Are aliens real? That’s up to you to decide. But Alternative-Indie artist “codecaud” makes your wildest imagination come true in her latest music video for her brand new song, Waxing Crescent.
But who really is codecaud? She is Codie Loh, a growing artist. This stage name was her username for an old school 2000s game, Neopets. She decided she wanted to be musically known as codecaud, to remind everyone and herself; be as curious as a kid and find new ways to learn and grow.
A singer-songwriter who seeks musical inspiration from daily activities such as morning walks, her morning ‘business’, and long bus rides, codecaud started as an acoustic singer, who has now released her debut EP, “Still Jive”!
I had the opportunity to interview codecaud myself, and she was a delight! She shared so much about herself and has such an inspiring story, one that I can’t wait to share with you.
Codie discovered after a long journey that music was her path to pursue. It started with having her own mini-concerts to old Hokkien music at a tender age, which earned her grandmother’s recognition and support. She then signed Codie up for multiple singing competitions. However, she never truly felt herself throughout this journey, like she was forced to conform to others’ expectations and judgements.
With a mission to keep herself grounded to music, she took up Arts Management, but it wasn’t what she envisioned. She realised the only way she could feel truly satisfied with music, is by performing it, and creating it — being at the core of the music, not the sidelines. Today, she hopes she can help people through music too, and make a difference to someone. She now teaches guitar and pursues her studies in music therapy, while still creating music, which she loves.
Over the various phases of her life, Codie explored different genres as well. She shared, “I started full out Mandopop when I was out participating in singing competitions — so that’s a lot of Jay Chou, A-Lin, Faye Wong, Tanya Chua (local pride haha), your very shiok karaoke songs. It was in secondary school then I started getting into English songs — think 2000s tunes like The Click Five, Simple Plan, Paramore circa ‘Misery Business’. Only when I got into polytechnic, my music taste completely changed and lasted till now, which is more alternative-indie.”
As she started writing, the genres ‘alternative-indie’ and ‘shoegaze’ truly stuck to her, making her realise that this was her sound. Codie added, “A good reference for the sound that I feel like it’s truly me is something like a mix of those two genres, so think of bands like Wild Nothing and Men I Trust.”
So, Waxing Crescent is her latest project — written, produced and recorded at home, ”DIY style” as Codie herself put it. It has a fascinating name, and it intrigued me. Codie mentioned that this song is actually about her mother. The day Codie was born, the moon was a Waxing Crescent! (I looked up mine and it was the Waning Gibbous! Sorry, I just had to!) Not only that, the music video for this song was a special collaboration with director Jon Tan, which was a brand new opportunity for Codie’s career as codecaud.
Codie wrote this song during a time of uncertainty and despair, during her period of unemployment after graduating from Polytechnic, and relying on her only source of income from busking gigs. She was a mess during this period.
The day she wrote Waxing Crescent, Codie saw the moon out during her morning walk along Woodlands Waterfront. It dawned upon her how small we really are, in a vast world with huge clouds, massive skies, enormous stars, strong winds.
Codie further shared, “I often wonder about my fascination with the sky, clouds, stars, moon. Staring at them makes me feel small, but not in a bad way. It brings me far away, as if all the good and bad stuff in the world doesn’t matter anymore. The soft, gentle hues of blue and peach with a tinge of lilac in the morning sky gave me a sense of peace and tranquillity, away from the hustle of the world. That also reminded me that no matter how far away my mum is, we are still staring at the same skies. And when the moon comes out at night, it smiles and sings to the both of us.”
Poetically beautiful.
Having this brilliant song realised in the form of a music video is thanks to Jon Tan, director of the music video. Codie and Waxing Crescent caught his attention while she was busking outside Wisma Atria, and he reached out to her. She recalled meeting him for the first time at Somerset’s Ya Kun Kaya Toast. They had a wild exchange of ideas, and Codie loved every idea that Jon shared.
As seen in the music video, they decided to go with a space theme, as inspired by a conversation about the film E.T.! Hence, the Waxing Crescent music video was born. It’s about Codie making friends with the moon that she accidentally flicked down to planet Earth, and needing to send the moon back to space for its survival through the only way possible — dancing.
Through the conversation I had with Codie, I realised one vital thing — she treats every moment and opportunity in her life as something to learn from. And with this, she has come a long way from mini-concerts in her living room to busking at Orchard Road, releasing her own music video, and having her song ‘Burst of Clouds’ feature Spotify’s New Music Friday Singapore, New Music Friday Malaysia and Rising 65.
Her journey of self-discovery is so inspiring, and this journey is far from over. In fact, this is just a trailer.
She is currently writing lots of new music for her album which she hopes to release by 2022. This album will have groovier and funkier music that perfectly represents Codie’s sound, and she’s so excited to play around and create something new!
Newfound confidence has surged through her, and she is looking for any collaboration opportunities. In her words specifically, “Anyone who feels like we can vibe, down to hang out
and chill, make good music, have some fun, please hit me up!”. This might be your chance to make your shower concerts a reality! In fact, not just singers, codecaud is also looking for bass players to spice her album up! If you know anyone, or would like to take this on yourself, do reach out to codecaud via Instagram, Facebook, or even email her at [email protected]!
Check out her latest single, Waxing Crescent on YouTube, Spotify, and SoundCloud!
She’s on one hell of a journey, one darkened by obstacles but lit with passion. You don’t want to miss out on this one. Aliens were made real in this music video, who knows what else she’s cooking up for the next.
Ladies and gents, this was just the trailer of codecaud.
Visuals courtesy of codecaud.
