What do you get when a dark-pop producer collaborates with a singer-songwriter who creates trashy internet meme-worthy songs?

You’ll get tracks such as ‘Puxi Canal’ and ‘CHIMPAN-Z’, two tracks that came to fruition following the collaboration between GIN.GIRL and DSML. These tracks are pretty bold and I would say even revolutionary in their own trashy meme-ish way.

Both Singaporeans are extremely fresh in the local music scene. DSML aka David Siow began his foray in music-making in May 2020 and within a space of 12 months he has produced over a dozen tracks, most through collaborations with other musicians. GIN.GIRL’s persona was also born in the same year. Despite releasing two tracks, she certainly shines in terms of what her persona and music represents.

I recently spoke to both talented musicians to find out more about the hidden meaning behind their latest creative endeavours.

Copied and pasted from Eksentrika.

Hey guys, let’s start with an ice-breaker. Can you tell us a little about yourselves?

GIN.GIRL: Exercising is a nightmare to me. I’m a bit of a horror movie fan. I have a reallyyyyy sweet tooth, but one thing I cannot stand is the Bandung drink (rose syrup with milk). Sorry, Malaysian friends!

DSML: For dislikes I can’t stand cockroaches, something about them just irks me, pretty sure I’m not the only one out there that has a disdain for them. Hmmm I do have a rabbit, helps alleviate my stress sometimes. I’m also big on connecting with people from different music scenes so HMU!

Copied and pasted from Eksentrika.

Copied and pasted from Eksentrika.

GIN.GIRL, what inspired you to create the GIN.GIRL persona?

GIN.GIRL: I think this eccentric part of myself that’s drawn to all things weird & wonderful has always existed- but the actual creation of a musical persona came about from frustration at a previous job I had. I was working in a creative industry but the actual work culture was stuffy and outdated. As a repressed OL (office lady), I needed an outlet to express myself and the angst I felt, haha. It started with an idea, and then the visual and musical exploration, then a $5 orange wig from Taobao I bought as a joke to ‘create’ this persona I felt.

I was also consuming copious amounts of alcohol then. Thus, GIN.GIRL was created!

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At the heart of your tracks is this rebellious unorthodox spirit. What led you to express yourself through “trashy Internet meme-worthy songs”?

GIN.GIRL: I had a pipe dream of wanting to become a ‘serious’ artist in the past, but I’ve always struggled with a severe sense of imposter syndrome that I didn’t / couldn’t fit the profile of that ‘serious’, talented musician working in the industry. As a mechanism to that (and also because I genuinely love Internet things), I realised that, heck it, I’ll just do ridiculous meme-y songs that no one will get, and therefore nobody can ‘seriously’ critique. Defense mechanism +99999! I guess in a way it’s also a response to me feeling like a lot of pop music takes itself very seriously these days — and I just wanted to subvert that.

Copied and pasted from Eksentrika.

Copied and pasted from Eksentrika.

In your bio in the press release, you shared that Puxi Canal was deliberately created to shame your Asian parents. What is it about Asian parenting that irks you?

GIN.GIRL: Excellent question! Hmm, the funny thing is that up till now, they have absolutely no clue about GIN.GIRL or my releases! I’ve withheld it successfully from them ha ha…

I’d have to say, the whole idea of maintaining very ‘proper’ social habits and ‘showing face’, obeying authority without ever questioning it, being allergic to speaking about feelings and mental health things… These are probably the worst bits of Asian parenting I’ve experienced. Because of these Asian-type expectations, I’ve also internalised a lot about repression and self-censorship in my normal life.

Of course, not to say it’s all doom and gloom. I like the fact that Asian parenting instills a strong work ethic, no-nonsense attitude for excellence that I hope reflects in my work.

Copied and pasted from Eksentrika.

Copied and pasted from Eksentrika.

How did your collaboration began? 

DSML: This is kinda funny – I made fun of GIN.GIRL’s arms being quite long, akin to that of a Chimpanzee, and that’s how we got our first song idea. After that it was fairly organic a process, she’d work on most of the lyrics and message whilst I churned out various options for the instrumentation. We were in sync so things were pretty smooth.

GIN.GIRL: I’d like to also add that yup, it started as a joke about my long Chimpanzee arms, but also during that time, it was the US elections and I sort of got into a frenzy of watching a lot of silly Trump videos. One day it hit me that 1) Trump seriously looks and behaves like an ape and 2) I started observing a lot of ‘monkey see, monkey do’ -type behaviour in my work and friendships. I guess you could read deeper into that meaning but tbh, it’s intended as a bassy, crass sort of joke song.

Copied and pasted from Eksentrika.

Copied and pasted from Eksentrika.

David, in your bio you’ve also shared that DSML was created as a means to express your personal trauma. What were some of the trauma that you experienced?

DSML: I was going through a messy divorce and went pretty deep into the abyss where darkness started to overwhelm me. I ran with it, embracing and faced those feelings of hurt, betrayal, anguish, frustration, and resignation. The artist in me took these feelings and turned them into songs that were really dark, all of which are unreleased, maybe when the time is right I’ll put them out.

Copied and pasted from Eksentrika.

Copied and pasted from Eksentrika.

You’re fairly new in the scene, yet you’ve collaborated with many Malaysian and Singaporean musical creatives. What are some criteria that you look out for when it comes to potential collaborations?

DSML: Initially, I started working with friends only – lightcraft (Indonesia) and Son of A Policeman (Malaysia) were friends of mine for some time already, so communication was a breeze. However, after COVID hit I realised I shouldn’t just limit to friends anymore, hence the expansion of my palette of collaborators.

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Can you share with our readers some tips on how you racked up 200,000 plays in just 6 months?

DSML: Having a great distributor helps! I’m supported by Where Are The Fruits for distribution, with The Orchard as our aggregator. Also collaborating with people from different spheres of the musical realm helps.

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GIN.GIRL, what are your plans moving forward? Any plans to release an EP or an album?

Wow, that would be exciting! For now, DSML and I are writing our 3rd single, so watch out for that.

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What about you, David? Do you intend to continue full-time in music?
Of course! There’s no industry I’d rather be in, this is where I belong. Also developing some music export programs for Singaporean artists during the day, in addition to putting out more tracks and also playing in my indie-pop band M1LDL1FE.

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GIN.GIRL and DSML are the latest creatives added to our Artist Registry. If you want to be featured, get in touch with us here. 

All images supplied by GIN.GIRL and DSML.