"Forever's First Day" talks about time and has more personal feelings in it. It's also about long distance relationships & some personal experiences in the song too. One track after another, there are some songs which are pretty high while others have the elements of love in it.
I feel that artists often face loneliness because we have to travel from places to places, staying in different hotels. There are also times where one is not having any company, therefore the last track on this album sounds pretty low."
Lee Hom says that music is a tool that is close to his heart and emotions. He hopes to gain freedom and not stress from it. He emphasizes that "being able to produce music freely brings great joy"
"Singing is not about winning awards, otherwise, I will not be spending so much time on my music. Basically, it's important that the songs have meaning in them. Perhaps to most people, it seems rather tough to do that. However, as a graduate from a music college, my biggest wish is that when people who are musically inclined listen to my music, they know that I have done much thinking. At the same time, I have blended different music styles into my songs, a little classical and a little jazz...something that is of deeper standard so that I can be satisfied.
Reporter: Since you know so much about classical music, and have strong music background, have you ever thought of producing a pure classical album?
" Ermm…most probably not, I don't sing operas. But maybe it could work out…I haven't thought of that yet."
What's your reason for singing and dancing in the MTV " Descendants of the Dragon". Was it due to commercial reasons? Or was it because you want to be an all-round singer?
"I still use music as my guide. It's only after producing this song that I thought of dancing in the MTV. I persuaded the company for quite a while before they allowed me to shoot the MTV. I am really glad they respect my views."
So, are you secretly planning a "music revolution"?
"Erm.. actually the music industry now is rather open up. Especially on the Internet, one gets exposed to all kinds of music. Hmm, revolution sounds rather serious, I just hope that my music can touch the hearts of listeners. For example, there are some kinds of music that are really simple in their styles, that's their culture, though we might not understand it, we can't say that it's not good music right?
I prefer to be making some changes to pop music, hoping that Chinese music will be able to reach international standard. Therefore, my music will tend to feature musical instruments with strong Chinese flavour such as guzheng and erhu, in hoping to introduce Chinese music to the Western music industry. Although they may not understand the Chinese song lyrics, but right now Latin music is very popular too, that's because of its uniqueness, and not because it is copying any forms of music."
Ever since the fierce competition that started during the Taiwan Golden Melody Awards, the media has been busily speculating on whether David Tao and you are "friends or foes". Tell me more.
"I have been singing for four years, whereas he (David Tao) is still pretty much a newcomer. I hope that listeners do not just look at one album, but give us both some time & chances to prove that our music is different. We are friends & I know his style, there's definitely nothing wrong between us."
In regards to your acting, it is an extension of your musical life?
"I have fallen in love with acting, "China Strike Force" has been so much fun and everyday, I am learning new tricks of the trade. Having an opportunity to work with one of the greatest action movie directors--Stanley Tong, also allows me to learn a lot about how to become a better record producer, as I watch him direct his actors and crew. I have learnt how to convey ideas to others, so that the whole team can work well together. This is definitely a tough job.
My character, Alex is a good cop who has just graduated police training at the top of his class. The movie's script is completely in English and has a strong international flavour, especially since its cast includes Aaron Kwok from Hongkong, Japan's Norika Fujiwara, Coolio from America etc."
How about the movie "In The Name of Heroes" directed by Yuen Kuei?
"Well, this movie is based on a Sony Playstation video game. Though it is also an action movie, the style is rather different as it gives a more fantasy feeling. My character fights with stylish traditional Chinese kungfu, for example he displays supernatural power when fighting against the evil forces. As for what kind of supernatural power, you will know after watching it."
Has you neglected you music since you are now busy filming?
"I have already begun composing for my next album; I bring along my music staff notebook with me all the time! To my surprise, being on the movie set all day surrounded by creative minds keeps me inspired and in the mood to compose!"
Footnotes by reporter:
"I am quite worried when it comes to interviewing ABCs (American-Born-Chinese), mainly because of my mediocre English standard…Speaking of which, there are often artists (non-ABCs) who try to slang in English during interviews. Thankfully, Lee Hom is slightly different from other ABCs. During the interview, he insists on using Mandarin to answer my questions, though there were still a few "ya know", "yeah", at least I was able to grasp what he was trying to tell me. Truly touched by his sincerity. In spite of the fact that his responses seemed slower (most likely because he is more fluent in English). Really appreciate his sincerity, saved me the trouble of translating."