sayang Interview

1. What is your name and your profession(s)?

My name is Rajinee Buquing and I go by sayang. I'm an artist/singer-songwriter, guitarist, and also a filmmaker.

2. What is your ethnic background and what is your citizenship?

I’m Filipino-American, born in the U.S., raised in Texas my whole life.

3. Are either/both of your parents musicians or somehow involved in the music industry?

Nope! Neither of my parents are musicians, my dad is an IT engineer and my mom is a dentist. Though they both enjoy music and have formerly been in church choirs.

4. Please tell us a little bit about your experience, either growing up as an AAPI in America, or as a person of Asian descent who immigrated to America, whichever applies.

I take a lot of pride in growing up in Houston, because it’s such a thoroughly diverse city in the south. From an early age, I remember having classmates with Cambodian heritage, kids who were Vietnamese, Nigerian, Taiwanese, Indian, Mexican, all in my class…I was always in environments where culture was celebrated, which I think helped me embrace the Filipino culture that I come from. I would visit the Philippines with my family every couple of years during the summers too.

5. How connected do you feel to your heritage/culture(s)?

I embrace being Filipino and have always wanted to deepen the connection to my roots, though in tandem there have also been moments throughout my life where I’ve felt loneliness being caught in the in-between; the melancholy of being a third culture kid. Even now as a 28 year old, I oscillate between insecurity and empowerment in my identity as that. Despite being raised in a diverse place, the reality of being Asian and a person of color, there’s always a hegemonic standard of being, looming over you. And when I visit the Philippines, I know deep down, even down to my mannerisms, I wasn't raised there, and it honestly can make me feel painfully out of place; sad about the things I missed by nature of being raised in the U.S. But the empowering thing about being a third culture kid is that I get to take my favorite parts of both cultures.

6. 6a.) How did you get into music? Did you major in music in college? Where did you attend college/university (and grad school(s), if applicable) and in what subjects did you get your degree(s)?

I didn’t go to school for music, but I still followed a creative path and went to the University of Texas at Austin for film production. Since then, I’ve freelanced as a cinematographer mostly working in the independent narrative, documentary and music video spaces. Music has always been a foundation in my life though. My mom put my brothers and I through piano lessons up until high school. Also being Filipino, you’re always surrounded by music. Forced to sing “My Way” or “Dancing Queen” on karaoke at the family parties, haha… that was really my entryway. My brothers and cousins and I would also go to my godfather’s house next door after school almost every day, because he had every edition of guitar hero & rock band, and we loved playing. The tradeoff was that my godfather got to listen to all of his classic rock favorites, like Kiss and Led Zeppelin. I was always tasked as lead singer. He named our rock band ‘band’, “BADASS”. That, and I started playing bass in church.

I really started to appreciate music for myself and develop my own tastes in middle school/high school, keeping up to date with the top 10 music videos on Yahoo music constantly. I started recording covers when the first wave of Asian-American Youtubers published their own R&B covers and mashups. Then I started writing original music inspired by those artists (Jeremy Passion, Kina Grannis, AJ Rafael, Ira Perez). I wrote so many cringey songs about love then, and if there was ever an opportunity to write a song for a school project, I did it. I wrote a song about the Notre Dame Women’s basketball team in the 7th grade…I wrote a rap about invasive species sophomore year of college…

6b.) When and how did you decide you were going to pursue music professionally? What were your parents’ reactions to you deciding to pursue music? Do they support your music career now?

Well, at the turning point of high school to college is when I decided to study filmmaking (not music), and my parents were very discouraging about my choice to pursue a creative path. I understand where they’re coming from now, the common fear of the instability of it all and because it wasn’t the reality they knew was possible, coming from a very traditional culture. They’ve accepted my choices over time that I’m probably never going to med school and that my path in life is the artist path. And despite my yearning for an enthusiastic yes that I always envied from other people’s parents, I can acknowledge how much they have supported me along the way, with the tools they had. I know they just want me to be happy in this life. 

