Of serenity, sincerity, and serendipity: Getting to know Annie Lux’s symphony

If you type in Annie Lux on your Google search bar, you’d immediately get clear results that describe her as a Filipino-Canadian singer-songwriter. Normally, one just accepts the results and absorbs the information. But in real life, what happens is:

“Usually, when people meet me for the first time, I tell them, ‘I’m a musician.’ And they’re like, ‘What?’”

Looks like the life of a musician, what they do (which is… music, attested by Annie), still pops out several question marks. Luckily, Philippine Canadian Inquirer (PCI) got the opportunity to sit down and have a sincere conversation with her to let you know who she really is, both as a musician and more.

A serene impression

Meeting someone for the first time draws out tons of things, may that be excitement or nerves, it depends. But if there is one thing that’s pretty much constant, it’s that there is always, somehow, a first impression.

If you allow this writer to describe Annie in the first few seconds of the interview, it’s that she definitely has a soothing voice fit for a singer. Not to mention a light aura about her, affected by her speech and tone.

“I’m a giggly girl, therefore I think people think I’m kind or sweet.”

To which, this writer humbly agrees, considering the amount of laughter that surrounded the hour-long conversation.

However, Annie didn’t beat around the bush and explained that she doesn’t want to be a mean person.

“I guess I could be pretty dark too… like not really dark, but emotional. I think people find it unexpected if I’m anything but sweet if that makes sense.”

If this is the case, beyond ‘sweet,’ who is Annie, really?

Onto the basics, Annie is a Filipina by blood, born and raised in Calgary, Canada. She describes herself as an Englishera (who is trying her best), who understands both Tagalog and Bicolano.

Leaving their jobs in Manila, her parents only had two suitcases, $100, and each other when they first stepped foot in Edmonton, Canada years ago.

“They had very, very humble beginnings.”

One of Annie’s favorite stories by her mom is when the couple visited a store in Edmonton. “They would get the samples from the perfume shop. That way, they had nice perfume. Even though they’re still kind of making their way, they have expensive perfume,” she shared.

According to Annie, her parents had no blood relatives when they first immigrated to Canada, but they found ‘family’ in the friends they made along the way.

It might have been just a small apartment with a swimming pool for the two newcomers, but this place made for close-knit memories.

“Even though it was just a small area, everybody came to make sure they’re [doing] good; not only checking [on them] but [also bringing] potluck. They were a support system for my parents and I’m grateful for them because they didn’t let my parents feel alone.”

“I don’t really know the history all the way about it, but I just knew that they had a really, really good community supporting them. They were always together.”

Her parents definitely support other Filipinos, especially when it comes to small businesses such as fashion stores and restaurants providing food sponsorships through Pacific Hut Restaurant. For them, this was what being in the community meant.

“They care about the community and I think that’s just innately who they are… That’s what my dad would do when he was in college and mom, too, liked community work.”

Despite living in Canada, her parents definitely didn’t forget their roots and made sure that Annie, born on this foreign soil, would know it too.

“My parents really made it clear how beautiful our culture is.”

Annie said that she truly loved the sama-sama culture of the Filipinos which was hard to find in other countries. It’s the sense of having someone be with you when going somewhere or always being together in general.

“It’s wholesome to me that you always wanna be with each other. That’s the feeling.”

Another of her favorite thing in the said culture sat itself comfortably on her palate: Filipino food.

The Filipino food trip experience wouldn’t be complete without visiting the streets and smelling the (ironically) good smell of smoke. She particularly likes kwek-kwek, chicharong bulalak, and a lot of smoked foods like barbecue.

Annie also found wonders in a lot of dishes like sinigang, lumpiang ubod, and adobo sa gata. Meanwhile for desserts, puto bumbong took the crown.

However, getting to know her roots isn’t limited to practicing traditions, trying out Filipino food, teaching her the local language, and of course, visiting the Philippines. An extra mile was bringing her to museums to expose her to the farming industry, the textiles and prints, gold history, and other rich things in the Philippines to truly understand the culture and history of the country.

“When it came to my dad especially, he really made sure that I knew how beautiful it was that I’m a Filipina if that makes sense,” Annie said, adding, “On my mom’s side, I think [it’s] her appreciation for fashion and music. She knows the Japanese, Spanish, and American influence, and how that’s part of the Filipino story.”

Annie has a deep appreciation of the Filipino culture and its diversity, but she’s guilty of one thing: admittedly, not being good in Tagalog.

“The thing is they (my parents) didn’t teach me Tagalog when I was a kid because in Canada, basically, they have an ESL program – English as a second language program, like they didn’t want it to hold me back. So they taught me English first. When I tried to learn Tagalog, I would get mixed up with Bicolano.”

