It's impossible to rein in time as far as musician Tan Han Jin is concerned. 'We can't manage or control time like a computer or a factory line. Everything will come together at the right moment, which can hardly be foreseen or forced. Time in this sense is a blessing. We should be grateful when things are going well.'
Wisdom grows with experience. No longer the idealistic and frustrated young man he was 10 years ago, Tan has come to realise that life is tough but happiness can be simple. Known for his rare multidisciplinary talent, the record producer, composer and singer has written more than 400 songs, developed album concepts for top singers and been a judge on popular television singing contests . Last year, he was named Best New Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards for his part in Bruce Lee: My Brother. And in February, he will perform a solo concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum.
Growing up in Singapore, Tan hit one of his biggest lows when he was 17. 'After O-levels I was offered a scholarship to study Japanese at a rival school but the syllabus wasn't what I had in mind. I went back to my old school and was subject to scrutiny and discrimination.' For a youngster who grew up thinking the world was his friend, Tan couldn't understand the sustained hostility. 'I became depressed and was on valium. I went to school like a zombie.' National service and the struggle to decide whether to enter the music industry also created a lot of stress .
Yet personal issues didn't stop Tan from shining. Signed by a publisher who discovered him through watching his pub gigs, Tan debuted as a songwriter on Jacky Cheung's No Regrets album in 1998 at the age of 22. His second break came three years later when Eason Chan asked him to produce for him. 'You have to be a people person; people make things happen. Being the man with the craft, I am the tool to the man with investment. By learning how to respect that, I have become a more useful producer.'
Ironically, as he learned to help clients, he felt unsettled about moving away from his dreams of producing world-class recordings and becoming a world-class performer. To reconnect with his music, Tan made a solo jazz album and an album with MC Jin. 'Chinese society thinks that success comes if fate allows. When I put out a CD, I was effectively asking the question 'can I do this?'. When people buy the CD, they give me the answer. I learned that anything more than zero is a blessing because nobody owes us anything in this world.'
Tan is now content with satisfying his basic needs: food, shelter, health and the ability to give. 'Fulfilling these needs is a reason to be grateful. Don't confuse them with wants.'