Geoff Ong is back with a brand new track, the hopefully optimistic ‘Turn The TV Off’, penned during Aotearoa’s 2020 lockdown. What was an overwhelming and stressful time for everybody, Geoff was no different, finding himself struggling with the bombardment of information and the overwhelming feeling of anxiety, and like many of us was forced into a period of reflection.
“When I wrote 'Turn The TV Off' it felt like every single news article I read was combining to create this crushing sense of impending doom (which I recognise is a strange thing to write a pop song about but hey here we are). It sounds dramatic but I really felt like the end of the world was about to happen. Climate change, the storming of Capitol Hill, police shootings of unarmed black civilians, coronavirus, wildfires, the rise of the alt-right and online conspiracy theorists, the ongoing erosion of women's and trans rights, rapidly growing wealth inequality, AHHHHHHHH!!!!
“In the midst of it all I started actively avoiding the news, which made me realise what a privileged position I'm in. It's a privilege to be able to avoid thinking about all this stuff when other folks are literally living through it! How do I balance my responsibility to stay informed and take action, with the need to look after my mental health? Honestly I haven't figured that out yet... But the song is about working through those thoughts and trying to hang on to some hope in the process” – Geoff Ong
Geoff Ong is a Tāmaki Makaurau-based RnB/soul/pop musician with the twist of being as down-to-earth and genuine as they come. Completely self-produced and DIY is the name of the game with Geoff, from his recording process right through to his music videos which are all hand-crafted.
Speaking of his creative process Geoff says, “My writing and production process has always been super DIY, it just fits really well with my personality. I like delving into all the nerdy musical details of a song and trying different sounds, and as an introvert I especially love being on my own while I do it.
I think I would just feel way too anxious about going into a studio with other people to work on my music. I prefer to work on stuff by myself at home where it’s cozy and I can redo the same vocal take as many times as it takes to get it sounding right, without feeling self-conscious. So I tend to write, record, and produce all at the same time. Which is maybe not the most traditional way of doing it, but it works for me”.
His recently released album, Maybe It’ll Be Alright, is a multi-faceted body of work, expressing perfectly his many talents – catchy tunes, groovy rhythm guitars, funky bass, and vocals that you can really sink your teeth into.
You can join him in celebrating the release of ‘Turn Off The TV Show’, at Portland Public House on may 29th, with support from ethereal/90’s RnB Queen Valere.
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