To all us music fans, the name ‘Iman Fandi’ shouldn’t come as a surprise. The multi-hyphenate is already beginning to dominate the music scene in Singapore with her raging debut song, ‘Timeframe’, which was released back in February earlier this year. But before we say goodbye to 2021, Iman bestowed upon us another jam along the lines of a summer anthem, which she shared with us about in a lovely interview. The song, you ask? It’s called Love Me Little More!
Love Me Little More plays with the euphoric genre of pop music. Mixed by 13-time Grammy-winning engineer, John Hanes (who’s worked with artists like The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Alicia Keys), and co-written with Amanda Liedberg, this song epitomises catchy and trendy music with a meaning so close to heart; making it the perfect summer jam (and for us Singaporeans, our jam all-year-round!).
Just as the name screams, this song is a cry for acceptance and reciprocation; a plea to have your S/O give you just a little more. Love Me Little More is a piece that outlines a toxic relationship. As Iman said herself, “I feel like in some relationships, you put a little bit more in compared to the other person”, and that hit. Relationships are a complex, fragile thing – one wrong turn, and it could all turn horrifically toxic. Iman sheds light on such relationships seeking inspiration from her own friend!
Yes! Love Me Little More is a story of a close friend of hers who was going through a hard time recovering from a toxic relationship. When she saw her friend in such pain and sorrow, she felt this urge to translate all of her friend’s emotions and thoughts into a song, to help her cope with the pain. What can I say? The soul of a storyteller never rests.
I am a firm believer that music is a companion – whatever you’re feeling, hearing a song that resonates the most with you could be the best healer of a wound or the biggest celebration of joy.
Well, funnily enough, her friend didn’t believe her, and Iman took her up on this challenge! Iman then wrote this song in just three days, together with Amanda Liedberg, and when she showed it to her friend, she was left touched by how well the song had come together with hints of her emotions engraved into the words. Soon, this became a piece Iman knew she desperately wanted to share with people in similar shoes as her friend, and give them some healing through this jam of a song.
As a musician, she started to study the kind of sound she wanted to share with her fans next. Thinking back to Timeframe, which dabbled more into the EDM and R&B genres, she realised that she wanted her next song to be a “romance song with summer, tropical beats behind it”. She also shared that she had some concerns about how people would react to the difference between the songs. Well, the contrast between Timeframe and Love Me Little More is stark, but it’s refreshing to see Iman try new things, take on new avatars, and share new stories with us!
This smashing song also comes with a dreamy music video directed by Amirul Hafidz (also known as fidz.bare) with summer vibes like no other! I absolutely love how the music video unravels together with the lyrics: as you watch the narrative before your eyes and the words sneaking in your ears, making this the epic multi-sensory experience.
The music video dons a flashback concept with a crying Iman thinking back to the relationship that brought her to this very point in her life. The two characters are seemingly in love with each other – enjoying meals together, swimming together, and all the cute stuff. And soon, it all starts falling apart, and she is grieving the death of her relationship.
This music video exemplified true attention to detail with so many fun things to catch here and there, making the experience much more enjoyable! Little details like how the moments with the happy couple use bright and fun colours, playing with some neon hues. With darker and duller coloured moments where the couple has their fights, and when Iman is crying, representing the dynamics of their gradually sinking relationship. Another detail is how Iman reminisces the moments she shared with her beau in the very locations they’d made the memories. For example, Iman thinks back to the late-night swims while she’s in the pool! I love that little association.
Speaking of the late-night swims, Iman shared with me some anecdotes about her time on set, and she shared how the water in the swimming pool on set was freezing! She and her co-actor were shivering, and she was just relieved it wasn’t apparent in the video.
She also shared that whatever ideas she had envisioned for the music video, were all used and brought to life. She recalled how Timeframe was rather abstract and fashion-forward, so she wanted to depict an actual story this time in Love Me Little More. Hence, she wanted a male co-star alongside her, partly because she was so excited to hear all the girls screaming, “Oooooo, who’s that!” (She knows us well!).
A fact Iman shared that personally shocked me to the core was that this whole music video was shot right here in Singapore! A house was used as a set, and most scenes were shot in the house itself. I genuinely thought this was shot overseas, because of how much it all resembled a Hollywood set! Iman shared that she wanted to retain that sense of mystery and magic by shooting in a venue that gives off some international vibes. Well, mission accomplished!
Iman tried her hand at acting in the music video for the first time, and I think we can all agree that she did a fantastic job! She confessed that her biggest challenge was to keep a straight face! “I was told on set sometimes that even my angry face looked too sweet, and I was like ‘oh okay, let me become angrier!’”.
When I asked her for a part that she wanted her listeners to pay extra close attention to: she shared that all the scenes in the music video work together to share the characters’ stories. She hoped everyone would appreciate the lyrics, especially “crying like a waterfall”, which she says is one of her favourite lyrics in the song. She wanted this lyric to feed our imaginations a visual of how devastated and heartbroken the person was.
She has also outdone herself vocal-wise! She tried to incorporate some belting in the second pre-chorus, right after that line, in “so love me little more!”. I absolutely adored that because it gave the emotions a new dimension that further immerses you in the persona’s desperation. Iman wanted to build herself up from Timeframe in terms of her vocals and prove to herself and everyone else that she is learning and growing.
Well, Iman couldn’t stop gushing about the hard work her team had put in to deliver the music video and song so beautifully. She also mentioned how proud she was of the end product, and she was thrilled to hear the response from her fans on this bright, new sound!
A minor spoiler for you: Iman Fandi is also releasing an EP very soon! She shared that it’s been in the works for a long time, and it’s been delayed for a while now due to the nasty virus-that-shall-not-be-named. But she confessed that she’s grateful for the time she’s had to perfect it. She raved about how this album will take the listeners through a roller coaster of emotions, sounds, and genres that will all sound different, but still give you that authentic ‘Iman Fandi’ feel!
We can’t wait at all! Seeing the new Iman Fandi with Love Me Little More has proven to us that she’s passionate about this, and she’s constantly finding new ways to learn and grow as a musician. As time passes, I can only imagine how her talent will evolve! We really hope to hear more from Iman – a young musician dripping with talent, but also as the new definition of Singapore pop music!
Check out Iman’s new song, Love Me Little More, on all streaming platforms, including YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music! Do also keep up to date with Iman on her Instagram and Twitter!
Visuals Courtesy of Hans Goh.
