Wayne Liu, who is better known by his moniker KoFlow, wanted to stop making music when he turned 40. “I thought I would just deejay. It’s less taxing creatively,” says Liu matter-of-factly. When he reached that age, the emails for bookings continued flowing. And Liu felt like he still had a lot more fuel.
This year, at 42, he released his fourth studio work Grey. It’s a six-track EP that blends electronic beats with an orchestral ensemble and is unlike anything Liu has made. “A lot of the music I produce is eclectic and experimental. I listen to a lot of obscure hip-hop and electronic music,” he says. The pandemic, while unhelpful for music performances, also enabled Liu to expand his repertoire. He found a new style he enjoyed and began creating new pieces, some of which found its way into Grey. Creativity clearly doesn’t have an expiry date.
Liu has been around for a while. He shot into prominence in 2003 after winning the DMC Singapore DJ championship but admits that the first few years were tough. “When I was coming up, there wasn’t much infrastructure. No one knew what to do with me. The scene was mainly geared towards pop artists,” recalls Liu. So, he was regularly booked to play in clubs and music festivals simply because he was seen as a DJ. But Liu wanted to create music that had artistic integrity. He liked the pomp and pageantry of a performance. People partying and dancing wasn’t his cup of tea.
As the scene progressed, so did his opportunities. Music managers began understanding Liu’s musical expertise and technology and social media, while simplifying the DJ’s learning journey, also highlighted how good Liu was on the decks.
Unfortunately, social media has also made everyone into DJs. While not necessarily a bad thing, Liu feels that it’s all about “that 15-second mix”. There isn’t any substance and actual performance. So, he’s encouraging those interested in the discipline to push boundaries and “believe in their own things”.
He’s also going to continue creating. There’s still a lot more in his creative and musical tank.
