SINGAPOREAN singer/ songwriter Gentle Bones offers the bittersweet reality that comes with relationships, as he explores the emotion-filled theme of love in his latest EP Michelle.
The 24-year-old (real name Joel Tan) wrote and composed the three tracks in his solo EP – I Wouldn’t Know Any Better Than You, Be My Ocean, and You are the One – following the collaborative album B4nger Project with fellow Singaporean artiste MYRNE.
Michelle showcases his “way of just writing love letters”, and music that is sonically his own, after learning and experimenting with different genres, says the singer in a recent phone interview.
The accomplished young artiste – who was listed in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia in 2016, and currently signed to Universal Music Singapore – said: “It might be a little weird to say it, but these three songs are actually my first three love songs.
“I don’t think I’ve ever written a love song before.”
Gentle Bones started out with just an acoustic guitar five years ago, after which saw him dabble in R&B, hip hop, and dance music in his 2016 EP, Geniuses and Thieves.
“Eventually I just came out with a sound that I felt was original,” said Gentle Bones.
“I don’t think I can categorise my new music in any way.
“That’s what I find the most joy in doing; it’s coming up with something different that I feel is unique.
“I think it’s just the first time that ... ever since I fell in love with electronic music, I’ve managed to get a sound that I felt was definitively Gentle Bones.”
His latest release has a more soulful tinge, coupled with a certain vulnerability, while singing about the topic in fresh honesty.
Gentle Bones also revealed that the Michelle whose name inspired the EP is a friend to whom he also dedicates the songs on the album.
“There wasn’t much thought behind it,” he said. “I wrote these songs, and they were beautiful, and since it was about her, I just put her on the cover.”
Collectively, the three tracks on Michelle are still an ode to love, but forgo the polished outlook on romantic relationships that most love songs tend to favour.
According to Gentle Bones, “everybody romanticises relationships, and love”, after saying that “a lot of pain, [and] a lot of sadness” was playing on his mind when he penned the lyrics.
“And then, what I figured out recently, being such a fan of love and music, is that a lot of suffering, and a lot of pain [are things] you have to deal with when there’s love involved.
“That’s what I wanted to bring to light. It’s also very important for two people who have come together to [understand] that they don’t know any better than the other person when it comes to being together.
“It was a very important theme to me.” So much so that it inspired the track I Wouldn’t Know Any Better Than You.
“I think that song was probably the most raw song I’ve ever written. It’s just straight from the heart, for sure.”
What he strives to achieve with his music is to show his vulnerable side, and to continue making music with the theme of love, since it is reflective to his own personal experience.
“I think love is really the answer, whether it’s the good parts or bad parts of love, and I don’t want to claim to know anything more than love,” he says, before adding that he wouldn’t be singing about bigger themes that he isn’t familiar with.
As Gentle Bones puts it, “what I really want to do is just bring [out] my own personal experiences and my personal vulnerability, to just show people, and let them – if they’d like to understand me – hopefully, just understand what I’m trying to say.”
Stream Michelle here: https://umm.lnk.to/MichellePR
