As he walked into the cafe where we were going to have our chat, eaJ's eyes lit up as he noticed the furry friends that would be joining us.
Tucked away in a shophouse along Singapore's Bugis stretch, The Cat Cafe was, to me at least, an unusual space to have any interview, let alone one with a star like the Korean-American singer-songwriter. But for the 'Car Crash' act, it was something akin to paradise.
While eaJ, who has two cats of his own, Peanut and Butter, was visibly excited to get acquainted with the place's feline inhabitants, he made sure to stop to introduce himself. His tall stature should have made him an imposing figure, but this was neutralised by the genial smile he wore on his face and his warm handshake as he told me, "I'm Jae."
BANDWAGON TV
As we spoke, there were no airs about the 31-year-old Argentina-born artist, who was in Singapore for press engagements after performing at neighbouring Malaysia's SUPALAPA Festival and holding a fan meet in Kuala Lumpur in March. While sitting cross-legged on the ground, he divided his attention between reflecting on his music and journey and showing affection to the cats that had gathered around him, even endearingly calling one his "baby".
— Bandwagon (@BandwagonAsia) March 26, 2024
Perhaps it is this down-to-earth nature of his that makes eaJ so relatable whether he is performing on stage, streaming, or just having a chat with someone — which in turn explains why he is adored by so many around the world.
During his latest visit to the Lion City, eaJ spoke to Bandwagon about writing his "very personal" single 'mad', staying connected with his international fans, and how his songwriting process has evolved.
Hi, eaJ! How are you doing? How was your SUPALAPA Festival weekend?
I'm doing amazing, SUPALAPA Festival was really fun. Once again, thank you to SUPALAPA Festival for having me. I've done music for a really long time, and I think I've toured basically everywhere. But I'd never been to Malaysia. It was so nice to be there and to see everyone and I'm really, really glad that I got to go there. Thank you again to the fans, to SUPALAPA Festival. Appreciate it. Thank you very much.
You've always had a supportive fanbase in Southeast Asia, and you've recently mentioned the possibility of an Asia tour in your recent Instagram Live. Could you share more about this?
Made so many new friends in Asia this trip hope I get to come back soon 🥹
— eaJ (@eaJPark) March 4, 2024
I've been hoping to do an Asia tour for the past couple of years. Sadly, it always came to a point where we couldn't make it happen, or something happened. I'm really hell-bent... This year, I definitely want to make something happen. I know there are a lot of people in a lot of places who have been waiting to see me for a long time. So I'm going to try my best to make it happen.
eaJ announces Asia Tour – Manila, Jakarta, Bangkok, Seoul, and more
You just dropped your latest single, 'mad,' which you called your "most personal song yet". You've shared that you rarely write about yourself, but in this one, you took your own experiences and emotions as inspiration. Will we see more of this type of songwriting from you in the future?
I definitely think so. I think this one was a little bit more... I wasn't intentionally trying to write a very personal song. I think what ended up happening was I went into a studio with ideas of lyrics that were going through my head. At that time, I was very, very mad. So it's like my words just kind of got thrown onto a song. It just became very personal after looking at the whole picture. But I hope to write more personal things.
But I also feel like sometimes, when you just try to write things that have happened to you, [based] off your experience, it traps me in a bubble. I know it's different for every writer. So I feel like personal experience, plus a little bit of imagination is probably the sweet spot.
In our last interview at Joyland Jakarta, you mentioned how it was easier to try out ideas on the guitar. (Did you ever get that Fender artist discount?)
Oh, I actually did! I got some codes. I haven't been able to check it out yet. What happened was, I was planning on buying a guitar. And I bought one. Then the acoustic guitar just wasn't doing it for me, so I returned it. I was planning on getting an electric guitar, but one of my friends, vaultboy, bought me a classical guitar for Christmas. So I've been using that for a while. It's been great. So I'm gonna have to wait on that code for a little bit.
What's your songwriting process like? Which comes first for you, the lyrics or the melody?
Originally, I had always written melody first. I was taught from the beginning of my career that melody is king. So you would just make up melodies and then throw some lyrics on afterwards. That makes sense. But I think for the past, maybe a year and a half, two years, I've been finding it far easier to write lyrics and melodies at the same time.
Like 'mad,' for instance. It's funny how that melody came about. I was walking to my car to go to the studio that day. I was just humming in my head like, "I'm still mad, and I shouldn't be because it's sad, what you did to me?" And I was like, okay, cool. And I thought it was a good verse. So I think when it comes naturally, as both together, it's usually a little bit stickier.
So when did this change? Since you mentioned that melody was king at first, when did this start coming together?
I think melody was king until the point where I started going to studios with a lot of different producers to write music. Back when I was in Korea, I was still working with one or two producers, for the beginning of the eaJ project. I had been taught for so long to just do melody first, that I didn't really second-guess it. I just went to the studio, and was like, "Okay, let's get the track. And then let's do some "na-na-na-na-na". Then I take it home, write some lyrics, fix melodies I don't like, and bring it back.
