MUMBAI : Allen Ling is making his way to sharing his music and life with the world – decades after his first trysts with music, which was born out of ‘heartbreak’ and ‘healing’. Ling teams up with Dave Lopez, the fellow San Francisco-based world renowned Guitarist/Producer – from the popular American Rap Rock group – Flipsyde on his musical journey. The two crossed paths a few years ago, thanks to a common friend and began a journey of many tunes, starting with ‘the trilogy’.
The trilogy of songs that both witness and chronicle various phases of the artist’s recovery, begins with the formal video release of Straight Into The Ocean, in June 2023. Straight Into the Ocean, is succeeded by the video single titled A Name In Your Book, (which released globally on July 28th) which while following the same plot as ‘Ocean’ serves as a prequel to it. Both the tracks, in fact, were written at the same time in Kauai, Hawaii, US and second track ‘Book’ was actually written before ‘Ocean’.
While heartbreak is the genesis of both the tracks, the first song deals with despondency, tragedy, closure and friendship and the second is like an ‘anthem for anyone who has ever yearned to leave an indelible mark on someone’s life’.
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Ling who runs a successful Physical Therapy business in the US, leans into the role of suffering in his deeply auto-biographical songs, “I try to ease suffering though my healing work as a physical therapist, music heals me as a singer songwriter.”
The video for ‘Ocean’, like most of his earlier projects, was never released publicly or formally and yet managed to win big at several international film festivals (including a few in India) such as the Paris Film Festival and the Cult Critic Movie Awards among others. The well-shot music film also features popular Ms. Marvel star Aramis Knight, known for his much-loved portal of the Kareem- Red Dagger alongside Ms. Marvel – Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) and Waleed played by well-known Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar.
The video for ‘Book’ features Ling’s collaborator, producer, friend and talented guitar player Dave Lopez in a guest appearance.
The tracks feature stirring vocals, set to the poignant lyrics and poignant yet hopeful tunes to accept the truth of life’s experiences – especially the celestial one of how nothing breaks like a heart. The music videos are replete with rich indoor and outdoor visualisations amidst entangled love stories.
