Chapter III: Under Construction
- We rise without consent!A meeting with oneself — on foreign ground. Identity in motion, goals in sight, and life unfolding in between.
This chapter is set in Hong Kong, where I lived for 13 years. Many of the songs are reflections from life there – impressions, experiences, and the feeling of being both visible and invisible in a city that never stands still. It was a time when I tried to understand others – and perhaps in doing so, began to understand myself.
Under Construction is about being in process – about building and tearing down, searching and longing. About being a stranger, yet somehow finding a sense of belonging. About trying to fit in, and sometimes simply accepting that you don’t.
Hotheaded Fool, Ashamed, and Better with Strangers are about failing in relationships with others – about being misunderstood, too intense, or saying too much. Working Girl and The City of Lights are more observational – small portraits of people and places, seen from the outside, but with warmth and respect.
Mother is included because, during one of the darkest periods, she was the one who held me up – without even knowing it. The Endeavour is another light in the darkness – a real-life adventure I shared with my father. It represents strength, connection, and courage. Both songs highlight how important family can be – even when you live on the other side of the world.
The title track, Under Construction, sets the theme: identity in transition. The Struggle Within and Rules Don’t Apply explore inner and outer conflicts, while Hong Kong is a love letter – to the city, to its people, and to the part of me still marked by my time there.
The Outsider and Always Right deal with loneliness and being in conflict with the world – but also with pride, integrity, and standing firm in who you are.
Musically, the album ranges from rhythmic drive to spoken word-like sequences, rock, and stripped-down moments. It’s urban and poetic, dense and open – just like the city it reflects.
Under Construction is not a promise that everything will be okay.
It’s an honest acceptance that I’m still under construction – and that’s perfectly okay.
