How Deb Fan Finds Herself in Her New Track “Lady”
She blends modern elements with traditional Taiwanese symbols.
Photo by Breanna Lynn
Within her music's ethereal melodies and resonant lyrics, Deb Fan invites us to see ourselves reflected in her journey. As she navigates the complexities of identity, cultural fusion, and personal growth, her art mirrors our own experiences, struggles, and triumphs. In the soulful cadences of her latest single, “Lady,” we find echoes of our own romantic distress and celebrations of femininity.
Through her exploration of Taiwanese immigrant life in the U.S. and her reconnection with the vibrant culture of her hometown, Hong Kong, Fan becomes not just an artist but a mirror through which we can all glimpse fragments of our narratives. She embodies the universal quest for self-discovery and the courage to push boundaries, reminding us that we can all find a bit of ourselves in her artistry.
1202 MAGAZINE talked with Fan about her new project and how Asian American listeners and fellow artists can connect with her craft. As an Asian American woman myself, I found this conversation heartwarming, as I personally feel empowered by my identity through her music.
Tell me the story behind ‘Lady’ and the creative process behind the track and the music video.
Yeah, so ‘Lady,’ honestly, out of the entire EP, it's probably the simplest or most digestible song. And in terms of creative direction and how I started making it, my friend who sent me the track, I don’t usually hop on electronic-type beats; there is usually an element of live instrumentation. But this is something really different, and it just popped to me. Then, it meant so much more to me than I expected. I was going through a time period when I actually wrote this back in Hong Kong, so I just left the U.S. for a long time, and the song was basically about rebirth, about starting over. When I was back in Hong Kong, I hadn't been back in so long, and I was just enamored by the landscape, like I felt so foreign. But I re-fell in love with my hometown. So it made me feel like I was starting over a little bit. But I also wanted to highlight the happy parts about starting over. I just felt excited to be exploring the new city, and I wanted this track to let itself return to that.
I get that feeling, too, especially as an Asian American woman from the South who now lives in New York. It’s kind of like being stuck between two worlds. I also noticed a lot of your music incorporates introspection. How do you approach songwriting when expressing your emotions authentically to your audience?
Wow. That's a loaded question. I love it. Everyone goes through that. Everyone comes back home, they self-reflect, and sometimes they move on, or they don't, right? But I just wanted my music to sound very authentically me. And unfortunately, maybe fortunately, for me, writing comes easiest when I am in my feelings and I only resonate with songs where the lyrics actually mean something to me. The entire EP is very contradicting in some ways. I feel like that always comes with introspection. You always try to see all sides of things. I wouldn't say every song in this EP is a part of me, but I wouldn't say it's like the full picture. I wanted all the songs to embody or speak up on all the nuances of starting over. It's not easy to change. And we're always constantly changing. Some people even don't realize it themselves. And just going through a lot of changes this past year, even with myself, the things that I value, especially in music too, I always wanted to be true to myself. If I'm making music for the masses or something I know would probably blow up on TikTok, I wouldn't put it out. That's just not me. Kudos to those who can and want to do that. That's not the path that I like taking.
That’s so real. Your music also has this sense of female empowerment. Are there any women artists you are influenced by, or are there some you would like to collaborate with?
Yes, of course. My entire guess of what I stand for is that I definitely want to uplift a lot of women. I know that there are a lot of features I've had in the past that are men, but I've been thinking of dream collaborations. I love Baby Rose. Her voice is so majestic and so powerful. I would also love to work with Ravyn Lenae. Oh my god, and Ojerime her sound is so interesting. Abra, I feel like she and Ojerime have a really similar sound. And maybe one that’s a little bit more untouchable is Kali Uchis. She's more like a role model.
Those are all really good ones. You seem to travel everywhere, and growing up in Asia, how did that culturally influence your music style?
I don't even notice how different I sound compared to American music because even though I grew up in so many different places, I grew up listening to American music. In Hong Kong, the mainstream lags by four or five years. I was listening to the Black Eyed Peas, who were way older than others. Yes, of course I was listening to what was on the radio, but most of what I listened to when Spotify first came out I felt like there wasn't a lot of music that resonated with me in the mainstream, so I gravitated towards older music, especially psychedelic rock, the 70s music, those rock stars. They were the first ethereal artists, I swear. I actually didn't really listen to 90s R&B or 2000s R&B at all until much later. So that was incorporated into my sound a lot later. My parents also moved around a lot when they started working; they traveled back and forth from China and were eventually sent on business trips to Europe. They didn’t really understand music, and they didn't play music in the mainstream. So they would buy all these CDs from all around the world, and all of a sudden I'm listening to Bésame Mucho, Spanish romance, Mongolian chants. It's crazy how my influencers are so all over the place that I feel like you can't pinpoint exactly where my music comes from. So, I guess I can say that my music is cultureless just because so many influences go into it.
Speaking of culture, how do you hope your music resonates with listeners, especially during AAPI month and beyond?
I feel like I have to tread this question really carefully. Maybe it's because there are newer Asian artists on the scene, but I still feel like there has to be so much more development. We're so pigeonholed into making certain types of music. And it's not a bad thing. We’re starting to see more of our representation now than ever before. But we're so much more complex than what the media is trying to push towards. I want people in America to understand that we're more than just that.
Especially now, since Asian culture is very popular in pop culture, many people have this expectation of what it is. But we have so many different interests outside our culture and are very complex.
Yeah, and honestly, with these standards, it’s uncomfortable trying to find my place in the industry. I felt like I had to conform to those types of standards. I want people to understand that. There's more to that. Our culture is so much richer. It's historic. Chinese culture has been around way longer than American culture. I want to bring that to light in a non-stereotypical way.
Yeah, I definitely agree with all that. With your EP coming out, what themes can your listeners expect that differ from your past projects?
Honestly, I don't know if the themes are necessarily different, but the perspectives on the themes are different. I'm all for empowerment, especially coming from Asian culture, where we're a little bit more oppressed in what we do and who we are. I always thought that because I am Asian and because that's how I was taught in my past projects, I had to tell people I'm sorry for being quote-unquote, in your eyes, submissive and quiet. But for this project, in terms of women's empowerment, I'm fighting for it more like this is not who I am, and I'm taking on a different stance. It's me yelling through a voice like, can't you see that I'm not just that and can't you see that I do have a voice, and I want to speak up, I don’t care if you think I am being loud. So that's, I guess, women empowerment.
Yeah, exactly. You also just joined Tidal’s 2024 Rising Program. So, what are your aspirations and other goals for your career, personally and professionally?
Well, personally, I would love to travel so much more. I like coming to Stockholm. At first, I took it for granted, but I realized how different I felt. I realized how much it affects me in a very positive way. I feel like I'm learning so much more about the world, the mannerisms, and people. I want to interact with so many different people from different cultures. That's just a personal goal. And maybe that does relate to my musical goals, but I want to do a lot more shows. Something interesting about my music is that when I'm on stage, I don't sound like my music recorded, which is really interesting. I'm still trying to figure out how to write in my own voice, but I want to be able to do more shows to showcase that side of me. I started as a performer before I started making music, so it would be nice to get back on stage — hopefully, a headlining show one day.
