Chai Chang is a Hong Kong-born artist with a vision that he hopes inspires other would-be creatives buried in a cycle of corporate jobs to follow their musical instincts.
After studying a bachelor degree in marketing, a master degree of education and now a full-time degree in nutrition, Chai's journey has taken him from Hong Kong to Melbourne, all while nurturing his childhood dream of becoming a musician.A fusion of his cultural roots, Chang has sculpted an artistic identity that's as vibrant and multifaceted as the tapestry of his own heritage. "So there's a traditional thinking in Hong Kong, in my home town, that we have to study hard at school and then we have to achieve good results," shares Chai.
"[Then] after graduating from university, you have to look for a stable job in large organisations and gradually climb the [corporate] ladder.
"I moved back to Hong Kong in 2013. I started a job in a bank and then after that I also worked like several jobs for example in the government, in universities and mainly in administrative and marketing roles."
Through the twists and turns of his life journey, Chang's unwavering dream of a career in singing has been a constant, a beacon lighting his path through the shadows of uncertainty.
Chai's artistic inspiration knows no borders; he draws from the melodious traditions of Chinese and Korean pop, as well as the soulful aspects of English-speaking tunes. His biggest influence as an artist is the late Coco Lee, who was one of the first Chinese artists to break into the American mainstream music market.
"She also devoted her entire music career to bringing music of all kinds, including both English and Chinese songs, and she was also a great performer onstage, both singing and dancing," Chang says.
"That's why all this influenced me to pursue a career in music and to integrate both English and Chinese music, whether the audience are from the East or the West."
Last week Chai released his debut single, titled 'New Reality'; it's a song that explores the constant attachment modern society has to the ceaseless consumption of social media in the mindless pursuit of attracting likes and followers.
"Nowadays I think people spend lots of time using and swiping their mobile phones. But sometimes it's hard to tell whether the information actually tells the truth," shares Chai. "So the concept of perfection on social media also changes how we think and do.
"We want to look good on social media, so we can attract peers to like us or like our posts. So just like what the lyrics in the song say, 'If I blur my face until I've got no pores, maybe they can see that I'm beautiful'.
"So sometimes it's hard to decide what's right or what's wrong. So here I'm open to the audience to analyse the good and the bad side of using mobile phones. And I want to point out that this is a new reality."
Chai is currently working on his next two singles, with one being a Chinese-style song, followed by a dance song in English. With a long-term goal to release a full-length album (a combination of English and Chinese songs), he has a strong focus right now on his creative processes.
"From my perspective, I think it's never too late to start something new. So in the past, for example, let's say 10 years ago, when I'm still 23 years old, I was probably too timid and not mature enough to start this out. But now, as I'm older, I've got more courage and I've got more life experiences to share.
"So no matter being young or old, I think the best time to start something new is now, which is the present. And I believe my passion and determination, my audience can feel and share my sincerity."
