LOOK at The Analog Girl. Remember her face and remember her name - Mei Wong.

She's been named by Time magazine as one of five Asian Acts to watch in 2008.

But just who is this Singaporean woman who has graced a prestigious international magazine?

Of the Time magazine story, she told The New Paper yesterday: 'I'm really happy to be featured. I didn't really expect it, I just got approached one day.

'I've been doing my round of interviews (for the newly-launched album Sometime Next Galaxy) recently and this is part of it.

'My friends think it's a cool thing, it's great exposure and it's definitely an honour.'

The Analog Girl's music has been described as a lyrical mix of electro-rock and dream-pop.

She's doing electronica because it's music that's easier for her to create.

'I'm a one-woman band, so it's easier for me to do electronic music using just my laptop,' she said.

Her 'band' is made up of just her laptop, synthesised effects and her vocals.

She creates all her songs from her MacBook Pro, sponsored by Apple, using recording software such as Ableton Live.

Ironically, the 35-year-old doesn't fancy the genre much.

'I don't sit at home and listen to electronica all day. I listen to a lot of stuff which keeps changing.

'I don't listen to my own music because I work on it all day,' she said with a laugh.

Her sound has often been compared to those of Yoko Ono and Bjork.

Music reviewer and singer Chris Ho told The New Paper yesterday that Mei has a quirky quality that's 'bravely experimental in a non-melodic, avant-garde way'.

'Not many people dare to project that as most are afraid of being non-musical. And that puts her in a class above the rest,' he said.

Mr Justin Sweeting, product manager of Star Group which recommended The Analog Girl to Time, told The New Paper that her music 'transports the listener to another realm'.

The Analog Girl is featured on AMP TV's website created by Star Group as a meeting point for musicians and members to share music.

'She's managed to create a sound that is both electronic on one hand yet full of human emotion on the other,' said Mr Sweeting.

'It's that dynamic that gives her sound the element of an escapist and other-worldliness that makes her so engaging.'

In the indie music scene, Mei has received rave reviews for her songs.

NO POOR MUSICIAN

In fact, she says she's 'not the embodiment of a struggling musician' as she earns as much as she did when she was freelancing as a TV producer.

She enjoys royalties from selling her tracks and albums online to a global audience. But she admits that 'you cannot survive just on album sales', despite hers being 'pretty healthy'.

In fact, Mei gets a better income from other commissioned forms of music-writing.

She also gets invited to perform 'live' in major clubs and events overseas, such as New York's Knitting Factory, London's The Spitz and Paris' The Cirque Electrique.

Mei is a business administration graduate from the National University of Singapore. She joined MTV as a producer for three years, then worked for Warner Music for a year before returning to MTV as a freelancer.

She turned full-time electronic musician in 2002.

Has the Time article helped her get recognised on the street?

'I look different every day, it's quite hard to recognise me. My friends can't even recognise me in the papers,' she quipped.

Well, perhaps it's time they, and the rest of Singapore, did.

Visit http://www.analog-girl.net or http://amp.channelv.com/theanaloggirl to sample The Analog Girl's tracks and for details on her albums.

TIME'S OTHER ASIAN ACTS TO WATCH

Goodnight Electric: This Indonesian trio looks as good as it sounds and aims to make danceable music.

Cornelius: The Japanese producer and musician hypnotises with a hallucinogenic synthesis of sound and light.

P.K. 14: This anti-establishment band from Beijing is neither punk, nor postpunk but postfolk.

The Out of Body Special: Filipino band OBS's diversity of styles and fusion of genres stands out in the predictable world of Asian hip-hop.

This story was first published on Jan 24, 2008.