What we need are creations that reflect the artists’ minds. The new single by Charlie Lim and Gentle Bones does exactly that

‘TWO SIDES’ ALMOST FEELS LIKE A CASE STUDY in serendipity. The single, which was released last month, marks the first collaboration between local artists Charlie Lim and Joel Tan, who is better known as Gentle Bones. As it turned out, Tan had texted Lim out of the blue to float the idea of writing a song together, and the latter just happened to have the time before his (temporary) move to London. The initial session proved promising, and the two interspersed additional ones with their own respective contributions to the project. The result is a blend of artistic and production choices that point to both artists’ influences, from Charlie Lim’s later experimentations with electronic music to Gentle Bones’ play with melody and harmony. Who knew just how differently things could’ve turned out had Tan texted just a few months later?

What’s the story behind ‘Two Sides’?

Charlie Lim (CL): Well, Joel hit me up last year just before I left for London, so we got together to see if we could come up with something. There was no pressure;

I put down some chords, he added a few ideas, and we grew a simple skeleton into something more intricate and layered. We both really appreciate cheesy boy bands from the late ‘90s even though our tastes in music are quite different. So we wanted to offer our own take on it by doing something with really nice harmonies.

Gentle Bones (GB): I’ve been a huge fan of Charlie’s for many years. We first met at one of my first few shows at the Esplanade Concourse, then became friends and, later on, Lego mates as well. When I first started out singing covers, Charlie was already doing his full shebang with a band, so it was a long time coming for me to be able to work with him. I texted when I was finally ready, he said yes, and we went for it.

Was this boy band thing conceived from the start?

CL: When we started laying down harmonies, we thought that they sounded like something Savage Garden might have done. That was cool to me, but our song also had live instrumentation and electronic elements. It’s not all glossy like a typical Max Martin track either, although it had the writing style and melodic slant. I liked the juxtaposition. The boy band thing was just a side joke, really, because when it comes down to it, what Joel and I both like is something that’s a little more soulful and rooted in R&B.

Indeed, I was initially drawn in by the soulful music. Once I paid attention to the lyrics, however, I realised that they were also intricately crafted to steer the listener without shoehorning him or her into a specific interpretation.

CL: We didn’t explicitly agree on it, but

I don’t think we ever got to the point where the lyrics contained information that wasn’t necessary. That’s much better, because oversharing can kill a song’s vibes. Personally, I wrote from the perspective of frustration ‒ not with a specific person, but an amalgam of different people. You feel wronged, or betrayed, or something similar, but you’re also trying your best to see things from the other person’s perspective, to find out if you can reconcile the situation. That’s what the song is about for me: living with that uncomfortable tension while still trying to empathise.

GB: It’s the same for me. In any friendship or relationship, there’s potential for misunderstanding and disagreement, and ideals not aligning. It’s simple enough to understand on an intellectual level that there are two different sides to any conflict, but we often get caught up in our own egos. or we misunderstand. That’s what the song is trying to get at.

Who was the final arbiter for creative decisions?

GB: Neither, actually. It was an encouraging process, because I would sing something and think to myself that it isn’t good enough, but Charlie would say that it is and ask me to keep that take. Meanwhile, he’d write some lyrics, then come up with variations to it, but we’d often settle on the original.

CL: Having someone to bounce ideas off has been really good. I overthink, and I’ll try every possible permutation to an idea. It’s exhausting, and possibly debilitating for the creative process, but having someone to give you feedback makes you more confident. I don’t think we were being yes men either, because we also voiced out any thoughts or doubts. That honesty and openness was important, and we definitely finished the song much faster than if we had done it on our own.

Do you agree that art is never complete, only abandoned? Now that ‘Two Sides’ is out in the wild, do you have lingering thoughts on what you’d still change if you could?

CL: I completely agree. If Joel didn’t push for it to be released, I’d still be working on it,