A lilting, melancholic opus for the season, ‘Definitely’ is a three-way collaboration from London-based Singaporean singer-songwriter/producer Charlie Lim, Melbourne producer and electronic artist Katz, and L.A. based Singaporean singer-songwriter Linying. The idea for the song germinated from an impromptu jam when Charlie was visiting his family in Australia and caught up with Katz, an old friend and frequent collaborator.
“We were just improvising with me on guitar and Adam (Katz) on piano and we left the camera running –and I’m so glad we did,” says Charlie. “Linying and I have also collaborated on a number of occasions before and I’m proud of the work we’ve done, but this was a whole different level. We all knew we were sitting on something really special after she sent her first take over.”
“I saw the video on Charlie’s Instagram of him and Adam jamming out an instrumental that sounded so pretty,” says Linying. “I impulsively ripped the audio with a free online converter and wrote a verse and a chorus within an hour. It was instinctive, immediate, and so enjoyable. To me, it’s about that sour, envious feeling watching someone suddenly be so sure about everything they were unsure of when it came to you.”
“I like writing chord progressions that feel like they’re folding in on themselves. The main chords in ‘Definitely’ never really resolve, which I think adds an air of tension in keeping with the subject matter of the lyrics,” says Katz about the process of arranging the song. “The contrasting intro/outro bookends the song, with a single, echoing piano note conjuring a sense of distance befitting the song’s themes.”
“This was also my first time getting to work with Lin; I was stunned when she sent through such a thoughtful and fully-formed topline so quickly after we posted the clip online,” says Katz, about how the spontaneity and trusting nature between the three of them drove its narrative. “Charlie and I have been friends for over a decade, and have been making music together for just as long; there’s a level of trust that comes from playing together for so many years which allows us to be really honest and productive as collaborators.”
“There’s really nothing like working with people you trust and respect, and with friends you can openly disagree with but still come to a happy medium that ticks all everyone’s boxes,” says Charlie, who oversaw the production of the track. “The track itself is quite deceptive –one might think that there’s only a couple of instruments and two voices, but it’s actually dozens of vocal layers and unorthodox harmonies that are stacked on top of each other and carefully placed in the mix,” says Charlie. “It gives this blurry, depth of field effect which I thought suited the song’s sentiment. I think we managed to capture something very personal and universal at the same time.”
