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 When
Jane Lui released her third album “Goodnight Company” in October of
2010 – produced with the support of fans, who raised enough money to
fund the record, and distributed digitally for free online – she made a
statement about the person that she wanted to be, the artist she had
become.
“The
reason why I decided to make a free digital album,” Lui explains, “is
because my primary goal isn’t the money. It’s about spreading the
music.”
Lui’s
passion for music is evident, but she wasn’t always so sure about what
she wanted to do with her life. Born in Hong Kong, she moved to
California with her parents at the age of eleven. Although they made her
take piano lessons from the time she was four, Lui’s parents insisted
she study communications in college in order to pursue a stable,
successful career, rather than go down the path of a musician.
“I
absolutely despised it,” says Lui. “I wasn’t good at anything else.”
Soon after, she transferred to San Diego State University and changed
her major to music education, turning a deaf ear to her parents’
protests.
From
the day she changed majors, Lui’s relationship with her parents was
strained. Her mother, who was a painter, might have understood her need
for a creative outlet, but was concerned that her daughter have a secure
job, says Lui. Her father, on the other hand, had a very different
objection.
“My
father wasn’t upset about the change; he was upset that I was stubborn
and wanted to make decisions for myself. He wanted to maintain the
authoritative figure in my life,” she says. These struggles – with her
parents and her own life decisions – would later become the fuel and
inspiration for the majority of her music.
Feeling
trapped in San Diego, she decided to move to Los Angeles after college.
The change, however, didn’t turn out quite like she had planned. After
performing a couple of shows, she knew that it wasn’t the place for her.
“I
was just a regular singer-songwriter,” Lui says. “Nothing really grew
out of me coming to L.A. It wasn’t expanding my abilities, or my fan
base.”
With
that in mind, she moved again, this time to San Francisco, where she
was immediately thrown into Kollaboration Acoustic 2, an Asian American
talent contest, where she would take the Grand Prize in 2008.
“It
wasn’t until then that the L.A. market opened up for me,” says Lui
ironically. Since then, she has had a nearly non-stop schedule of shows
in both Los Angeles and the Bay Area.
Then in 2009, Lui’s father passed away, still harboring some doubts about his daughter’s chosen career path.
“I’m
okay with that,” says Lui. “His passing was actually liberating in a
way.” In the end, no bitterness was left, just a silent understanding —
if not acceptance — between father and daughter.
Now
two years later, Lui has toured the East and West Coasts, as well as
Canada, Australia and England, and has managed to carve out enough time
to release three albums. For the third album, she wanted get away from
the piano-driven melodies of her first two albums to convey the changes
and growth she has made as a person and as an artist, infusing it with a
wide range of new and eclectic sounds.
But
raising money and creating third album proved to be a challenge all its
own. Through PledgeMusic.com, Lui’s fans showed their overwhelming
support, raising over $11,000 to help Lui get through the
often-excruciating journey of recording and producing “Goodnight
Company” over the span of seven months. In addition, part of the funds
raised went towards relief efforts in Haiti.
The
album, like her life, is a candid reflection of the arduous journey Lui
has undertaken. No longer content to simply dabble in music, Lui’s
independently-released offering showcases her exceptional giftedness,
do-it-yourself ingenuity and true passion for music.
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