Local creative embraces Flushing in inspiring new album
BY TAMMY SCILEPPI
“Their story is my
story.” That seems to be
music-loving Queens
activist Claire Marie Lim’s
(aka dolltr!ck) mantra.
QCA’s 2018-2019 Artist
Commissioning Program
(ACP) Awardee is a local
electronic music artist and
technologist. Her project
evolved into an inspiring
new album called “Colors of
Us,” chosen for its capacity
to tell untold stories relevant
to Queens’ thriving Asian
community in Flushing.
Specifically, that area’s
young, female-identifying
group. Lim says she has a
unique ability to connect with
them emotionally through
similar experiences. Her goal?
To make their stories part of
her music, while maintaining
her artist’s voice and identity.
“Claire’s music intertwines
these participants’ voices with
her own, creating an upbeat and
engaging album addressing
issues of representation,
leadership and cultural
identity,” said Kelly Olshan,
QCA’s Artist Commissioning
Program (ACP) manager.
An advocate of women
and young people in music
technology, Lim, who is an
Astoria resident, sees that
group’s involvement in the field
as inspiring when she works in
different Queens communities.
“I see my project as more of
providing a platform for young
Asian women to have the space
to be creative. I didn’t conceive
it with a specific message in
mind, but it definitely aligns
with my personal vision of
empowering those around
me to be unafraid of being
themselves,” she said.
“As a young Asian woman
growing up, I was very much
aware of socio-cultural norms
that I was always advised to
follow. I would often adhere to
them because I didn’t really
know what else to do, and I
only realized later on how
much my fear of ‘messing up’
in society had made be afraid
to chase what I truly wanted,”
Lim, who spent most of her life
in Singapore, explained.
The album consists of songs
spanning different sub-genres
of electronic music, including
house, synthwave, trap, hiphop,
electropop, drum and
bass. “The material was based
on ideas that the young people
involved brought to the table,
and the production styles
were also influenced by the
types of music that the youth
liked to listen to,” Lim noted,
adding, “Some examples of
topics addressed were having
faith in oneself, managing
rocky family relationships,
and being judged for one’s
skin color.”
Lim does different things
related to her profession,
Photo: Ariff Danial
such as music production,
engineering, programming,
and education. She also designs
live shows for other artists and
incorporates her skills into her
own artist project, dolltr!ck,
under which she performs
live electronic music, DJs
and producers.
QCA helped Lim achieve her
creative dreams in a big way.
“While music is an integral
part of our daily lives, there
aren’t many people outside of
the music industry who truly
know about what goes into the
making of a new music album,
especially from the perspective
of an independent artist like
myself,” she said. “Funding is
a very real challenge, and in
some cases it ends up being
the main barrier to creating a
work. Without being a grantee
under ACP, there is no way I
could have had the resources
to reach out to the students
involved, write the songs,
produce the music, distribute
the album and pay my
amazing artistic collaborators
who helped with recording
instruments, creating visual
media and listening as
additional pairs of ears in the
music-making process.”
For the girls involved,
Lim’s hope is that they’ll be
able to hear how their initial
ideas have been transformed
into full pieces of music and
be proud of their contributions
toward the project, no matter
how big or small.
Don’t miss Lim’s listening
party for the album on
Aug. 24 from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
at Lewis Latimer House
Museum in Flushing. For
more information, visit
lewislatimerhouse.org.
Tues. & Wed. $1895
1 1/4 lb. Lobster, Clams, and Mussels
Served with Corn on the Cob
and Baked Potato
with Purchase of 2 Cocktails,
2 Wines or 2 Beers
TIMESLEDGER,32 AUG. 16-22, 2019 QNS.COM
/lewislatimerhouse.org
/QNS.COM
