Hoooooray!! I finally received my visa after six weeks of impatient waiting and I’ll be heading to Melbourne in June! That’ll be my first slow travel abroad since the pandemic. I’m thrilled to be there and bring back tons of photos, footage, and more importantly, experience. Also, I plan to visit a couple of recording studios in Melbourne and finish my special travel EP recording there. To do so, there are still some finishing touches needed to be done in Malaysia, which is why I’ve been busy all the time lately. Also, getting my itinerary well-planned actually takes time. By the way, preparing a 7kg carry-on luggage for somewhere in winter is also a HUUUGE challenge.

經過6個星期漫長的焦急，謝天謝地我的簽證終於下來了！下個月終於要迎來我的第一場深度旅行 —— 墨爾本。這是我許給自己的一場浪漫，當然也少不了許多親愛的成全。但這畢竟是旅居，在那邊其實也少不了工作 —— 完成專輯照的拍攝、發行上的構思，以及最興奮的：和當地的錄音室合作，錄製我的特別版旅遊EP！所以在那之前，手上還有許多需要收尾的準備工作。但儘管如此，我覺得慢旅行更重要的，莫過於用自己的步調與那座城深度地連結、做一回當地人、與這個世界重新接軌，最後再讓這段經歷活成我的歌。而且，要計畫這麼一場浪漫也是耗時而有趣的。我很享受這一切慌亂，也等著細嚼慢嚥所有的感受。順帶一提，要把去過冬的衣物和各種工作必需品塞進7公斤限制的行李箱真的不簡單···

I’ve been striving to accomplish the album production as soon as I can, especially before traveling abroad. Yet, as we all know, chasing time doesn’t make good art. Making an album that I’ll be proud of, is a marathon, not a sprint. The good news is that I just embarked on a collaboration with a boundlessly talented UK-based engineer who makes the whole project smoother even when I’m abroad. Even though, I can foresee that the whole production could only confidently end when I’m back, which will be several months later. Anyway, I’m also excited to work with several photographers in Melbourne and get my album shooting done!

慚愧啊，專輯的發行那是一拖再拖。雖然我很清楚，我已準備好分享那些苦辣酸甜（而且我需要這件事），但論音樂本身而言，要完成一張我滿意的作品，那絕對是一場馬拉松。而好消息是，近期開始和一位在英國的聲音工程師遠程合作，這可讓我少掉了很多白髮，也讓我能在外繼續保持專輯的後期進度。但即便如此，我還是需要等回國確認各處細節後，才能放心地允讓實體專輯的生產，而那是幾個月後的事了。不過放心，在墨爾本和在地攝影師合作專輯的拍攝，也算是有在努力趕進度吧～（罪惡感少一些···）

Another highlight of my life lately is that I made a group of crazy new friends. Even how we met itself is crazy enough to be amazed. And what’s crazier and fun is that we decided readily to make a new EP when we’re drinking at 2 am of nobody-cared-someday in April. And it just happens! We’ve almost been through the enthralling songwriting stage, and here comes the challenging part, lengthy production. Therefore, along with my other EP projects (which I plan to do the record abroad), I’m now dealing with demos, arrangements, and scheduling at the same time. I can’t wait to share our stories with you. Stay tuned!

最後便是不得不提的，我最近認識一班瘋狂好友。除了我們的認識本身就已經是一連串巧合的瘋狂結果之外，更瘋狂的是，我們在4月份的某個半夜微醺時拍板決定要做張EP，然後一場奇妙的旅程就開始了。但還是那句我常說的話，創作一時爽、製作喊爹娘；我們雖已經快完成前半部分了，漫長的製作期才剛要開始···所以沒錯，現在手上共有一張專輯和好幾張EP的製作同時進行，被各種想法、Demo、編曲轟炸著。難以想像明年的發歌頻率···但還是很期待和大家分享我們的故事，就敬請期待啦！

Podcast — Huberman Lab (Discussions About Neuroscience)

Learning — Yale University: Introduction to Psychology with Paul Bloom

Album I’ve been listening to — John Mayer’s Sob Rock

Reading — Think Again by Adam Grant