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MMXJ is no spoilt brat

SINGAPORE — By all accounts, MJ Kuok is a very fortunate fellow. Intelligent, privileged and ambitious, the Singaporean has probably achieved and enjoyed more in his 26 years than many of his peers.

Singaporean DJ-producer MMXJ. Photo: Jason Ho

Singaporean DJ-producer MMXJ. Photo: Jason Ho

SINGAPORE — By all accounts, MJ Kuok is a very fortunate fellow. Intelligent, privileged and ambitious, the Singaporean has probably achieved and enjoyed more in his 26 years than many of his peers.

Educated at Stanford University, where he majored in communications and digital media studies, Kuok spent the first few years of his working life building a start-up consisting of a new social network catered specifically to university students with his college friends in Palo Alto. He then sold said start-up and moved back to Hong Kong to work for his family in real estate development. (His grandfather, by the way, is the Malaysian billionaire Robert Kuok.)

Yet all Kuok, whose real name is Kuok Meng Jun, wants to do is to make music.

It is a dream he has pursued on and off since he was a rebellious 12-year-old student in boarding school in the United Kingdom, where he took part in band competitions as a member of a punk-rock band.

“It took a long time for me to decide I was going to do it and focus on it,” said Kuok, who was a finalist in the third season of Singapore Idol but dropped out of the reality singing competition to finish his studies.

“It’s more (of) self-put pressure that I wanted to help in the business and to help my family as well. I spent quite a long time figuring out what job I could do to contribute the most, (but) I just couldn’t find something I felt truly engaged in. I would go to work, and then go home and work on my productions and music. That desire to pursue music was still there. It was only after New Year’s (this year) when I told myself I needed to go back to my roots, to what I was truly passionate about, which is music. Except this time, it wasn’t so much in the singer-songwriter scene — it was dance music.”

Kuok, who confessed that he was “one of those guys” who used to frequent Zouk when he was serving his National Service, said he grew to love electronic dance music (EDM) after attending music festivals, including Coachella, during his days at Stanford.

“I just fell in love with the whole sound, how the audience was so captivated, and (how) there was so much energy in the whole show. It was something I had never experienced (when) singing and playing (the) guitar, so I taught myself how to produce music,” said the disarmingly soft-spoken musician, who will be performing at Bang Bang at Pan Pacific Singapore on Sunday, alongside singer-songwriter Amba Shepherd.

Instead of starting his music career in the United States, which, as a music market, is much more mature, Kuok decided to establish himself in Singapore. “The thing about Singapore that is really interesting is there are many new artistes coming up,” said Kuok, who goes by MMXJ in the EDM world.

“I felt the scene here is still growing, there was something I could contribute to, and it just seemed more exciting to be here. Everyone wants to go and make it in the US and the UK, and then come back to Asia. But I think it would be much cooler to do something good in Asia.”

Kuok’s debut single Kings, which features local singer-songwriter Gentle Bones — whom he contacted over Facebook — will be released on Sept 25, while his debut full-length album is slated for release in November. The DJ-producer has also begun collaborating with more artistes in the region, including vocalists from the Mandopop world. The hope for Kuok is to, eventually, be able to release other artistes’ music under his very own Oceana Label. Until then, Kuok said he will treat himself like his own start-up and “guinea pig”.

“I think one thing that constantly drives me is I feel very fortunate and very blessed to come from a good family, where everything has been very easy. Honestly, compared to a lot of people, I have gone through minimal hardships,” Kuok intimated. “I just feel like I want to prove to myself that I can start something up, and also contribute back. I know a lot of people say that, but I really do feel blessed and I feel like I need to work hard, not to prove myself to anyone, but to prove myself.”

 

MMXJ will release his debut single Kings (featuring Gentle Bones) on iTunes on Sept 25.

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