The spotlight is on Rich Brian as he unveiled his most recent album WHERE IS MY HEAD? back in August. The record saw the hitmaker take on a more vulnerable and personal approach to writing the album as he channels the power of memories from his past — like his first kiss, his first heartbreak, and nostalgic moments from his childhood.
Ahead of his appearance in Singapore on 3 December at The Theatre at Mediacorp, we picked his brain to learn the inner workings of Rich Brian, the man behind the music. We uncovered topics ranging from memorable moments in his life that made enough of an impact to inspire some of the tracks on WHERE IS MY HEAD?, to one of the collaborators on the album he’d love to make a joint project with. We even taught him a new Singlish word that he might shout out on stage.
Dive into the world of Rich Brian as he lets us into his creative process, production styles, and what’s ahead as we step into a new year.
You show off a more personal side on WHERE IS MY HEAD? Which of the tracks would you say was the most difficult to write in terms of the level of vulnerability, and could you share the story behind it?
I would say it was 'Timezones'. That song took me 7 days straight to write, which is, you know, the longest I've taken to write a song at least recently, but it was just one of those things where I didn't know what I was gonna write about.
I didn't know what the story or where the story was gonna lead until maybe like the last day or maybe like the last few hours of actually writing it. Because all I knew was the song started off with me saying, you know, "memories in the kitchen in the back of Mama's café", and I was like, ok, that's one part of my childhood, and then I was like, ok, where is this gonna lead? And then I kept going, and then, you know, I kept adding new characters.
It was like my online girlfriend at the time, and then I'm like, oh, I remember what happened with that relationship, and then, you know, yeah. Before you know it, I'm talking about, you know, having my first kiss and stuff at the club when I was 15 and getting my heart broken and all that stuff. So it was, I think at the time, it was the most authentic writing I've ever done.
I think it was like, honestly, even though that was the most vulnerable one, I don't think it was difficult. I think it was actually exciting because I'm like, yes, finally I have, you know, a unique point of view that I could write about because this is, you know, I've never talked about this, and I don't think I've heard a song that is this specific in a long time.
So you were in like a flow state when you were writing that, yeah.
Yes, absolutely.
Sonically, WHERE IS MY HEAD? seems to move across genres seamlessly. What drove that sonic variety, and how did you decide which direction to take on each track?
Yeah, the thing that drove the sonic variety, I would say, is probably my taste in music because I also, you know, listen to a lot of different things. When I was making the last album before this, I was listening to a lot of rap music, and when I was making this one, I was listening to a lot of old singy melodic songs.
I think I was just really attracted to songs that had a lot of cool chord progressions and a lot of cool soundscapes and all that stuff. So there would be a lot of times where, you know, I wanna do rap, but a lot of these ideas I think started from me making chords and me making melodic ideas 'cause I just wanted to sing 'cause I think that making singing songs is just really fun, and I think with this album I just explored that so much more.
I think I just explored all the other genres that I actually love listening to but haven’t really put out under my artist project as much. So yeah, I think the variety of it came pretty naturally. For each track, it was basically, you know, for the first couple of songs that I made, all I knew was I had an album in mind, but I didn't know what the sound of the album was, but it was all very kind of subconscious.
I think I was just making songs just to make songs, and then I just realised that I was, you know, drawn to certain types of sounds, and at the time, it was like there’s a lot of guitar, and there was a lot of, kind of, you know, maybe strings and stuff like that.
After making maybe five songs, I was like, ok, I can kind of see the shape of this thing, and then I think after those 5 songs, the creation process became more intentional, and it became more like, ok, what is, you know, what is the album missing now?
And then I think after that, especially towards the end, I would have songs where it's just like, ok, the album is like 80% done, but I'm missing this one really specific song, and then I was able to make that song because I kind of know exactly what it's missing already.
Ok, wow, so it's kind of like you came up with a skeleton of the album first with those 5 songs, and then you just came from there.
From your debut album Amen to The Sailor to WHERE IS MY HEAD?, your sound and lyrical focus have changed a lot. What do you feel is the biggest shift in yourself as an artist?
I would say the biggest shift in myself as an artist since that time is just I think I just wanted to prioritise authenticity the most and vulnerability the most when it comes to writing lyrics. I think a lot of times in my earlier work, my goal was to just be like, how do I make myself sound the coolest possible, or how do I make myself sound perfect and inspirational?
In this one, I kind of went the complete opposite of just like, what are all my flaws, and like, let me do it, you know, in the least trauma-dumping way. Like, let me just show people kind of what my flaws are so people could be like, wow, I feel that way too, and all that kind of stuff. So yeah, I would say just letting myself be more seen by people.
Wow, it definitely comes through in the album, and it's not trauma-dumpy.
I’m glad! (Laughs)
Given the title WHERE IS MY HEAD?, if you literally took a week off all phones, social media, and distractions to find your head — what would you do, where would you go?
