For many artists, music is a way to vent out their emotions. Through their craft, they are able to capture their raw emotions and make others feel something. Music can also be used to advocate, with many artists using their platforms to either raise awareness or to protest certain issues.
For Irish-Filipino singer songwriter Andreah, music is both a way for her to deal with emotions and to champion causes at the same time. Though her latest single “Tell Me” started out as a way for her to cope after a break up while in quarantine, it quickly became a vehicle for her to champion the causes of the differently-abled community.
“I went through a mini break up, and I had to sort of deal with it alone in my room, I couldn’t really see anyone about it. I didn’t have a piano per se, but I did have an app on my phone that could track chords. So I started improvising the chorus; ‘tell me, tell me’ because these were all the things I wanted to hear from the guy,” she explained.
A soft and melancholic piano lead number, “Tell Me” is a song that ponders on the idea of a second chance at love, but soon realizes that letting go is the best option. Though it starts out somber and pleading, the song ends in a steady note, signifying the resolve to move on and learn. And it is this message of learning to find hope again that reaches differently-abled visual artist, TJILI.
Born in Cambodia in 2001, TJILI was the only survivor of triplets abandoned on a hospital doorstep in Phnom Penh. Tough years of love, physio and physical exercises has resulted in TJILI being able to run, swim, cycle and horse-ride. Now coupled with a cochlear implant and speech-language therapy, TJILI communicates through a combination of sign language, gesturing, reading and writing.
According to Andreah, Tjili had come across the demo of “Tell Me” that she posted on Youtube, which greatly inspired her to create what would become the single’s cover art.
“She found the saddest clip of my face, and then she drew an exact replica of that. And TJILI is known for very colorful art, but she could feel my emotions and feel that the song is really sad, so she kept it black and white. But she added a teardrop to symbolize sadness and she added her signature rainbow colors to signify hope that things will get better,” she said.
“Music is such a wonderful way of bringing people together. It doesn’t matter where you are or what disability you have, just being able to appreciate music is such a cool and unique experience anyone can share. And it also raises awareness that there are people dealing with these severe disabilities,” she added.
A special video documenting the journeys of both artists has been released on YouTube following the release of the track.
“Tell Me” by ANDREAH is now available on all major streaming platforms.