Eventually, Annie had a chance to test her Tagalog skills more when she lived in the Philippines.

As a kid, she said that they often visited the Philippines but it was usually in Legazpi and Guinobatan in Bicol.

After graduating high school, she chose to take the metro and live in Quezon City for a few months which is her first time moving. She called the experience “interesting” as she didn’t know much about the Manila culture, considering that she was more familiar with the provinces Bicol and Albay.

Moving wasn’t a one-time thing for this wandering musician. She decided to move to Boston for college, and she recalled it as true independence as she didn’t have her family with her. It was pretty much a parallel to her parents’ experiences in Canada before. “Your friends kinda became your family,” she explained.

Quezon City became Annie’s home once more for six months after she graduated college.

Currently in Los Angeles, Annie still doesn’t know where she’s going to land but one thing’s certain.

“I’m grateful that I have that kind of free-spirited attitude, personality. I’m grateful I’m Canadian and Filipino so Canada, here, Calgary, it’s always home. And Philippines to me is always home. For me, I see those two places as home. Los Angeles is my new home and I’m excited to pursue my dreams.”

 

A sincere self

With first impressions out of the way, digging deeper into Annie’s identity and personality is easier now.

Throughout Annie’s life, her parents are figures that always influenced her as she continues to find and form her true self.

In fact, she said that she has a really good relationship with her parents.

“I’m their only kid, so I’m the best one they could have,” she said jokingly after fits of giggles.

Annie made it clear she loves being an only child. When she was a kid, her parents asked her if she wanted a sibling and the answer she gave was a firm and quick no.

“I don’t have one, but then, I love being an only child, I won’t lie. There’s a lot of perks.”

Apart from enjoying her parents showering her love and support, Annie said that she’s used to being independent and that her cousins also felt like her siblings in a way anyway.

“I have a big and small family. It’s large and little, small but mighty.”

Onto more personal stuff, music is an obvious love for Annie, and her parents were also one of the reasons for this.

“They wanted me to do dance all throughout me being a kid,” she said, but shared that despite being surrounded by friends who were dancers, she still never wanted to do that. She wanted something different, but also quite physical.

“I wanted to do taekwondo, but then I wasn’t allowed. But that was okay.”

The amusing thing about this is that even when she grew up, Annie didn’t necessarily drop this penchant. It just got converted into something more.

“I just wanted to be an MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter.”

This writer won’t lie in admitting that there was some kind of shock value when gentle Annie first mentioned it – her parents are not an exception from this reaction – especially her mom.

It was a sixth-grader Annie who originally got this inspiration. At age 11, gym class introduced her to the world of wrestling and there was some sort of epiphany for the young girl.

“In my future life, I’d be a wrestler,” she told herself, seeing the fun in it.

Of course, as excited as she is, she still asked for approval and permission.

“It was a very solid no,” she said with little lament in contrast to the fun spirit of talking about wrestling.

While her story was a mix of comedy and internal calamity, Annie understood the meaning behind that rejection.

“It’s because they want to protect you, they don’t want you getting injured.”

And that was the truth. As cliché as it sounds, her parents wanted the best for her and they prioritized her safety.

She admitted though that she’s quite brave when it comes to things that most people would probably be scared of like extreme rides and heights.

“For something to scare me, it would have to be [something like] it could eat me, like if I ran into a bear,” she said.

While she wasn’t able to try out taekwondo and MMA, Annie said that now that she’s older, she’s freer to explore other sports such as diving, hiking, swimming, and recently, snowboarding.

This trait of being brave and facing fears didn’t mean that Annie got into all kinds of trouble though. Well, maybe except for that one time in second grade.

Despite her parents being protective of their only girl, she recalled that her mom often taught her that she still needed to stand up for herself.

“I did start standing up for myself, but I think I took it too far,” she confessed.

As told by her, back then, there was a boy who teased her and called her names. Annie didn’t want to specify the bullying but all she said was that for the kid’s age, he shouldn’t be saying those words.

“I kicked him on the you know what and I was wearing boots too, so they really hurt. Oh my gosh, I got in so much trouble with the principal.”

Her parents were called into the office and it was her mom who went to her school and picked her up. Annie recalled her mom wearing a stern face, but then being the cool mom that she is, when they into the car, she got a “good job” from her.

“Not that she condones violence. I don’t think she encourages that. She was just happy that I stood up for myself.”

This virtue helped Annie shield herself from the other times of bullying that she faced. While thankfully not experiencing really bad ones, she still got bullied for her race.

