Earlier today, I sat down for an exclusive one on one interview with local duo Trick in support of their soon to be released single entitled “Sunshine”. It was pretty much a very enjoyable and chilled chat session.

And here’s how it went down:

How did you guys meet? How was Trick formed?

Marc: We met in 2012 when I was in a band called “Quick Quick Danger”. I was looking for a collaboration with a rapper and a mutual acquaintance introduced me to Richard. I really liked his style of rap when we worked together for a song with my back but the song was never released because my band broke up.

Richard: yeah

Marc: I had this bunch of songs lying there and I wanted to start a new project so I called Richard up to see if he was interested into doing something together and he was. We then started writing together as a duo, just to try things out. When we came out with the first song “BPM” we were really happy with it and when we heard the song, we were like “this is it” and “let’s do this” so that was kinda how we started about 2 years ago.

How did you guys ended with the name “Trick” then? What were the other names that you guys were considering, that didn’t make the final cut?

Richard: We had a few names that went like “The Trick”, “Trick or Treat” and stuff like that but it was like…

Marc: … too long.

Richard: It didn’t feel right or it was too long.

Marc: The top pick names were “Trick or Treat” and “Trick and Treat” because we were a duo and one of us could be “Trick” and the other would be “Treat”. That was the idea we had initially but it was kinda too long and we felt like we wanted something shorter…

Richard: and we’re like let’s just go for “Trick”.

What was the first impression that you had of each other when you met for the first time?

Marc: My impression of Richard is that he is a very easy going and chill guy, very much like myself. I think we got along together pretty well given how we came from pretty different musical backgrounds. I was more in the band/rock scene while he was more in the hip hop/rap scene.

Richard: Everything just went well. It all went very smoothly. Marc was on the same page as me. When you work with people, there will be those who want their way and you want your way but it wasn’t like that with Marc. When I went over to his place to do some recording, everything went very smoothly and it was very easy to work with him.

Marc: Yeah very.

So from then till now, has your impression of each other changed?

Richard: My impression of Marc hasn’t really changed and everything is still good. If it starts to change, then I think we have a problem. *laughs*

It is a relatively well known fact that it is hard to make a living as a full time musician in Singapore. How did your parents react when you said that you wanted to do music?

Richard: My parents are supportive and they allowed me to do whatever I wanted to from the start till now and that is the most important to me. 

Marc: Same here. My Mum is very supportive and I think we’re both quite blessed to have parents that are supportive, who understand. And maybe they see that we are young and we could try something different. Plus we do kinda have a knack at music so it does make sense for us to give it a go.

And if, hypothetically, it all ended tomorrow; it didn’t work out, so what would you do/pursue?

Marc: I’d probably be a filmmaker. I’ll try my hand at film-making because I like that aspect… making films, cinematography and stuff like that.

Richard: For me, if it all ended as a performer, I’ll still be in music. It might be different in a different aspect but it’ll still be music.

Is there anyone you guys would like to collaborate with local/international/dead/alive?

Richard: PHARRELL.

Marc: I’d like to get into the studio and write a song with Ryan Tedder. I think that’ll be really cool. I like all his songs and if we can do a feature with JT it’ll be awesome.

Richard: Yup, Justin Timberlake would be good… PHARRELL.

Marc: It would be nice to work with Pharrell too.

Richard: Yeah he is a nice guy.

Your previous songs “BPM” and “Up All Night” did pretty well on the charts in Singapore so do you guys get recognised on the streets?

Marc: Not as much since as musicians, people don’t get to see our faces that often.

Richard: yeah.

Marc: On the radio you’ll just hear our voices. So we wouldn’t be as recognisable like an actor where you get to see their faces.

Have you guys then been mobbed by fangirls/boys after shows?

Richard: nah, not mobbed.

Marc: I wouldn’t say mobbed but there are lots of really nice fans out that, especially those that come up to us.

Is there a dream venue that you guys would like to perform in?

