Cork-based alternative hip-hop artist My Twisted Heart has released new track, idontneedyou. We asked him the BIG questions . . .
My Twisted Heart is the moniker of Po Ki Ching and his music reflects on experiences of relationships in Ireland and injustice in Hong Kong.
He is a member of the creative collective Outsiders Entertainment and was introduced to Western music genres such as Hip-Hop, Electronic, R&B during his college years in Ireland.
Tell us three things about yourself?
I am really into Japanese culture and am pretty much what the internet may consider a "weeb". I grew up watching animation and Japanese dramas; I love Japanese food, and even taught myself some basic Japanese. Let's not even get into the 1,000 plus Japanese tracks saved on my computer.
I enjoy cooking and will actively try out new recipes. Especially after my move to Ireland and later the UK, I truly began to appreciate the amazing food we had at home. It’s so much fun trying to recreate the food from Hong Kong. I also wanted to try out some new Western food recipes as I am a fan of good cuisine in general.
The hobby that I could never give up is gaming, just all sorts of games in general, card games, board games, video games. I just think playing games with someone else is exciting, for me it’s about the experience of having fun with someone but I can also get very competitive sometimes.
How would you describe your music?
I’d describe my music as Hyper Pop, pop/R&B under a lot of hip-hop influence. I personally love clean acoustic instruments, say acoustic guitar, but I am also really into EDM especially with strong bass and flashy sound/vocal effects. As for the hip-hop influence, I was introduced to the hip-hop world after joining the Outsider Entertainment collective. I used to only pay attention to the rhythm or the vibe of a song. I mean, I was listening to a lot of music in foreign languages, such as Japanese/Korean and sometimes I didn't fully understand the lyrics of the song. But hip-hop tracks have so much more to offer when it comes to the lyrics, which often gives so much more depth to a song than just the music.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Who or rather what inspired my music journey is the fact that Karaoke was a big thing back in Hong Kong during my childhood and teenage years. My friends and I loved to go to the Karaoke which eventually developed my interests in singing. Later on, I started doing cover songs and participated in singing contests at school.
I’d say a lot of Asian artists and bands getting recognition in the Western music sector definitely encouraged me to pursue a music career, such as Joji, Rich Brian, Niki, One Ok Rock, etc. They are artists and bands I follow and inspire my music.
Another one of my greatest musical inspirations is a member from the Outsiders Entertainment collective - Outsider Yp. I work closely with Outsider Yp on an almost daily, if not weekly basis. He gave me a lot of help when it comes to writing music, track editing and mixing. There would be no My Twisted Heart without all the support from Yp.
What was the first gig you ever went to and the first record you ever bought/downloaded?
I can’t quite remember the first gig I ever went to or the first record I ever bought/downloaded. It happened such a long time ago. There have also been quite a few shows that felt like my first.
What’s your favourite song right now?
You by DJ Regard, Troye Sivan, Tate McRae is my absolute favourite song at the moment. The beat is amazing, the flow is super catchy, and I love the duet dynamic. Not gonna lie, I pretty much listen to the track at least five times every day. Mental Anguish by Glaive and Ericdoa comes a very close second place after You. The vibe of this song is over the charts, I think Hyper-Pop is definitely a genre that I’m loving right now. When I found out the two singers are just 16 and 19 years old it was just mind-blowing.
Favourite lyric of all time?
My favourite lyrics of all time belongs to a Cantonese song 陀飛輪 (a direct translation would be Tourbillon) by Hong Kong singer Eason Chan and the lyrics was written by lyricist Wyman Wong. The song is about our personal growth. A reflection on whether it is worth it to spend all our precious time to pursue fame, social status, and material goods (where the song title is Tourbillon, a mechanical part which can be found in expensive watches to represent the material goods). The lyrics talk about how when we are young, we are carefree and we have all the time in the world. When we grow older, we can afford a better lifestyle by putting more hours at work but is it worth it? We can now afford all these luxury goods but is it worth all our time and effort? Whenever I listen to the song, it always reminds me to re-evaluate my life and more importantly not to waste my precious time.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life what would it be?
I’d say my pick would be the City-Pop classic Plastic Love by Mariya Takeuchi. If anyone heard about City-Pop, the first song that comes into mind would definitely be Plastic Love. Even though the song came out in 1984 it still gets played to this day, in fact, the official music video just came out two weeks ago, which shows how popular the track is. The original Plastic Love by Mariya Takeuchi is for sure a nostalgic treat. In the past few years there has been countless covers of Plastic Love for those looking for a modern take on the song.
Where can people find your music/more information?
I am dropping my debut EP on the January 14, 2022. Be sure to follow me on Instagram for more news and listen to more of my tracks on Spotify, also feel free to check out the Outsiders Entertainment on YouTube.