But once I got to America, American sessions are a little bit different. I feel like it's a little more relaxed, and everyone's just kind of there to have a good time. If a good song comes about, then a good song comes about. With an environment that's a little bit more, I guess, stress-free and more on just like having a good time, I found that lyrics and melody just come together a little bit more naturally. I don't think one or the other is better. But I definitely feel like this system is a little bit easier right now for where I am.
So it's kind of dependent on the environment?
100%. Right.
You're now based in the States, but you've always maintained a close relationship with your fans. How do you stay connected with your international fans, especially the ones in the countries that you have yet to visit?
That's a really interesting one, and I'm very thankful to my fans. Such as my fans who are in Malaysia, who have been waiting for me for so long, and we finally got to meet now. I'm very happy about that. But I think the way that I connect is I try to stay very online on socials, Twitter (now known as X), Instagram, and even Twitch streaming, or YouTube streaming or TikTok streaming.
I try to be active [online] so that everyone can kind of just come in and chat. And if you ever have a question about me, I'm not one of those artists, where you have to wait forever, and like, buy a super VVVIP ticket in order to meet them and ask them [questions]. You can come into my chat at any time and ask me a question. I'll probably answer it. That's how I try to stay a little bit more available. But I also want to see my fans in person as well. So hopefully, I get to see everybody at some point.
You mentioned streaming. Is this something that you would like to continue doing a lot of moving forward?
Yeah, I think the thing for me is gaming was a really, really big thing for me during COVID, and I became very passionate about it. The whole streaming thing started with my passion for gaming. Slowly, as I got a little older, the passion for gaming died out. But I really do like chatting with people and talking to people – when they come into the chat and ask a question, especially when people bring interesting debates. I see different perspectives, and that's a really good time. It means a lot for me. Plus, I'm kind of a lonely guy. It's nice to have some friends to just hang out with at the end of the day.
That's interesting, because you know, some people know your music first. And then they find out more about you through streaming. And then, there are others who don't really know you for your music, but from streaming. What do you think of that?
I think it's a really cool dynamic. I don't think the person that I am changes too much. I do see a lot of comments and some live videos where I'm singing and people will be like, that's the same guy that's streaming? (laughs) I'm like, Yeah, I guess I could see a world where it seems like it's two different people.
In reality, I'm closer to [how I am on] my streaming site. I'm very introverted. I don't really like talking too much. I don't go out, I kind of just stay home, play video games, eat good food and chill, play with my cats. But on stage, you have to be someone else. You have to show confidence. I'm not necessarily the most confident person, but when I'm on stage, I have to be that person. I can understand how they see two different people. But I guess that's me.
You mentioned that you wanted to meet more fans in person, and you just had a fan meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Do you have any plans to do more of such things in the future?
View this post on Instagram
I would love to! I think this came very last minute. Maybe two weeks before we came. We had a recommendation, saying "what do you guys think about doing a fan meet?" and I thought it was perfect. It ran perfectly. I was really, really happy about it. I think a lot of the fans, especially because I had never been to Malaysia before, there have been a lot of people who haven't been able to see me.
When you go and do shows, and there's a VIP meet-and-greet, some people aren't able to, or they're not in the right situation to be able to see you even if they want to. So I really wanted an opportunity where I could meet the fans in Malaysia. And just like that, I'm hoping that I can do more of those things in all the regions that I go on tour. I hope that can happen. Hopefully, I can keep it free. It is a little expensive though. (laughs)
You just wrapped up your In Insomnia series which Bandwagon listed as one of our Top Albums/EPs of 2023. You've dropped a couple of singles since then. Are there more single drops coming up, or is there an album on its way?
So in 2023, I attempted to do a song every two weeks or a month, and I ended up having to halt it because of internal complications. But this year, I'm planning to go back to the waterfall system. I think I'm in a system where I'm actively trying to release a song every four to six weeks. Eventually, once that ball gets rolling and gets easier, I'm going to try to go back to the one song every two weeks system, because I have a lot of music that I really want to put out into the world. I just don't have the opportunity right now. So I think that'll be really cool.
Lastly, what's your message for your fans in Asia?
View this post on Instagram
Honestly, thank you so much. I know that I haven't been able to come out to Asia as often as I wish I could. But hopefully, in 2024 and 2025, I get to come out a lot more. I get to do a lot more of those meet-and-greets. I get to see a lot more people. Thank you so so much for supporting my music so much because without you guys, I can't release music. And music means a lot to me. So I appreciate that you guys have been enjoying my music as well.
Stay tuned for How Well Do You Know Your Own Songs? with eaJ out soon on Bandwagon's YouTube and social media channels.
In this edition of 'How Well Do You Know Your Own Songs?' we got @eaJPark to guess his own songs and music videos with a little help (or a whole lot of distractions) from the cute feline friends at The Cat Cafe in Singapore 🐈🐈⬛https://t.co/6fJffwhoMT #eaJ pic.twitter.com/fercpg5f3T
— Bandwagon (@BandwagonAsia) April 19, 2024
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