely prioritized, and often see as ‘non-essential’. But I’d be lying if I said my journey has been hard, because it really hasn’t. Right from the get-go, I was fortunate enough to befriend amazing and supportive people in the industry, always ready to put me in front of opportunity buses, whether ready or not. This is not to discount the thousands of hours invested, and the many sacrifices made to put music first: even at times losing a loved one (I told him that I would always love music first, and that he had to be ok with being 2nd… oops)

Some lessons I learnt on the way:
– Be shameless about being your own #1 fan (if you aren’t gonna hype yourself up, then who will?)
– Reach out to friends, someone is always down to help
– Be grateful to every person you meet on the job. Shoutout to the sound guys at every live venue!!
– Stop and smell the roses (because winter will eventually come, and they will all die.)
– Be patient with your art. If you like rain, you’ll probably like my music.

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?
Right now I’m in Boston.

Monday: Show them around my school campus (Berklee College of Music). Give them a taste of music school, give them a tour of the studios, and take them to a live music show that a friend is playing in. Let them sit in on a class or two, and introduce them to my professors. Dinner at ‘Mumbai Spice’ for some good warm Indian food.

Tuesday: Take a trip to the Seaport district and bring them to the Institute of Contemporary Art. Show them the pier, and then take them for lunch at Quincy Market. Dinner at ‘Veggie Galaxy’, ending the night with some vegan chocolate cake.

Wednesday: Thrift shopping day!! Start at Boomerang’s in Cambridge, then move on to goodwill, and then end at The Garment District. Eat lunch at Harvard Square, and then do a mini tour of the Harvard campus.

Thursday: Walk to Museum of Fine Arts, and show them artwork that I learnt about from my Art History class. Then head to Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and give them a mini history lesson on its existence, and the day 13 art pieces were stolen from the museum. Go home and order Uber eats from ‘Grasshopper’ for dinner.

Friday: Stay home all day. Watch Netflix/Disney+ together, and just be in each others’ company. Order Ubereats from “Red White” – a vegan Japanese bowl restaurant. Head out to a nearby pub for a drink and some vibes.

Saturday: Go grocery shopping at Wholefoods/Trader Joe’s and buy ingredients to cook a vegan squash pasta. We are probably also going to bake some banana bread. Invite some Covid-tested friends to a Board games night.

Sunday: Take a long walk to Boston Commons for a stroll at the park, then have lunch in Chinatown at ‘My Thai Vegan Cafe’. Walk around downtown and catch any horror movie that is showing. We walk down Newbury street and stop at “Beantown Pho & Grill” for some Vietnamese food. Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to shoutout a few of my favourite songwriters, Julia Gartha, Ariyel and Joshua Evan Lee. Julia inspires me to be a better melodic writer, Ariyel inspires me to be a better lyricist, and Joshua inspires me to be a better producer. These three are all amazing people to work with, but more importantly, great friends to have. Thank you!!!

Website: http://www.lewloh.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lewloh/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lewloh
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBPf_KrV5kjS5c7A512tmrg

Image Credits
Portrait photo – Rachel Rodgers B&W Photo – Brian Pek Stop Sign Photo – Dakota Maykrantz Photo with Cello player – Ben Pu Wooden floors Photo – Joel Tan

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