Meet Lauren Ong: Wither then Bloom
Meet Lauren Ong, a singer-songwriter from Singapore who recently relocated to the San Diego area! Lauren grew up playing classical music, as she was a classical and orchestral harpist throughout her childhood. This love for music, mixed with a creative drive for reading and writing, led Lauren to start writing her original songs. To her, the writing and playing were a perfect mix of music and words, a natural progression in her creative journey. Lauren Ong released her album "hillcrest" a couple of months ago, in July 2023. Let's get to know Lauren on a more personal level, learn about the creation of her most recent album, and what inspires her to make the music she does!
Photo taken by @jptrkd (Dan Wong) on IG
YOU RECENTLY RELOCATED FROM SINGAPORE TO SAN DIEGO; HOW HAS THE MOVE BEEN?
"All things considered, it was a pretty pleasant move! I've had my fair share of time to adjust, and now am really enjoying it here. The time difference was initially a little tough to navigate, and the homesickness comes and goes, but I'm really lucky in that I've managed to find friends that I love and have gotten the privilege to play some shows and express myself artistically. Compared to Singapore's humidity, the San Diego weather is a real and true blessing, and I absolutely love the nature and scenery!"
HOW DOES THE SINGAPORE MUSIC SCENE DIFFER FROM THE SAN DIEGO/CALIFORNIA MUSIC SCENE?
"The Singapore and San Diego music scene are actually pretty similar! Both are filled with artists who are brimming with talent and stories to share and with audiences who are really supportive and care deeply about the music that they listen to. The diversity of the San Diego music scene is pretty extensive, and I love that there are so many unique artists here. Something I thought I would miss was the close-knit community that the Singapore music scene has – everybody more or less knows everyone, given the size of both the community and of Singapore as a country, but I'm beginning to see that the San Diego music community is just as inclusive and welcoming, and I'm looking forward to experiencing more of it soon!"
Photo taken by @highthere.studio (Rauf Amirul) on IG
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT BEING IN SAN DIEGO AS AN ARTIST? HOW DO YOU FEEL IT HAS AFFECTED YOUR ARTISTRY?
"I have a couple, if that's ok! As an artist, I think a lot – I think, and I think about thinking, and then I think about the thought that I was thinking about. I find that San Diego as a place just lets you be, and I've really enjoyed just being, and getting to introspect and understand myself a bit better. The pace at which life moves here has been a drastic change from living in a bustling city, but it is a welcome change. I've also never really been much of an outdoors person, but since coming to San Diego, I have found great delight in sitting and watching the sunset, the fog roll in, or the birds fly by. The beauty of the city and the vast space here has been very inspiring and might make an appearance in my future music!"
WHAT WAS THE RECORDING PROCESS LIKE FOR YOUR LATEST RELEASE, "HILLCREST" AND WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT CREATING THE ALBUM?
"Recording 'hillcrest' was so much fun! I wrote and produced the album myself, but I went to a friend's house to record all the parts! My friend Tim De Cotta (The Warrior Productions) and I recorded all the stems over a span of 5 weeks, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the music that I arranged and wrote come to life. When I was in the initial writing stages for the album, I began noticing that each song seemed to feature in some shape or form a location. The more I wrote, the more central the theme of different locations became, and I eventually decided to frame the album around the concept of home and around the question, 'What is home to me?'. I really loved writing and reflecting on different places that held significance in my life and uncovering the links between the different places and how they shaped me as a person and an artist!"
LISTEN TO "HILLCREST" BY CLICKING BELOW.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE SONG ON YOUR ALBUM? IF SO, CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT IT?
"I try my best not to play favorites, but a song that will always have a special place in my heart is 'dandelion wine.' It holds the record for the fastest song I've ever written (12 minutes) and has one of my favorite metaphors – the idea of taking something like a dandelion that is beautiful but has limited life and preserving it by turning it into something different, which has its own beauty. When working on the song's production, I incorporated a couple of audio clips from old videos I had on my phone from moments with my family, friends, and loved ones, and listening to the song always makes me feel nice, warm, fuzzy feelings. I've also adopted it as a song that I play at the end of all my sets, as a reminder to myself and the audience to treasure the people around us!"
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF CREATING THIS ALBUM?
"The most challenging but my favorite part of creating the album was coming up with arrangements for the different songs. A goal I had was for the album to be sonically cohesive whilst still giving each song its own sonic identity, and I think I achieved it! Making sure each song's arrangements reflected the lyrical message and fit the location was also something I paid special attention to, which was difficult but so rewarding once the project had been completed and I could see everything come together. Two of the songs that I worked the longest on were 'flights to chicago' and 'all the other earths' – both songs went through 3 completely different iterations before I settled on the current arrangements, and it took me a while to find the right balance of sonic experimentation while still staying true to the message and vibe of the lyrics. But, it was time very well spent."
Photo taken by @jptrkd (Dan Wong) on IG
WHAT HAS INSPIRED AND INFLUENCED YOU AS AN ARTIST THE MOST?
"I am inspired by so many things! I love visual art, nature, movies, and other forms of media. When writing, I always tap into the things around me and the things that I experience. One of my biggest inspirations and influences is other music. I love music the most, and there are very few things that I love more than music. I am constantly inspired by new genres of music, new artists, new lyrics, and new sounds. Some artists who influenced me greatly when I was learning to write were The Maine and Twenty-One Pilots, and some artists who I am currently really inspired by include Remi Wolf, Dominic Fike, Singaporean math rock band Woes, Troye Sivan, and Runner."
IF YOU COULD DESCRIBE YOUR NEW ALBUM IN THREE WORDS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE AND WHY?
"I would describe it as earnest, introspective and full-of-heart. The story that 'Hillcrest' tells is the process of me moving out of my childhood home and facing change head-on. I try my best to be as open as I can when I write and put a lot of heart and emotion into both my writing and the music itself, and I hope that it comes through!"
Photo taken by @highthere.studio (Rauf Amirul) on IG
OUTSIDE OF MUSIC, WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES OR FAVORITE THINGS TO DO? WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT YOU OUTSIDE OF YOUR MUSIC CAREER?
"Aside from music, I love reading and arts and crafts! My guilty pleasure, which I'm not very guilty about, is watching reality TV. I love all kinds of reality shows, be they baking shows, competition shows, make-up shows, and more! Aside from music, I want people to know that I am always on the lookout for new places in San Diego and tend to have a bit of a resting, stressed face, but that I am actually quite friendly! And that I am looking forward to meeting more people and hearing their stories."
