Kaiwyn On The Making Of “Christmas With You”
What was the creative process like for this particular "Christmas With You?"
Thanks, Katrina, for having me! "Christmas With You" was written during the lockdown in 2020 and I was working on a night shift in the hospital. Initially, I was just humming "Oh Merry Christmas and happy new year to you" to myself in the dark which is the chorus you hear now. I then hummed it into my voice recorder on my phone then expanded it a few days later to a full song! While I was writing it, I was wishing for a simple celebration again in future once we endured the global crisis, and here we are, proudly out there like I promised!
How did you approach the arrangement and composition of the music for "Christmas With You?"
So, I have been talking to my producer Simon about making an original Christmas track and I want it to be showcasing my favourite pop rock roots along with lots of chimes and bells. It was only until nearing end of November 2023 that we sat down and worked on it. So it was quite a quick process in the production of the song, everything just went organically and we added a lot of variety of instruments, such as mellotron, xylophone, chimes, brass and cello, truly a festive ambience to boot! The bridge overlapping in the end chorus was also a nice touch which is something that I had not tried, so a bit experimental there!
What was your favorite moment in making the music video?
Given my passion to share it out to the world when it's meant to be out, there was not much time to shoot a studio version music video. However, I remembered that I once recorded a lot of videos of me dancing in my late teens and early twenties, so I just decided to let it out and send a message that you don't have to be a professional dancer to enjoy a bit of festive music. Then I rounded it into the sceneries that are common during Christmas along with some elves, reindeer and toy Santa from stock footage. It was a fun process as it recalled my younger times when I did a lot of video editing myself when I was in medical school!
Can you recall a particular moment, artist, or experience that had a significant influence on your music?
There were certainly a lot of memories revolving around the people in my childhood and teenage years, like listening to mom doing karaoke at home on classic 60s and 70s music, listening to various genres back in Malaysia until my own era of the early 2000s music via MTV, TRL and Channel V. I remember seeing Michelle Branch on TRL and instantly drawn to her acoustic guitar and unique craft. Following that, I have always been writing little poems here and there which then evolved into lyrics, connecting into a full song without any instruments!
How do you balance crafting relatable stories with maintaining your unique voice as a songwriter?
I believe that life experiences enrich my songwriting. As I grew and matured, the stories written in each stage of my life remain as a reminder to myself of what I was going through at that time. Obviously, your voice as a singer changes as well with age but the sentiment becomes more condensed. With singer-songwriters, the unique element is the way the sound is delivered through the story in the song. As long as you remain in touch with the emotional memory of a song, the delivery remains consistent along with the additional experiences in life we face in future, further augmenting the experience for the listeners. Ultimately, I just try to ground myself and not get lost with the bells and whistles of other people's expectations.