THE WAY TO GOOD MUSIC

This is rare english interview appearing in May-June 2000 issue of Day&Night. Interesting cos it seemed like interview now cos all the things he said stay the same. He is just the most genuine guy and he never lied or changed his mind. 4 yrs alredi & his thinking & ideas stay the same, never change. Hard to find a guy like that u know who is so sure of his own mission in life. Anyway its hard to read so I transcribe here so more ppl will know abt David! The interviewer a bit sarcastic but its always like that, ppl always think David is false cos they dun believe that an entertainer can be so real. But believe me when I say David is the real thing.

Baby-faced David Tao may be, but this musical genius is determined to shake up the music scene in Asia. He believes he will be part of the musical revolution he feels Asia sorely needs. Can he do it? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, David Tao is OK.
The past couple of years have seen a continual influx of American-born Chinese, Canadian-born Chinese, Australian-born Chinese, British-born Chinese and so on, into the Chinese entertainment industry in these regions. Coco Lee, Eason Chan, Peter Ho and Christy Chung are fine examples of celebrities who have returned to their roots in the East to cash in on the rising demand for such personalities. The trend in the industry is that as long as you are not born around these parts of the world or had spent a couple of years away in some esteemed foreign coutnry, the passage to stardom is already in your favour. In fact, it doesn't even matter if you don't speak the language: crucial selling points are good looks and, of course, the accent.
However David Tao, the Taiwan-based celebrity who was born and bred in American, begs to differ. "I am here to do Mandarin music. I'm not here to American music," he retorts when asked if being an American-born Chinese is a gimmick he would employ. "My goal is not to introduce American music to Asia. I'm here to do music with Western influences but it will still be in Mandarin. That is the reason why I have decided to write my own lyrics as well, I believe in maintaining an Asian spirit in my music." Touted as the creme de la creme of the Chinese music industry, this baby-faced lad genuinely has what it takes to become a famed and respectable artiste.
In his debut album, titled Taoism, the multi-talented musican single-handedly sang, composed, produced and arranged all the music and the even managed to record it at home with a minimal budget. That is certainly a commendable feat considering the fact that most Asian recording artistes prefer to be spoon-fed with commercial pop tunes, high-budget productions and a manufactured image. With the release of his new album, I'm Ok, David continues to take on the daunting task of producing his own album. "It's a lot of work because I have to sing, write the tunes and produce it at the same tiem. I'm even writing the lyrics now. I do the arrangements and I sing backing vocals as well. There's really not much more I can do. Oh! I play most of the instruments, too," reveals David with a sigh.
Nonetheless, the music enthusiast still insists on delivering only his best to the audience. "After completing the first album, I told myself that I will not just churn out another similar album. I just want to stretch the boundaries of my music because I don't want my fans to be disappointed," professes David, who spent the last two years producing the highly anticipated follow-up album. A perfectionist by nature, David readily admits that he doesn't like his singing voice. "I can't stand listening to my own voice. I feel that my singing is not good enough," he confesses. Having garnered rave reviews for his debut album, his latest effort seems set to make waves yet again.
Adopting several different styles in the new album, David has veered away slightly from his signature R&B style of music. "I chose to do R&B for my first album because I felt it was suitable during the time. However, I don't want my music to be stereotyped. I don't think my brand of music has to be locked into a certain category." With a combination of jazzy, hip-hop, R&B and slightly up-tempo numbers, the variations on the album seem to be rather experimental and innovative efforts.
Not being a fervent fan of Chinese music, David reveals that he grew up listening to hard rock and heavy metal music. Citing The Beatles as a major infuence on his music, he claims that he only got into R&B msuic after his Lennon, McCartney fixation. With several sentimental ballads in the new album, David asserts that he sets his music apart from the rest by breaking away from the traditional writing style of famous Asian composers. "I believe that being yourself is enough to be different. Ballads are very common but my music is unique because when I write a song, I try to put a certain amount of my own feelings into it. It therefore reflects my personal opinion on relationships which would naturally be different from someone else's perspective."
Driven by an intense passion for music, David admits that he is determined to shake up the scene in Asia. "I want to stay in Asia to continue developing my music because this is where the people need the music," he proclaims. He looks set to create a revolution in the industry and when asked if he would be capable of bringing the necessary changes, he is quick to reply, "I think that the Chinese music needs a serious revolution. I believe I will be part of if but I'm definitely not going to be the only person. It will required the collective efforts of dedicated musicians and a lot of time as well. A significant revolution has to take place in order for things to change," exclaims David.
Despite an increasing number of singer-songwriter type artistes, he remains doubtful about the efforts of this phenomenon. "I will definitely encourage more artistes to write their own tunes but it is very important that they know their limitations. A lot of them do it because it is the trend at the moment and eventually, we'd jsut end up having more bad music in the industry. That's the danger!"
David joined the music industry as a producer even before taking the centre stage to become a recording artiste. Spending 70% of his time in America now, David confesses that he became overwhelmed by the amount of attention he received following the success of his debut album in 1997. "I spent most of my time in America, especially after releasing the first album. I just needed to get away. The media, the fans and all the attention became too much for me to handle."
Nevertheless, his love for music has helped him to overcome all that and he is once again prepared to take on the limelight. When asked to make a choice between singing and producing, David replies, "I like both very much. I like being a singer and I enjoy working as a producer. I think I need both. If I only did either one thing, I know I'd go crazy." David Tao, a musical genius or mere pretender - you'd have to be the judge of that.