Whoa, I feel like I would paint a lot, and I would cook a lot. Where would I go? That's an interesting question because I feel like I would want to go somewhere maybe with a lot of people so that I'm not too bored.
I need some sort of, you know, some stimulant still. So maybe I'm thinking about New York right now, maybe New York. Maybe I'll just live life like Bob Dylan or something and just kind of walk around the city making stuff.
If you could pick one collaborator on this album to do a full joint project with, who would it be and why?
Ok, so collaborator that's on this album that I want to do a full joint project with. Oh, so I got Ski Mask, Charlotte Day Wilson, Maxo Kream, redveil, DAISY WORLD. I feel like I was gonna say Charlotte Day Wilson, but I also feel like Ski Mask would be interesting.
Because I feel like people have an idea of what me and Ski Mask collab tape would sound like, but I feel like I would try to do stuff that is kind of unexpected and put him on weird beats and stuff like that.
Because I was really, really happy with the verse that he did on the song. I'm glad that he liked it. He told me he liked the song too when he made it or when he sent it to me, so I don't know. I feel like me and Ski could be a good collaborator for a whole album.
If you could score the soundtrack for any film or anime, what kind of story would it be, and what kind of vibe would you go for?
Ok, I recently watched Princess Mononoke for the first time, and I really liked it. And I watched Spirited Away when I was in kindergarten, and that scarred me, that traumatised me, and I'm not an anime watcher at all because ever since I watched that when I was in kindergarten, I thought that anime was just like really heavy, and there's just something about it that makes me weirdly sad and depressed.
But when I watched Princess Mononoke, I was like, this is really — there’s something really comforting about this. And music, yeah, and I feel like the music to Studio Ghibli stuff is always really cool, and I feel like I'm always really inspired.
I'm inspired by anime music quite a lot, actually, yeah, so the vibe would be interesting to see — like an anime with just a lot of McGee-sounding guitars as the atmospheric music. I think that would be interesting.
You’re performing in Singapore on 3 December as part of your WHERE IS MY HEAD? 2025 Asia Tour. What is one food from Singapore that you’re dying to have during your time here?
I really love — I mean, extremely basic answer, but I love the kaya toast and egg mixture. But I have one thing that I actually love. I went to this restaurant because, fun fact, Singapore was the first country that I went to outside of Indonesia when I was 15.
So I went to this Indian restaurant called Zam Zam, and I really liked it. Last time I went to Singapore, I revisited that place, and it still looks the same, and the food tastes the same, and it was really good.
Oh OK, Zam Zam, wait, I've eaten that before, it's really good.
Yeah, yeah, exactly. (Laughs)
What’s one Singlish word or phrase you’ve learned (or want to learn) during your visit here?
My god, that’s a good question. Because I don't think — surprisingly, I mean, I know a lot of Singaporean people, and I've heard a lot of Singaporean people talk, but I don't think I know a Singlish word.
So, I mean, what would you like to teach me?
I mean, the classic one would be “Lah.”
Yeah, yeah, I know that one, that I do know. What do you think I wouldn't know but you guys say a lot?
Oh, I've heard a few people say this is my favourite one. I like it when they say “Yaya Papaya.”
Oh, I've never heard that.
Oh, “Yaya Papaya” is like when you act like a know-it-all.
Oh, why do you think it's papaya?
I have no idea. Most of the time it doesn't make sense, but it's so interesting when people say it.
OK, OK, maybe I'll say it on stage if it makes sense. (Laughs)
You’ve talked before about producing in your bedroom early on in your journey. Is there still something like a routine, ritual, or item from your early days you refuse to give up?
I think the thing that's changed the most about my production process is nowadays, especially on this album, I used a lot more hardware, like analogue gear, like, you know, real keyboards and synths and guitars and bass and all that stuff.
And back in the day, I used to just only use the sounds from the programme in the computer, which, you know, I guess could sound sometimes more fake or a little more two-dimensional and lower quality and whatnot.
But these days, especially today, I was making beats and forcing myself to only use the sound on the computer, and I think that there's something fun about that. I think it's always good to just kind of switch up your routine so you don't get bored by it.
Yeah, I think at the end of the day, it's always really important to use what is available to you and kind of work within a limited access to things, and I think sometimes cool things can come out of it.
Looking ahead, what do you feel is left for you to explore that you haven’t yet? Are there styles, genres, or ideas you’re itching to tackle next?
Definitely, definitely more music. I definitely want to — you know, I'm making as much music as I can right now before I go on the road because I know it's kind of hard to do when I'm on tour. I don't know if the music is gonna come out in the form of singles or mixtapes or, you know, I think the goal is definitely another album, but yeah, more music.
I want to act. I definitely wanna act. The only thing with acting is it's so time-consuming, and they're always filming for so many months, and I don't want to have too much time away from music, but yeah, I would say those two things.
Excited for what's coming up.
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