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Ting Lin Urges Audiences to Get Off Their ‘Cellular Phone’

By Margaret Adams

This reading of Alchemical Records content provides a multimedia experience for our audience while increasing the accessibility of our content to persons with hearing loss, low vision, dyslexia, physical or motor disabilities, or are on the autism spectrum.

Classically trained pianist Ting Lin is back with a new music video for her single “Cellular Phone.” While Lin’s influences include 70s Cantonese classics, 80s Mandarin pop, and 90s American R&B, “Cellular Phone” is a funky electronic pop song, featuring her own lyrics and vocal stylings. The song talks to the audience from the perspective of the phone, pandering to them the way a lover would. 

For hours and hours,

I am here with you.

Forever and ever,

I will stay with you.

“The song is about the unhealthy relationship we have with technology, especially with our phones,” wrote Lin. “It starts off from the perspective of the needy little phone, then transitions to the jealous lover who wants the same attention as the phone. The song serves as a reminder for us to divert our attention away from technology to the people and world around us. To live in the present instead of ‘reruns.’” 

The music video is Lin’s first animated video; she collaborated with Erica Tan, an animator from Singapore. The animation emphasizes how technology, specifically our phones, steals our attention away from the present moment. It empowers audiences to put their phones away and encourages them to spend more time together. The whole project is also Lin’s first all-Asian creative music production. “Cellular Phone” was produced by Anthony Anh Tuan Tran Nguyen.

“Cellular Phone” is out on all platforms, and the music video is available here.

This track has been added to our Alchemical Weekly YouTube Playlist. 

Margaret Adams, Contributing Writer at Alchemical Records

Margaret Adams

Margaret Adams is a Psychology major and Rhetoric and Writing minor at The Catholic University of America from New Orleans, Louisiana. In addition to her work with Alchemical, she writes for CUA’s student newspaper, The Tower, and has recently been named Quill Editor. She enjoys reading, writing, and looking at pictures of her dog, Bella.

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