Who Is Hanjin Tan

Hanjin Tan

If you want to know about Hanjin Tan, listen to this album.

The Hong Kong-based Singaporean musician lays out his life in the opening track Both Hands To The Sky: playing the guitar in bars after national service, leaving his economics degree in the cabinet and taking a gamble on pursuing music full-time and then writing songs for Jacky Cheung and producing for Eason Chan.

The road has been tough but Tan is not spinning some sob story: “It’s been hard going against the flow, but it’s harder to bear grudges, too lazy, can’t remember.”

From his beaming face on the CD cover to song titles such as No Time For Regrets and Happiness Is Free, it is not hard to work out his philosophy of life. And there is no denying that it is a compelling one, especially when the sentiment is dressed up with groovy beats and joyous scatting on Why Be Sad.

Admittedly, on first listen, I missed the edge that MC Jin brought to the table in their revelatory collaboration, Buy 1 Get 1 Free (2010). But this is such a personal album that it could not be anything else but a solo project.

Indeed, Tan composed the music, wrote the lyrics, did the production, arrangements, recording and mixing and also played the instruments.

There is no playing it safe here. Just listen to Not Reliable Making Money From Music, in which the sampled sounds of someone coughing and gagging cleverly make up the rhythm. Tan memorably makes the point that turning one’s passion into a means of making a living can be a terrible thing.

And in an album of mostly Mandarin tracks, the easy breezy jazzy pleasures of Simple Things make the sole English number a personal favourite.

It is absolutely worth your while to get to know Hanjin.

Mysterious Hero

Jonathan Leong

Making a somewhat unexpected Mandopop debut is Singapore Idol alumnus Jonathan Leong.

As perhaps is to be expected of someone who made his mark in the singing competition with English pop-rock hits such as Matchbox Twenty’s If You’re Gone and Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars, his Mandarin diction still needs work. It is not so deplorable as to render the songs unlistenable but it is noticeable.

The good news is that the album has a distinctive tuneful emo-rock sound. Better yet, it is a vibe which seems to be in keeping with Leong’s own sensibility rather than one foisted upon him – he composed seven of the nine tracks here.

It even works when he ventures into the synth-laced dance-rock of the Depeche Mode-influenced Addiction. Not to mention that it makes for a refreshing change from the endless emulations of Korean dance-pop out there.

A promising start.

(ST)