Over the past few years, local artiste Claudia Tan – more popularly known as just Claudia – has been making a name for herself in the local English-music landscape, thanks to catchy singles such as “Bodies” and “Mikaela”.
Hailing from Kuching, Tan is also an author who got her start by writing romance on the popular online platform Wattpad. Here’s an astonishing fact: her second novel, “Perfect Addiction”, has been adapted into a 2023 film starring Kiana Madeira, Ross Butler and Matthew Noszka!
With such fondness for books and beats, it’s perhaps no surprise that the cover of her debut album, “Love, Again”, is inspired by the jackets of classic romance novels. It features Tan in a flowing gown, surrounded by beautiful blossoms.
This dreamlike imagery is the perfect representation of its subject matter: many of the songs centre around the fanciful aspects of love “in its most innocent and naive form, which is how I was when I started writing about romance and love”.
“It deals with how that perspective can be both a good thing and a bad thing. So, it’s about coming to terms with reality versus fiction,” she told FMT Lifestyle.
Tan, who has been writing romance since she was 16, started singing when she was in high school. She later discovered a knack for songwriting when studying in the UK – bored, she picked up a ukulele one day, and the rest is history.
She later began dating producer Irwin Lim – professionally known as Irwinandfire – and the two decided to produce some music without thinking much of it at the time.
The response to their efforts, however, overwhelmed them. “Our song, ‘Bodies’, blew up on TikTok and radio, and we decided we wanted to pursue music professionally to the best of our abilities,” Tan said.
This includes live performances by the bubbly 26-year-old, whose favourite experience so far took place at last year’s TRX Exchange New Year’s Eve party: “It had the best crowd ever!”
“Love, Again” features 10 catchy tracks from Tan, with Irwinandfire serving as main producer. The duo enlisted the help of Simon J Li, a Los Angeles-based screen and stage composer, to help with the album’s jazzier and more cinematic aspects.
She describes “Love, Again” as an exuberant celebration of the twists and turns of relationships. Its earwormy tunes pay homage to musical stars such as Laufey, Grant Perez, Sabrina Carpenter, and Red Velvet.
There’s much to like here. The first single, “Your Gentleman”, is a wistful tune with a memorable rhythm, while the lyrics of the bouncy “Toast” may make you never see breakfast in the same way again. Check out the music video below:
Tan’s personal favourite track is “Naviety”, which, according to her, perfectly captures the “root of the story” she was aiming to tell.
The most challenging song, on the other hand, has to be the title track, which took one and a half years to complete!
“We just couldn’t get the sound right, and we went to a lot of different producers and a lot of rounds of drafts to make it happen. Then we found Simon, and the puzzle pieces just fit,” Tan recalled.
“I also think the song ‘Slowly’, which features Filipino-American singer-songwriter Siopaolo, is also a good one. It’s a slow ballad, and I don’t usually do songs like that.”
So, what’s ahead for this high achiever? Tan is going to be quite busy over the foreseeable future: her next book, “Perfect Redemption”, the fourth and final instalment of her “Perfect” series, is due to be released on April 16.
Music-wise, too, there’s also a lot for her fans to be excited about. “There’s another era of music hopefully coming soon! I’ve got some cool collabs with some amazing Southeast Asian artists, so keep a look out for that,” she concluded.
Follow Claudia on YouTube, Instagram and Spotify, where you can check out ‘Love, Again’.