Gaston Pong has been in show business since he was two years old. While most of us could barely walk or talk, he was already singing nursery rhymes and Chinese New Year songs on national television, touring around the country to promote their album, and talking to fans at the age of three. He did all these until he was 10 years old and proceeded to continue a somewhat “normal” life. But we all know icons never stay down. All this to say, he’s built different—yet he remained humble when talking about his experience. “I’m actually not musically trained. I studied media in school, but throughout my entire life, whatever I tried, I just fell back into music,” he said.
Being a media student, in his opinion, equipped him with the tenacity to expand his skills. “Back when I was in college, I’d have classes from nine to five, and then from five to nine I was learning music at home from YouTube tutorials,” he shared. “I also purchased courses from artists like The Chainsmokers, Timbaland, and Charlie Puth—big producers—just to watch how they create big hits. They literally walk you through the process of choosing every melody and every production decision. That’s how I learned: watching and then working.”
From starting a vocal duo with his sister JE Pong—“We were called Pong Pong,” he laughed—he began producing all their songs and eventually got the attention of people in the industry. It started with working with friends and progressed to local singers, eventually reaching out of the country to Taiwan, China, and now, worldwide. “Music just brings me to a new place every year,” Pong enthused. “Last year it was New York and Los Angeles. This year, it’s Stockholm. I’m excited to see where music will take me next.”
Even during our photo shoot, Pong kept busy. In between shots, he would go back to working on his laptop, making beats. He tells us that he’s involved in nearly every part of the music process: from the idea to the lyrics, and the final touches. “I write songs for myself—to tell my own stories—and also for other artists who are way cooler and more popular than me, to help them with their sound,” he said. In fact, he has written some J-pop and K-pop music that was just released: a collab between Lil League (J-pop) and B.U.S (Because of You I Shine) (T-pop), as well as music for HEART OF WOMAN, a new K-pop girl group. Clearly, Pong is booked and busy.
STYLIST’S OWN, Blazer
TALENT’S OWN, Tank Top
“I wear many hats when it comes to the music process. There’s the songwriter role—those who write the lyrics and melodies—which is what I do and what I love the most, actually. But I also wear the hat of the producer, where I make the beat, arrange the music, and record live instruments with musicians. The track and the arrangement itself set the vibe—they put us somewhere to swim around in,” he explained.
“Surprisingly, in different parts of the world, I wear a different hat. Earlier this year, I attended songwriting camps where I was purely a songwriter. I’ve been to two camps in Bangkok and one in Jakarta, and I’ve already written 14 new songs this year just for other artists,” he said. If that sounds pretty intense, that’s because it is. “But I guess that’s just how my environment is. I had to learn everything because I came from a media background, not a music school,” he shrugged.
“Sometimes I feel songwriting is like living life—there’s no school for that,” he countered. “Being in this industry for what is technically seven years, it’s sometimes beautiful, like I’m still discovering things. But I am a teacher in some ways. I’ve coached Thai artists in a language I don’t understand—I was reading the romanisation and vocalising and teaching them. That was such a fun experience, because I missed my chance to be part of a boy band back then, and now I’m using my skills to help boy bands in the same way. It’s like part of my dream coming true,” he smiled. Pong may have missed his calling to join a boy band no thanks to the pandemic, but he’s definitely fully making up for it now. He reflects the self in which he thinks is part of being an icon: being a role model and an anchor in your field. “Truth be told, everyone has the capacity to be iconic in their own space,” he reasoned. “Ultimately, I want to inspire people to recognise their own power.”
Now, that’s iconic.
STYLIST’S OWN, Blazer
TALENT’S OWN, Tank Top
COS, Trousers
Photography: Ng Joe Ee
Creative Direction & Styling: Joseph Cheng
Art Direction: Nadia Aswardy
Makeup: Rachel Seok
Photography Assistant: Ered Wong
Styling Assistants: Lorraine Chai
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