Music Metamorphosis

Ever since I discovered a few 2nd hand CD shops on Instagram (located in Jakarta), I've been patronising them to get some of my favourite albums which I haven't owned. Sometimes they have rare albums. Albums which were released in the 90s and no longer released now. And as an avid CD collector, I love collecting them! I've lost track to the number of CDs I bought heh.

Looking at the albums I bought, I feel confused at myself sometimes. Because the CDs I bought range from classical music, to electronic, to indie and even new age. One of the most difficult questions people ask me is "What is your favourite music genre?" and... I really don't know haha. Well I would say I am really into indie music. Currently I'm obsessed with electronic and synth-pop. Or minimalist-synth. Or as some people call it, synth-die (synth indie?).

But I think the main problem with me is that I listen to any music so long they are nice to my ears. So if you look through my iTunes library, you will be really surprised by the different genres of music I have.

So today I'm gonna talk about how my liking to different genres of music progresses in my life.

When I was young believe it or not, I'm a fan of rock music. I like listening to Bon Jovi and some Indonesia rock band. But I guess I like them not because of musical reasons, but more of because it was "cool" back then to be fans of these bands heh. At the same time, I am very interested in learning the piano. And I've always loved listening to instrumental music, cause my parents always listen to them in the car when we go out and also at home, when my mum was doing work.

I remember asking my sister, who was studying in Singapore then, to get my CDs of Richard Clayderman and anything flute-related (I don't know why I love flute) as gifts from Singapore. I remember she got me a CD of those compilation of music played on pan-flutes. I didn't know what is a pan flute back then. All I thought, anything that sounds like a flute, is a flute. 

I discovered Enya in primary school, through my Angklung and Kulintang ensemble CCA. It was definitely a moment of epiphany in my life. I really love her music, I think it was unique, uplifting and well just really nice I suppose. And then I remember in P6 my sister got a free mini radio/USB music player because she bought herself an iPod. In P6 I listened to Gold 90 FM and Symphony 92.4 FM a lot, especially when I was studying. And this was when I discovered a lot of new music. New "old" music to be accurate. I listen to them so often, that I didn't know the current releases back then.

Secondary school was the period of my life for me where I discovered a lot of music. Mainly because of my friends, many whom are always updated with the music scene. I feel like secondary school is a time when lots of music just got smacked on my face, and I pick up slowly the music I like and I don't like. I mean I used to listen to Katy Perry, Owl City, Five for Fighting, Daughtry, The Script (still a fan!) and more. I still listen to some bands now, but most of them are kinda forgotten.

Up till this stage, I'm still a huge fan of classical music. But in sec 3, I discovered Ryan Farish, who is a composer who writes chilout music. And I fell in love deeply with his music! Thanks to Youtube, I searched for more music and discovered a few that I love. 

I suppose it was in sec 4 that I started to broaded my horizon in music. I just kept on listening to songs on Youtube, and yes it still feels like I got smacked by a lot of music on my face, and I was picking up my favourite ones. I started listening to Indie music, or songs that no one has heard before haha. At the end of secondary 4, I discovered Kings of Convenience and they instantly become my favourite band. And my love for indie just grew deeper and deeper! 

I discovered Sigur Ros on my first year in Poly (thanks Joel!) and they have helped to redefine my definition of music, and my taste for music. They were the gateway to post-rock, which is a genre I still enjoy listening to now. Having my own laptop, iTunes and CD player in poly, my conquest for music searching just became easier. I must say that it is during my polytechnic years that my "base" for music is beginning to take shape. I narrowed down my searches, and actually, I discovered most of my favourite bands during my polytechnic years! Credits to Youtube, Soundcloud and my friends haha.

So yeah, all these 17 years of my life of discovering music, and getting smacked on the face by different genres and bands have made me enjoy a lot different genres of music! But in the past 2-3 years I've been really enjoying a lot of electronic and synth music. Currently obsessed with Chvrches, Shura, Oh Wonder, Years and Years. And I am also enjoying a lot of minimalist music. Music with little instruments but nice beat and rhythm and lyrics. Lyrics are super powerful. 

I have a weird taste in music. Or like Mdm Mah once told me, an eclectic one.