“There’s this stereotype that Asian women… ‘cause they’re smaller, [they’re] meeker or frail, or something. Oftentimes, I have to kind of… always be graceful with how I exhibit my strength in situations where I feel like people are assuming that I’m ‘smaller.’”

Annie stressed that there’s nothing wrong with being feminine and it’s one of the superpowers of women, but still, she had to defend herself with the way society works.

As an artist, her life isn’t always weaved by eventful experiences. The mundane days are also part of it.

One of her hobbies is reading and it’s something she loved ever since she was a kid alongside painting and drawing. She said that she’s really into autobiographies and self-care books because of the storytelling aspect and the romanticization of the everyday life.

She’s also very fond of playing the Rubik’s cube and practicing skin care.

Outside all the things mentioned so far about her, the rest of Annie’s love, time, and priorities go to none other than music.

After all, music for her, is something she views through two different lenses: her love for it and her career.

To truly pursue music, she graduated from Berklee College of Music with Bachelor’s degree in Contemporary Writing and Production.

“But I’d say my first musical education was singing in the choir at church. I thought it was gonna be like the movie ‘Sister Act’ but it kinda wasn’t,” she shared, laughing at the memory, and continuing, “I’m still grateful for the experience.”

Currently, she is based in Los Angeles, where she writes and produces music for upcoming artists as a freelancer. But she also writes music for herself.

With all these, it is quite obvious that music is not just a dream come true, but it is the tune that plays her life.

 

‘Serendipity’

“For me, making music… I find it serendipitous every time.”

This was how Annie described music.

So how did she exactly come to know music in her life?

A funny story shared by Annie was her first trip to the Philippines, which was something she couldn’t remember and only knew because her parents told her.

“I screamed the whole flight. Literally, the whole [flight]. The flight from Canada to Philippines is 10 – 12 hours. The whole, entire flight, I was screaming. There was no break. My dad told me there was no breath in between. I attribute that to why I sing, probably.”

Whether the last part of the amusing tale is true or not, the fact remains that Annie still sings today and is loving every second of it.

In all honesty, her early memories of music were mostly in the car, listening to whatever was being played during rides.

However, she shared that the most striking one is probably when she was four years old when her mom was playing music one morning while cleaning the house.

“I’m in this ballerina’s tutu, the cute one, and I’m wearing heels like glass slippers, and a tiara.”

What four-year-old Annie deemed to be an aid to her mom’s chore was mostly really her singing along to the records that played. From what she can recall, it was mostly 70s and 80s soul, like Motown music. The biggest ones on top of her head included Stevie Wonder, Grease, and Sister Act.

“At some point, my mom got me a toy keyboard and she wrote all the letter note names on it so that I could learn,” Annie said.

An interesting fact to note about this is that her mom didn’t know how to play the piano and just figured out the notes by reading books in their local library. A few months after that, Annie took the next step when her mom enrolled her in piano lessons, which was just the beginning of everything.

“When I started piano lessons, I really enjoyed practicing. Maybe I didn’t enjoy what I was learning so much, but I really enjoyed the practice part of it.”

She called practice as meditative and she felt like she was in a safe space whenever she practiced. She also attributed this fulfillment to filling the space of having siblings; it was the musical instruments that gave her the fun.

Despite this, Annie confessed that she really isn’t “good” at playing instruments; she just does it for fun. Apart from the piano, she’s tried her hand at drums, guitar, and bass. And if given the chance, she’s really interested to try harp next.

This is why she also doesn’t consider herself a pianist despite it being her gateway to the musical world and it being a childhood dream at some point.

But all these factors make up the reason why she sees serendipity in her music.

“When I play certain melodies in an instrument like on piano, or bass, or ukulele, sometimes, these mistakes just sound good. Luckily, I’m grateful that I went to school for music and I can tell if it’s a mistake and if this mistake is acceptable… that it still fits in the context of what I’m trying to make.”

The mixture of mistakes, of learning, of meditation, of enjoyment; all these make the whole experience a happy one for her both as an artist and as someone who just genuinely loves music.

This love for music as a kid translated into dreams. It’s easy for children to associate whatever they find fun with something they choose to dream about. For Annie, music was a definitive number one.

A singist and a pianoist – these were little Annie’s dreams when lips still couldn’t pronounce singer and pianist.

Back then when she was asked why she wanted to be one, her answer was, “That way, I can heal the world.’ ‘Cause in my head, I think that’s what entertainers do – they make the world happier. As a child that’s how I perceived that.”

While she’s been classically trained and music occupied a big part of her life, Annie also said that her interests, career-wise, were also present in a lot of fields as she grew up and discovered more things.

She really liked science, language arts, and literature.

“[When] I was still studying, I was thinking [that] I’m gonna go into Geology or Earth and Ocean Sciences. I didn’t have a plan to do music.”

