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By Karen Lim
What can you do with extra money earned from giving tuition and private classes?
Spending almost $17,000 on jamming, recording and mastering, the three Nanyang Technological University (NTU) graduates released their debut album, Hey!, on July 26.
Home-grown band Tuzi and their debut album titled, Hey!
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(Photos: Makiyo, TNP) |
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Their nine-track album features their debut single Wang Ji Le (Forgotten), a song which expresses the disorientation and state of mind of modern busy individuals caught up in a fast-paced society.
The band, which is the winner of SuperBand contest in 2008, is formed by three Nanyang Technological University (NTU) 22-year-old graduates: Sara Lam, lead vocalist and guitarist, Carissa Foo, vocalist and bassist and Joyce Tan, back-up vocalist and drummer.
While some of the funds came from their hard-earned money, part of it also came from the prize money awarded to them for winning the SuperBand competition.
In an email interview with AsiaOne, the trio revealed that they juggled schoolwork on top of the financial burden, as they had no fixed income or means of providing, and took one and a half years to finally produce the album.
So why endure all this hardship to create an album? Passion, says drummer Joyce.
"The state of the Chinese indie scene is also rather bleak to begin with. We were prepared that this project was for passion and not for profits, fame or money," said Joyce.
Besides composing their own songs and producing their own album, Tuzi will also be personally handling the publicity side of things.
Their currents plans are to distribute Hey! locally and to sell internationally through their official website (http://www.heytuzi.com).
Tuzi will also be hosting a Hey! party at Home Club on August 19 and a concert has also been planned on October 5 at the Esplanade Recital Hall.
As if the recent challenge was not difficult enough, these girls continue to juggle work and studies, while pursuing their common dream in creating more Chinese indie music - Sarah is currently giving tuition, Joyce is working part-time while Carissa will be continuing with her studies in September.
Tuzi also hope to eventually extend the availability of their music to other Asian countries such as Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China.
With such determination, it will not come as a surprise if they manage to do so.
-AsiaOne
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