Interview: Wake Up With Otis Zheng
Interview by Lindsey V. Britt / Photos by Anne Zheng Chen
Boston-based singer-songwriter and producer Otis Zheng recently released his latest song “Wake Up.” Zheng’s music incorporates his experience of living in China and the US, trying to use his music to bridge the cultural gaps between the two countries.
What’s the story behind your new song “Wake Up”?
“Wake Up” is a really interesting song I wrote about three years ago. It talks about self-awakening and it talks about culture shock. At that time period I was in my previous relationship and I was with the person for three years, like two of the three years we were in Covid time. So the person became the only window through which I understood the US and the world because my language ability wasn’t that good and I couldn’t fully communicate with people. By the end of the relationship, I’m starting to learn more English language and I can speak more. Also, with Covid winding down, that’s the moment I noticed oh there’s something different or something not right in our relationship, and about how I’m understanding the world. So that’s what the song talks about it, like the awakening journey.
What is your songwriting process like?
So it depends on the genre, I’m also self-producing, so if I’m doing funk music I would start with the bass and drum first and I will write the melody and then starting to produce right after that. If I’m doing R&B stuff I will start from the cord and melody. And then sometimes I also do topline, so it depends on which genre I’m going for, and it depends on what style.
How did you get started in music?
The first time I started to sing songs was when I was in primary school and there was a teacher looking for kids to join the school choir. And that’s where I started and just didn’t stop. I started playing piano and to learn more professional singing.
Who are some of the artists that have influenced your music that might surprise people?
About a year ago I found an artist, Nathy Peluso. She’s a Hispanic artist, and a majority of her work is doing experimental music. But she has great visuals, and the visual delivers a lot of message. I don’t understand the language or what she’s singing but that’s the interesting part of music. Sometimes I don’t understand the language, and when I listen to music I can hear the instrumental they put in there and say oh it’s this altitude and like I hear a lot of Hispanic music influenced on her music a lot of traditional instruments and a really funky arrangement that’s the interesting part for me. And when you like listen to music and when you see the visual you kind of understand what the person is trying to tell and trying to say. Afterwards when looking up the lyrics translation it’s like oh it’s exactly what I’m thinking about. So that’s the fun part and I feel like as for her production, her message and what she believes in inspires me a lot.
What is it like bridging the gap between the music in China and the US?
Quite different. I think there are two parts I can say from personal experience. One, music-wise Chinese people are still into ballad and folk music genre so people tend to listen to something singable and melody focused and more romantic, there’s some k-pop and hip-hop music in recent years getting popular but I think the majority of listeners are still into the romantic ballad genre. I think as for the US the music is really diversed, there’s dance music, there’s a lot of hip-hop, Hispanic and Latin music, so it’s pretty mixed together. But, I would say the big difference comparing the US and China is the speed, rhythm and music style. I think US music tends to faster and more dancing, even the slow songs is a lot of times faster than Chinese slow songs, I think that’s the difference between Chinese and US music. And I think culture wise is the topic people are talking about is so different, I would say a lot of US music the concept for songwriting has already been developing so far and there’s so many topics like people narrow it down to a small, small topic and to talk about people’s feelings, people’s experiences and personal journey, I think for Chinese music people like to talk about bigger topics like love and family but from a bigger perspective they’re talking about the whole picture, so I’m trying to find the balance in between and trying to find some concepts and ideas that all people can both relate to.
What was it like going to school at Berklee College of Music?
Berklee is a really interesting school, I learned a lot of things, not just music, and I met a lot of people that inspired me. It’s a really diverse school with different people of different cultural backgrounds and different beliefs, different everything. Like from the music side I learned a lot from Berklee professional knowledge and how to be a professional and survive in the music industry; On the other hand, it’s like a lot of the culture gave me a brand new idea about how people are supposed to survive and how to be happy and how people choose what they choose and follow their own journey.
What is the music scene like in Boston?
Boston is a really interesting music scene; A lot of people say Boston doesn’t have a music scene, but I think there’s some music there. The city’s beauty is really interesting because it is very educational and medical-focused, so a lot of the older-generation are going to a lot of classical concerts and musicals. A lot of them are going to the schools and seeing the kids perform, original songs, stuff like that. And there’s so many college students here, it’s both young and old at the same time. There’s a lot of music being played for school parties, and there’s also venues like MGM, and the legendary venues like Middle East. Those are places people enjoy the music scene. There are also some bars that give people a chance to play their indie music, so it depends on what you’re looking for. It can cover all your needs, but compared to New York and L.A., it’s a little bit chiller.
You were a part of Disney’s 100th Anniversary concert tour in China last year, I have to ask, have you visited any of the Disney Parks? If so, what is your favorite ride?
That’s a good question. After I grew up I didn’t get a chance to go to Disney, even during tour time the producer was scheduling everyone to go to Disney. But I had other work I had to go to so I didn’t go with them to Disney. When I was a teenager I went to Disneyland Hong Kong. I think that was an amazing experience for me, that’s where I actually got spotted by Disney. My family is kind of different because when my Dad was young he started doing art so he would always bring me cartoons and things that wasn’t in China’s major media. And he bought them for me, so I always had a Disney CD at home like Snow White and The Little Mermaid. I had everything there but at that age it only existed on the screen. When I went to Disneyland it was the first time I saw that they built a world here, there were things from TV that actually exist in the real world. I don’t remember what specific ride I enjoyed but I remember the fireworks. That was a shock for me because people were actually having so much fun, and the energy, the cartoon animation energy, and seeing the fireworks at Disney was like, wow!
What was the first concert you attended?
Before I came to the US I went to a lot of classical concerts; China is a really interesting place, a majority of their music is classical so the concerts a lot of times aren’t for one specific artist they can be categorized by generation and locations. I don’t remember the years, but I went to some of them at the midsummer. I went to a Bach one that’s very general, there’s also a lot of famous classical piano players like Lang Lang, and they a lot of times will play Bach or Chopin. Also, they have a lot of contemporary music so they will combine with older generations classical pieces with a new composer and they’ll have contemporary music but also arranged in a classical way and present it there. If we’re talking pop concerts I think the first pop concert I attended in the US was Bruno Mars, it was a shocking experience for me, I heard a lot of people talk about Bruno Mars live is legit, like really good, I had high expectations and it didn’t miss that, it was way above higher than expected.
Do you have a dream venue you would like to perform at?
The Garden, for sure!
Any plans for an album and/or touring in 2025?
Yes, for an album we have another two soon-to-be-released songs in January or February, one is more R&B, one is more folk/ballad slower song. Recently, I’ve been thinking about a concept or a direction I should go, so maybe I’ll narrow it down to a more specific direction, which genre or topic or the whole album concept first, and try to pick all my songs that fit the concept and try to put it together as an album. And for touring, if we can make a tour, we will in the next year, we’re trying to plan that, and we’re trying to see which cities and places we can go to.
Lastly, do you have a recommendation? This can be anything from a book, or advice, to a place to visit, anything you want.
Actually, I have a book, but I think it’s a little weird to recommend as a musician, it’s called Economic Way of Thinking. I feel as an independent artist, it’s quite important you have to represent and manage yourself as a business, so I’m trying to understand my career from a different perspective, not only just as a musician because the industry is insane, so being a musician, being an independent artist actually I feel not only for me, but I feel everyone nowadays are dealing with a lot of pressure from all sides, economy, emotional, and how unstable of a world it is, so I’m trying to build another confidence system in order to understand in my mind to keep myself calm and stable and to understand the world better and try to guide myself better.
You can stream “Wake Up” now on your favorite music streaming platform.
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