Charlie Lim

Charles Lim, better known as Charlie Lim, is a Singaporean singer-songwriter, musician, producer and artist.[1]

Charlie Lim
Also known asCharlie Lim
BornSingapore, Singapore
GenresPop, Singer-Songwriter, Folk-Rock, Neo-soul, Electronic, R&B
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter, musician
InstrumentsVocals, Guitar, Piano, Synthesizer, Bass, Drums
Years active2011–present
LabelsHouse Of Riot!, Universal Music Singapore
Websitehttp://charlielim.net/

Personal life

Lim was exposed to music from a young age, especially since his mother taught the piano.[2] He started singing and playing the piano in church and in school bands, learning how to play by ear. He was educated at Tao Nan School and Victoria School where he was with the school choir which came in second at the Singapore Youth Festival. At 14, he moved to Melbourne, Australia and wanted to pursue medicine or journalism, but "music got the better of him".[3] In 2005, he topped the state of Victoria for music performance and was selected by VCE's Season of Excellence to perform at Melbourne's Hamer Hall.[4][5] He later returned to Singapore to serve National Service, during which he joined the Singapore Armed Forces Music & Drama Company as their frontman for the combo band, which involved performing for foreign dignitaries, army recruits, students, black tie events, as well as goodwill tours in Australia and Brunei.[6] Lim continued his studies at Monash University in 2008 to complete his bachelor's degree in Music Performance, before returning to Singapore in 2012 where he is currently based.[2][5]

Musical career

Charlie broke into the Southeast Asian music scene in 2011 with his self-titled debut EP. Signing with management label House of Riot! in 2012, he continued to tour the region, playing major festivals such as Mosaic Music Festival in Singapore, Jarasum International Jazz Festival in Korea, Urbanscapes in Kuala Lumpur, Clockenflap in Hong Kong, Java Jazz Festival in Indonesia and Brisbane Festival in Australia, supporting acts such as Kimbra, BADBADNOTGOOD, Émilie Simon, Hiatus Kaiyote, Lucy Rose, Sigur Ros, Lenka, Ta-Ku and Snarky Puppy.[7]

Lim released TIME/SPACE in 2015, an introspective and melancholic double EP that explores "different polarities" of his musical interests,[8] with TIME reflecting his singer-songwriter sensibilities and SPACE a manifestation of his DIY approach to experimental pop/R&B production.[2] The record took close to 3 and half years to write, produce and record. The initial concept of splitting the album into a double EP came about when Charlie was using Kimbra's home studio in Melbourne while she was away on tour. By the end of his stay, he had finished putting together the arrangements of several demos, including “Bitter” and “Conspiracy”, which went on to form the cornerstones of TIME/SPACE.[9] The album went to #1 on Singapore's iTunes charts within an hour of its release.[10] Singapore's leading newspaper The Straits Times gave it a glowing review of 4.5/5 stars,[11] and was also awarded Best Pop Album of 2015.[12] Popular media outlets such as TODAY, Bandwagon, Popspoken, Vulcan Post, Beehype, Buro 24/7, Honeycombers, Native Entertainment, and JUICE also considered the record as one of the best music releases of the year.[13]

Following two landmark, sold-out shows at the 10th edition of the Mosaic Music Festival – an achievement never claimed by a Singaporean artist – Charlie premiered TIME/SPACE to another sold-out crowd at Singapore's premier concert venue, the 1600-seater Esplanade Concert Hall,[14] as part of a triple bill with Inch Chua and The Great Spy Experiment.[15]

In 2015, Lim was commissioned to write two theme songs for the 28th Southeast Asian Games and was asked to perform his song "Still" at the Singapore National Stadium for the Games' closing ceremony.[13]

In 2016, Lim signed his first major record deal with Universal Music Singapore, with a major studio release slated in 2017.[16]

For the 2018 Singapore National Day Parade, Lim updated the classic National Day Parade song, We Are Singapore, which it was performed during the parade.[17][18]

Discography
  • Charlie Lim EP (2011)
  • TIME/SPACE (2015)
  • CHECK-HOOK (2018)

Music videos
Year Song Director(s)
2015 "I Only Tell The Truth" Felipe P. Soares
2016 "Bitter" Anita Lester
2016 "Conspiracy" Lenne Chai
2017 "Light Breaks In" Jonathan Choo

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-09-16. Retrieved 2016-08-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. hermesauto (2016-07-19). "That's Life with singer-songwriter Charlie Lim". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  3. Box, WP. "The Pop Perfectionist - The UrbanWire". theurbanwire.com. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  4. "From the military to musician: Charlie Lim's path to music faced challenging internships and heartbreak". Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  5. migration (2015-05-28). "Singer-songwriter Charlie Lim travels for creative growth, but will always call Singapore home". Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  6. "Charlie Lim: Strumming the Soul". The UrbanWire. 2013-03-16. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  7. "The Story So far | Charlie Lim". Charlie Lim. Archived from the original on 2016-09-16. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  8. "Charlie Lim: Master of melancholy". Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  9. Hwei, Liang (2015-06-05). "Charlie Lim: The Melancholic Man Behind The Sad Songs". Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  10. "Charlie Lim - Timeline | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  11. "Charlie Lim - Timeline | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  12. hermes (2015-12-26). "Best and worst 2015: Albums". Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  13. "Interview: Sharing space and time with Singapore's Charlie Lim - Music Weekly Asia". 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  14. "Supporting Local: The role of the fan in Singapore's music scene". Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  15. migration (2015-05-28). "Charlie Lim, Inch Chua and The Great Spy Experiment are first local indie acts to take centre stage at Esplanade Concert Hall". Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  16. "Charlie Lim to release new album next year, signs with Universal Music Singapore". Charlie Lim to release new album next year, signs with Universal Music Singapore | Editorial | Bandwagon - Live music, bands and concert guide for Singapore, Manila and Jakarta. 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
  17. "New NDP song is updated version of 1987's We Are Singapore". The Straits Times. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  18. "Charlie Lim on Not Believing His Own Hype And Making It Outside of the System". Popspoken. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
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