The Kuala Lumpur-born 45-year-old picked up the violin at age eight, and her fruitful career has seen her rack up numerous awards and accolades. These include the McMillan Woods Global Icon Award in 2019, and a Malaysia Book of Records entry for being the first Malaysian music examiner to be appointed to the Trinity College London Examination Board.
Yeoh, who holds a PhD in music and consumer behaviour, is an associate professor at Universiti Putra Malaysia. She has performed alongside international superstars such as Jacky Cheung, Alan Tam, and David Tao.
Her two previous albums, “Pulse of the Metropolis” and “After A Dream”, were released in 2000 and 2013, respectively.
Speaking with FMT, she said “Life, Interrupted”, which was released early last year and features 10 original compositions, is especially meaningful as she was able to work with artists across various disciplines on the music videos for each song.
Among her collaborators is graffiti artist Acap, whose work she came across while walking around Petaling Street in KL. “I asked if he would like to work together on the video for my song ‘Secrets We Keep’, and he did it pro bono,” she recalled.
“It is wonderful seeing how artists came together to support one another during the pandemic,” Yeoh said, adding that she believes in the value of cross-discipline creative ventures among arts practitioners.
Meanwhile, sand artist Loong Bee worked on the song “Friyay”; programmer Strachan Chan designed an actual video game for “Game Changer”; artist Jeremy Lee collaborated with her on “Break Free”; and visual artist Ariel LV Tan lent her talents to “Lazy Hazy Days”.
In addition, writer Gina Yap Lai Yoong worked on the storylines for most of the videos, all 10 of which can be viewed on Yeoh’s YouTube channel.
#LifeInterrupted
In conjunction with Merdeka Day and to celebrate her third album, Yeoh will be holding an intimate concert, “#LifeInterrupted”, on Aug 31 at the REXKL cultural space in downtown KL.
The event, she said, is also aimed at shining a spotlight on some of her collaborators. “The audience will get to see Strachan play the video game and Loong Bee work on his sand art while I play,” she teased.
“Instrumental music has no words, so it can be difficult for some to connect with it. That’s why we decided to include the accompanying visuals.”
So, what inspires her to create original music? Yeoh enjoys listening to movie soundtracks, and is particularly inspired by film composer Hans Zimmer, whose influence can be heard on her song “Into the Furnace”.
Ideas just “come to me, although at times I have to think a little bit harder”, she replied with a laugh, adding: “One has to be attentive to capture inspiration when it strikes.”
‘#LifeInterrupted’ will be held at 8.30pm on Aug 31 at REXKL. Tickets are RM70 and can be purchased by contacting Lok Yew at 010-2788066, or emailing [email protected].
Check out Joanne Yeoh’s music on YouTube and Spotify, and keep up-to-date via her website and Facebook profile.