Music has always been a dream I’ve secretly been in pursuit of but didn’t vocalize until recent years. Yeah, I had a band in high school, but it wasn’t until after college, after 2020 that I decided to put myself out there and gained the confidence to record, the audacity to believe that I bring something unique to the industry, as a queer/asian-american songwriter.

7. What are a few of your (music) projects of which you are the proudest? What were your roles on those projects? Beyond those projects, please feel free to name some of your other credits as well as any brands/companies you officially endorse.

I don’t have too many releases (working on that) but I am really proud of my last single in 2023, “Leftovers”. I wrote and co-produced that record with a great friend and collaborator, Joel Hinojosa, and also directed and produced the music video for it with the help of so many friends here in Austin. Every project of mine is so community oriented. That’s the beauty of getting to create art in this city. My community is really there for me, I feel that, and we all lift each other up and help one another out.

8. What are some obstacles you have encountered (if any) being an AAPI in the music world? What are some obstacles you have encountered (if any) as an AAPI in general (non-music)? Conversely, has being an AAPI ever helped you in the music industry or in general?

I’m still emerging in my career and haven’t had too many marked obstacles, but honestly, the biggest obstacle is internal – believing there is a place for me in the industry, and reminding myself that our voices and presence matter. 

9. 9a.) Who are some AAPI musicians/composers/producers who have previously inspired and currently inspire you (if any)? Why?

As you know Summer, I was part of the Keychange U.S. cohort with you in 2024, and through that opportunity I’ve met some incredible folks like you who truly inspire me :) Through Keychange, I was also able to participate in a songwriting camp in Fort Collins, CO with the organization, We Make Noise. During the weekend-long camp I was grouped with two excellent AAPI producers, Drea Turk based out of New York and Sachi Oasis out of LA. Shout out to each of them, I’m so in awe of the work that they do, their respective work ethics and processes…and every artist/producer that I had the privilege of meeting at that camp whom I’m in community with now.

9b.) What are your hopes for the AAPI music community and your hopes for AAPIs in general?

My greatest hope for the AAPI music community and AAPI creatives in general is that we are so ubiquitous in the industry that there’s less and less room to tokenize or feel pitted against one another. I think that’s already happening, so I’m hopeful. Each one of us brings nuance to the world, how we see it, especially at the intersection of all facets of our identities and experiences. 

Thinking of my inner-child, I also really hope that any AAPI person called to be an artist has more examples out there that they can do it, to not doubt or quiet that urge within them. I know I needed that encouragement and validation growing up.

10. Name one or two non-music-related things/subjects about which you are also passionate.

I’m really passionate about sustainability and design, and how to move through the world without adding more and more to the dumpster-fire of climate change and war fueled by capitalism and colonization. I follow this writer, Alec Leach, and he inspires a lot of ideas for my artistry, particularly merchandising – thinking of ways I want to leave less of a footprint while in pursuit of my music. Like, I don’t want to print 100 shirts that have gone through a horribly unethical pipeline of labor just to make profit, only for there to be boxes leftover sitting in storage. You know? I want to lead by example and shift to repurposing second-hand items, doing prints on them or embroideries for instance, which also makes each item unique for fans. I’ve heard of other artists that do this and I think it’s the coolest thing. Forever a student when it comes to sustainability and how to take action within my fields, and not be complacent or think of myself as separate.

11. Any final thoughts? Alternatively, do you have any questions for me and/or the greater AAPI music community?

Aside from ‘career’, my whole life, picking up a guitar or sitting at the piano, writing, music has been a taproot for me to really introspect and understand my emotions. I’m grateful for that, and I really hope everyone gets that chance, or has that thing for themselves: to release and feel joy in that process.

Thank you for including me in this community, Summer. If anyone reading this happens to resonate with any part, and you want to chat heart-to-heart about process or musical journeys, I’m all ears and you can reach me at mgmt.sayang@gmail.com 

--

Support Rajinee (sayang) online :)

Instagram - @713sayang

YouTube - @713sayang

Spotify - sayang

TikTok - @say0_0ang

Image courtesy of Rajinee

Post sponsored by PickUp Music