On the surface, it is hard to pin down Joshua Chiang’s musical style. For nearly a decade, the self-taught Singaporean singer/songwriter had performed tirelessly in popular venues across Phnom Penh, Cambodia where he is based, covering songs across different genres, and resulting in a songwriting style that borrows liberally from modern pop rock, new wave, Britpop, soul, blues, folk, and even gospel. But take a closer look and you will find in his original songs a strong commitment to tuneful melodies, memorable hooks, and heartfelt, intelligent lyrics.
Even though Joshua was exposed to popular music at an early age, it wasn’t until he taught himself to play the guitar in his late-teens that he eventually got into performing, first as member of his university’s rock band, and later as the front man for his own short-lived original post-Britpop band A Lucid Trip.
Joshua would rediscover his passion for performing music when he relocated to Phnom Penh in 2013, where he begun a second career as a gig musician. After his audience reacted positively to the original songs from his A Lucid Trip days that he frequently sneaked into his set of cover songs, he begun songwriting anew, and now performs mostly original materials.
In 2021, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Joshua wrote and released A Friend For The End Of The World whose demo version was voted into the Number Three spot in Cambodia’s RadioOun.com's Top 100 Songs of All Time 2021. The song can also be found on his debut solo album Everything Under The Sun, released in April 2022. Embodying the do-it-yourself spirit of the recording process, Joshua also taps into his background as an animator to produce the animated lyric videos of the singles from the album.
Joshua fronts two bands – the acoustic band Boxchords which performs covers as well as originals from his solo album, and Psykic Elektric, an original dance-rock band that is currently working on its first mini-album to be released in late 2022/early 2023.
Joshua is also a prolific illustrator and comic-artist. Prints and greeting cards of his artwork series Candid Cambodia are some of the best-selling collectibles among expats and tourists alike. He published his first comic-book miniseries Ronin Rat and Ninja Cat from 2019-2020.
Read the latest interview with Joshua here.
Even though Joshua was exposed to popular music at an early age, it wasn’t until he taught himself to play the guitar in his late-teens that he eventually got into performing, first as member of his university’s rock band, and later as the front man for his own short-lived original post-Britpop band A Lucid Trip.
Joshua would rediscover his passion for performing music when he relocated to Phnom Penh in 2013, where he begun a second career as a gig musician. After his audience reacted positively to the original songs from his A Lucid Trip days that he frequently sneaked into his set of cover songs, he begun songwriting anew, and now performs mostly original materials.
In 2021, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Joshua wrote and released A Friend For The End Of The World whose demo version was voted into the Number Three spot in Cambodia’s RadioOun.com's Top 100 Songs of All Time 2021. The song can also be found on his debut solo album Everything Under The Sun, released in April 2022. Embodying the do-it-yourself spirit of the recording process, Joshua also taps into his background as an animator to produce the animated lyric videos of the singles from the album.
Joshua fronts two bands – the acoustic band Boxchords which performs covers as well as originals from his solo album, and Psykic Elektric, an original dance-rock band that is currently working on its first mini-album to be released in late 2022/early 2023.
Joshua is also a prolific illustrator and comic-artist. Prints and greeting cards of his artwork series Candid Cambodia are some of the best-selling collectibles among expats and tourists alike. He published his first comic-book miniseries Ronin Rat and Ninja Cat from 2019-2020.
Read the latest interview with Joshua here.