Richard: Madison Square Garden *laughs* that’s like the place to perform in. If you get to play there you’re like “whoa” (ie, super famous)

Tell me something about yourselves that is not written on your bio.

*reads the bio*

Richard: Hahaha. I’m 25 years old. It is not written on the bio… (to Marc) they described me as an athlete!

Marc: WHAT?!?!?!

*laughs*

Marc: This is the first time I’m reading my bio. Hahaha.

Since it states that you (Richard) is an athlete, what kind of sports are you into?

Richard: I’m into soccer and stuff… yeah everything is pretty much stated in the bio.

Haha. Still, tell me something more, so that the fans can get to know you better… like what is your favourite colour, food etc.

Richard: My favourite colour is green. My favourite food is anything meat.

Marc: He doesn’t like vegetables.

Richard: Yeah, I don’t eat vegetables much. I’m a meat person.

Marc: I like sports but I don’t really play (sports) that much. I used to play basketball… but I love to watch basketball now. NBA especially. I don’t have a favourite team though. I just love the sport. I don’t have a favourite colour actually. I like bright colours but I think people already know that. So yeah, I like bright colours and stuff like that.

You guys mentioned earlier that both of you had some previous musical journeys that didn’t quite work out. So how has that experience influenced and affected you as an artist now? What have you learnt from it?

Marc: I’m a firm believer that even when something bad happens, there would be something good that would come out of it. Like if my band didn’t break up, I wouldn’t be doing this. I’d very much rather be doing this. I am happy doing this so yeah, you know, this whole thing just makes me believe in it more.

Your upcoming single “Sunshine” samples the song “You Are My Sunshine” in the chorus. What is the inspiration behind the song?

Richard: That song was written by Marc 2 years ago I think.

Marc: yeap.

Richard: The idea of sampling the song was put into my head. I started to mess around with the song and came up with a melody line for it and gave it a reggae vibe. The chorus just sat there for like 2 years and then earlier this year, I sent it to Richard and told him that we should try to work on this since we needed a new single after “Up All Night”. We weren’t happy with any of our previous songs so we started to work on a new one. I sent him the chorus of “Sunshine” and he came up with the rest of the verse as usual. We let the people at Sony listen to it as well and they liked it. We decided together that this will be the next single and took it from there.

So that said, how would you guys like to be remembered as in the musical history of Singapore?

Richard: That we put Singapore on the map for music. If we can put Singapore on the map for music, even just one song, that would mean a lot. It is not easy for musicians in Singapore to break out so if that’s how it can be, then it will be good.

Marc: We’re focused on trying to come up with good pop songs… but that’s kinda what we do all the time and we strive to give our best with each single. So for me, it is to be remembered by our songs.

You guys have a showcase coming up on 27 September 2014 at the Hood bar. How are you guys feeling about it? What can we expect from the show?

Richard: I’m feeling pretty good. It’s been a while.

Marc: We will be performing “Sunshine” live for the first time. The song is available for streaming for a limited period of time starting on 11 September exclusively via the Singtel AMPed app. Singtel AMPed is a partner for our show and they’re launching a new app and we’ve been playing around with the beta version of the app and the experience has been good. We will also unveil the music video for “Up All Night”.

Exciting. So what are the plans for the future after the showcase?

Richard: It’s gonna be a full on promo for “Sunshine” for the next couple of months.

Marc: We’re probably going to tour Malaysia and Indonesia to try to get the song out there.

Good luck and we’re done. It’s a wrap!

I hope you guys enjoyed the interview as much as I did when I chatted with them. 🙂

Here are some photos of Trick from the interview:

And that said, here is the said bio that Trick were looking at during the interview:

I have every intention to give this away to you Tricksters but I haven’t decided how I want to do it yet. 🙂 Watch this space.

Remember to like and share this interview on your Facebook, Twitter and/or Google+ account. Everywhere! Spread the word about Trick!