I Don’t Want to Do Everything Alone as an Independent Musician
From fourteen years of working alone to the collaborative possibilities of Fire Ritual on Pulau and ABU
I have been making music for about fourteen years now. The best part of being an independent musician is having complete creative control. The downside is that you have to handle every damn thing yourself—from post-production and filming to promotion—and learn it all along the way. Perhaps learning to become self-reliant is one of the benefits of having no money.
Fourteen Years of Doing Every Damn Thing Myself
In my early years, I mostly focused on writing the best songs I could and getting the post-production right. Besides making music, I ran a small barbecue stall, worked as a local guide, sold durians, and took on demo arrangement work for extra income.
Back then, I still did not have a clear direction in music. It was only when Anak Borneo came into being in 2017 that I realised I could no longer drift along without a clear purpose.
Anak Borneo made me understand how important it was to build a music brand. It also made me realise that I needed to step into the spotlight and perform in front of an audience. With limited resources, I began taking social media more seriously, meeting more people, and actively looking for performance opportunities.
Equipment, performance clothes, transport and advertising—all of these require money to keep things moving. And, of course, I still need to eat. Because income from music remains unpredictable, I have to reserve part of my time for work outside music that can pay the bills. Finding a balance between music and survival is something I am still working out.
How Can This Become More Sustainable?
That question has driven me forward and encouraged me to try different things. Besides designing different formats for different performance settings—solo singer-songwriter sets, full-band shows, and music combined with storytelling—I have also been exploring the cultural and humanistic values carried by the brand.
Anak Borneo is more than a stage name. It carries my background, the place I come from, and the cultural foundation of my work. It has shaped the direction of my music. From the overall visual identity to the cultural knowledge and crafts I have access to, these elements allow Anak Borneo to extend beyond music—into cultural sharing, traditional craft workshops, and longhouse food and drink—before returning to the music with new creative possibilities.
All of these have the potential to become cultural capital and creative resources for the brand. They can help sustain it while allowing new works and collaborations to continue taking shape.
A Concert I Could Never Have Created Alone
On 9 July 2025, Anak Borneo held its first full-length concert—Fire Ritual on Pulau《島與燚祭》. Centred on ritual as its main subject, the production brought together sound, installation art, visual projections and dance to create a musical experience that went beyond listening alone.
The preparation process was exhausting. From writing the proposal, raising funds and finding collaborators to coordinating musicians, scheduling rehearsals and handling media promotion, I had to manage nearly every part myself.
Thankfully, Thong Yoong How and Kent supported me with technical expertise and connections. YouNi Market, Action Groups and Shiny Universe provided support and funding, while Kuro Coffee, Cibabond, Filamen and Frhythm each contributed their own strengths. These different forces came together and allowed the concert to take shape in the way it did.
When the concert ended, it left behind more than the memory of that evening. It brought Anak Borneo to a wider audience and led to more collaborations and work opportunities.
I began to understand that the value of a creative project does not exist only in the moment of performance. It also lies in the cultural and creative exchange that happens during the preparation process, as well as the economic activity it generates. After the concert, the shared experience also gave me, the team and the audience new ways of understanding Anak Borneo and the messages it carries.
For an independent musician, does “self-reliance” really mean doing everything alone?
The success of Fire Ritual on Pulau added an important chapter to my creative journey. It also made me rethink what self-reliance actually means.
Self-Reliance Does Not Mean Doing Everything Alone
Although I initiated Fire Ritual on Pulau and personally handled much of the work, it was never something I completed alone. Without the involvement of different organisations and creators, the concert could not have happened in the form it did.
Now, as the Anak Borneo Universe—or ABU—continues to develop, the songs are beginning to expand into characters, stories and a wider world. Once again, I find myself facing the same question.
This world needs to keep growing, but I cannot—and should not—build every part of it alone.
The life of a creative project comes from more than its initiator’s original idea. Its unseen possibilities need different creators to discover and shape them through their own perspectives. Perhaps ABU can become a space where different ideas meet, giving rise to more compelling stories, physical works and even merchandise.
Opening ABU to More Creative Voices
From fourteen years of working alone to the many collaborations behind Fire Ritual on Pulau, this is actually the kind of creative practice I have always wanted.
The foundations of ABU’s world are already in place. I think it is time to open up its different corners, invite more ideas and stories in, and allow them to become tangible works worth collecting in the real world.
Through this article, I would like to openly invite creators, designers, makers and brands who are interested in co-developing ABU merchandise and physical works.
This is not an invitation for others to merely execute ideas I have already finalised. I hope that each collaborator can bring their own skills and perspectives so that, while respecting ABU’s core concepts and cultural context, we can explore together what else this world could become.
If you have ideas related to character design, illustration, comics, fashion, crafts, toys, collectibles or other forms of physical creation, I would love to hear from you. You do not need to arrive with a complete proposal. A single interesting idea could become the starting point for the next project.
Collaboration enquiries: WhatsApp
Self-reliance taught me how to begin something. Now, I want to learn how to work with others and take it further.
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