Interview: Getting to know Houg
Melbourne-based Singapore-native Houg has returned with new single. We asked him to tell us about himself:
I am… Sameh Wahba, or Sam for short because everyone butchers my name anyways. But I write and perform by the moniker of Houg, which also gets butchered a lot. Heh joke’s on me, right? The origin for my stage name actually comes from the suburb back in Singapore called Hougang, where I resided at when I made the conscious decision of going full time with music. It was a tough time, and the emotional and physical struggles from living there, at that turbulent time, culminated into what Houg is about. But hey, it gives me an opportunity to come full circle and call myself the Houg-Gang whenever I play with a band.
ICBM is… to put it simply, ‘ICBM’ is a statement, a lamentation – I Can’t Be Myself. The song is based on me coming to terms with my evolving creative choices as a growing artist, while fighting to remain loyal to my core philosophies. The song anthropomorphises my struggle with this balance in the form of the ideal apex predator that our narrator, the prey, seeks out in a game of primal courtship. At moments, the narrator expresses feelings of defeat in this courtship, creating a dissonance in the proverbial balance. That faltering tension and anxiety is epitomised in the chorus with the line “I Can’t Be Myself”. It is thus apt that ICBM is also commonly identified as “intercontinental ballistic missile”. Nuclear weapons, which, too, evoke the same – fear, vulnerability and powerlessness. Duality, multiplicity, or sentiments one and the same. ICBM beckons the listener to probe relativity and their own dissonance.
Home is… at a Coles supermarket, by the confectionary aisle. Where the chocolates whisper to me “eat me”. But for real, I’ve learnt to adopt this friendly ol’ city called Melbourne as my home. Coming from Singapore where it’s practically summer all year round, it’s a breath of fresh air to live in a city that’s notorious for having 4 seasons in one day. I mean, what’s lovelier than being hit by hail on a sunny day while walking back from the station. I couldn’t ask for anything more.
I spend too much time… playing video games. I’ve always had a PlayStation growing up and always played it with my brothers so it was probably the best when I moved to Australia because my brother wouldn’t let me bring the console over. But then this little company called Nintendo decided to release this little thing called the Switch and that ruined me. What’s worse is the sheer number of local musicians that also own one and play the same games. That being said, who’s up for a round of Super Smash Bros?
I’ve never… drank a glass of beer. It’s a preference thing but I’m coming to realise how big of a thing the drinking culture is over here and it’s a bit jarring at times when I’m socialising with other likeminded individuals in a room, being the only sober one there. Feels like I’m missing out… Or am I?
It might surprise people to learn that… I don’t know the chords to my own songs. I don’t even know what notes they’re in. I just write and produce them as I feel. I hope that there’s a lot of folk out there that do the same because as it stands, I occasionally get a sense of an “imposter syndrome” type vibe when I’m out playing gigs alongside the most talented people I’ve seen with my own eyes. So, if you’re out there, hit me up! I’d like to know how it’s been with you. It’ll probably provide me with a sense of reassurance anyways! My email is thechocolategod@candy.com
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HOUG ‘ICBM’ LAUNCH PARTY – THU 12 DEC | EVELYN HOTEL, FITZROY VIC
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