FEATURES Andrew Hung Makes Peace With His Monkey Brain on “Realisationship” By Ruth Jiang · October 24, 2017
Photo by Zoe Davis.

Talking with Andrew Hung about his first solo full-length album Realisationship, it becomes clear that even a seasoned artist can still feel intimidated. This is especially surprising given Hung’s C.V.: His main project, the duo Fuck Buttons, has garnered consistent critical praise since they began 13 years ago, and even performed at the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Olympics. But for Hung, Relasationship was almost like starting over. Where Fuck Buttons are best known for their freewheeling experimentation with bizarre electronic sounds, and their ability to find clarity in cyclic, rhythmic patterns, Realisationship is quieter and more vulnerable. It’s not quite mainstream, but it could safely be described as “indie rock.” There are no jolting soundscapes, no violent explosions of noise. Instead, there’s a clear sense of warmth, intimacy, and immediacy, which might have something to do with the fact that Hung sings on all of its songs—a first for him.

Merch for this release:
Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)

Realisationship doesn’t just represent a new creative direction for Hung, it also reflects his personal struggles, and the emotional effort it took to create such intimate songs. We talked with Hung about how his new album came about, the way it reflects his vulnerability, and ultimately how there’s really no “right” way to make music.

This is the first complete album you’ve released as a solo artist. What’s that difference, for you, between making shorter EPs and doing a full-length? How is this album different from your more collaborative projects?

Collaboration feels a lot safer, because I allow projects to have their own life, giving them space to breathe and to find their own way. And that’s the same with making one’s own record, but you’re not dealing with another person, you’re dealing with your own ID—your monkey brain. I let my monkey command the process, and he is not practical. He is completely emotionally driven. So it was completely frustrating. But give him boundaries he feels safe in, and he thrives. This was the first collaboration I had with my monkey brain, so it was difficult. I think it’ll get easier the more I do it. Collaboration is really useful in terms of learning. You get to sort of see how someone else works, and that’s useful. It kind of informs your own work. I found that I have to push myself a little harder working on my own.

You sing for the first time on this album—not just on one song, but all of them. Do you think moving in that direction has given you any new creative insight?

I wonder if making the album was a direct result of having trouble with my anxiety. I’ve been suffering from anxiety for a few years now, and to have an outlet for releasing that has been so valuable. My monkey brain is really powerful, but I feel like I’ve made peace with him recently, and I think that’s to do with finishing the record. I feel like I’ve got a voice at last.

What would you say was one of the harder parts of working on your own?

Confidence. You’re kind of going out on a limb. I’ve found that I have to do something that’s interesting to me, otherwise there’s no point to it, but what comes with doing something that you’ve never done before is a lack of confidence. And confidence is something that I still don’t really know how you get. But, it just clicks at some point. When you’ve got someone else, they’re there to go, ‘Oh yeah, that’s great,’ and you gotta rely on that. But when you’re on your own, you’re having to do that to yourself, which is a lot more difficult.

What does the album represent to you?

After writing the record, it became clear to me that the voice singing on the record was not the voice I’m talking to you with. I see it as the monkey voice, who we all have to sort of make peace with. I think the album is about having a voice, and about finding that from within, not through the external. We can’t control the external, but we can control our relationship with the external. That’s the ‘realisationship.’

Are you excited to perform these songs live?

Yeah, I’ve got a band together, and we did a show a couple of weeks ago. I’ve done so many gigs in my life that I kind of expected to know what it was gonna be like—which totally unprepared me for actually happened. I think singing is just so naked. To get across ideas, it’s not just about what you’re singing, but just how committed you are to saying those things. I found I had to really commit to it; I had to perform it. I’m looking forward to developing that side of it. It’s so direct, what you can communicate with people through singing versus, say, a musical instrument. It’s really exciting.

Did anyone comment on your singing after the show?

It’s funny that you asked that, because I’ve had a bit of a dent in my confidence recently. Straight after the gig, this guy came up to me and said, ‘Your band is great but you need to do better.’

But I think that’s one of the things about your album that makes it so unique—in a way, I feel like you can hear that you’re untrained.

I think you’re right. This is the thing: there’s no rules to this stuff, but I think when people see you doing something that they want to do, they’re going to try and pass their insecurities onto you. I’ve experienced that quite a bit in my life. I tend to want to expose myself in my art, otherwise there’s no point in it. I remember when I first started DJing, some guy came up to me afterwards, it was exactly the same feeling. He went, ‘Oh, why weren’t you EQing the mix, sir?’ and I thought, ‘Oh fuck, I was doing it wrong.’ But I realized it was because he was trying to pass his insecurities onto me. Nowadays, what makes DJing good for me is not giving a fuck. I think that’s the same with this stuff: for a moment, I might be a bit sensitive to criticism, because it’s the first time I’ve ever done it. But, I think after a little while, once you’ve got that confidence and not caring what other people think, it’s fine.

—Ruth Jiang

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