It’s not like music became a backburner because it still remained attached to her. It was just more of something she did outside of school.

“I would sing on the weekends at my dad’s restaurant and ‘cause a lot of Filipinos eat there, they would ask me to sing in their shows,” she said, adding that the pianist there also suggested for her to try singing in bands which she also ventured on.

In her senior year, she said that she stressed on taking science courses such as physics and calculus but now it’s funny that she ended up pursuing the path of being a musician as a career.

She said that while she doesn’t regret those decisions and genuinely enjoyed those courses, music just remained to be her number one passion after all.

“It’s important to choose what you’re passionate about, not just interested in. So that’s what I chose.”

Nonetheless, choosing was just the first step.

“With passion, it’s only a dream unless you put it to work right? It wasn’t until I saw other producers when I was in high school… these producers were like me, [they were] first generation Filipinos. So, I saw other producers do this; being musicians and being able to feed and take care of their families.”

Annie had the impression that musicians struggled all the time and at first, she didn’t think that it could be a regular career.

“So, when I saw other people doing it, I was like, ‘Okay, so I can do it too,’” Obviously, it’s a different career and you have to really work hard and also just love it, but it’s not impossible. I would say that I’m still learning, but slowly figuring it out. We never really stop figuring it out.”

The rest was history with Annie taking formal education in music, graduating, and now being on the job.

This decision, while not met with outright dismissal, had some eyebrows mildly twitching.

“It was always like ‘But you can be a singer AND a nutritionist. You can be a singer AND you can be a physician.’ It’s because I had a lot of scientific interests. I like economics, psychology, and physics. But I just like it. And it would always be, ‘Well you could be both.’”

While this was inevitable to come from friends and extended family, Annie had the best support she could ever get from the ones who were there with her since she first discovered music: her parents.

“I have extremely supportive parents. I’m very grateful that they also allow me to be independent, that they are also growing with me in this journey and career of mine. From the beginning up until now, they try their best to be understanding of what this is.”

Annie stressed that this gratitude extends to a different level because of how being a musician isn’t a “traditional route of a career.”

“My parents are really, really supportive of me but that doesn’t mean that there’s no challenge. There are always challenges,” Annie admitted but still highlighted that her upbringing and her parents’ decisions were founded on trust.

Independence wasn’t something new for Annie thanks to being an only child, yes, but mainly because her parents raised her in a way that they trust her enough to know the things she can handle on her own.

“So, for them to be supportive, it means the world to me. I’m grateful that they believe me and they know that I can do whatever I set my mind to,” she said.

With this, Annie continued to chase her dreams and when she began her college life, eyes focused on music, more people took her seriously. It didn’t take long for her to get all the support she can get from the Filipino communities in Edmonton and Calgary, especially that she’s been involved with them.

“I wouldn’t be Annie Lux at all without all of the Filipinos from Calgary and Edmonton.”

Fast-forward to the present, Annie is now in the musical world as a professional.

And for her, there is still serendipity in her music.

“Serendipity is… those little blessings that happen in life. Sometimes even finding joy in mundane things. Serendipity is things that happen by chance and it’s usually a positive thing or beneficial.”

An unfinished symphony

The performance is far from over because the melody has just started playing again and Annie is enjoying the beats including the unintended ones.

She said that part of the fun in this serendipity are the blunders. It’s connected to when she’s experimenting with musical instruments.

“’Cause it’s by chance that you make these kinda mistakes or accidents or risks when you’re making something. I think that’s what creativity is. It’s not exactly planned out.”

This whole part is also related to the way her musical career is going.

It’s not perfectly laid on a clean sheet.

“I won’t lie, it’s not easy at all by any means. But I can’t complain. So far so good. It’s not peaches and rainbows every time but I just love what I do so much and it’s just so fun to me that I could never take it for granted that I get to do this for a living, that I get to sing songs and write songs. Any song or any performance could be the last one so I really love to enjoy the moments I get with music.”

The motivation to start creating is difficult and Annie or any artistic person would agree. However, she also said that once she’s at least five minutes into making music, inspired risks pull her into focus and make it fun.

As someone who creates, it’s not only the art that is created. Lots of informed decisions are created too and Annie recognizes the fact that being interested in a lot of different things and being in tune with what’s going on in the world help a lot in the whole process of making music.

Despite this attention to detail, gratitude, love, and patience, Annie still faced obstacles in the path she chose.

“Especially in the beginning when I didn’t wanna say no to things. I thought that if I don’t say no to this opportunity… it might stop my career.”

Annie clarified that she never made music that she didn’t really like. It was just that she’s physically just one person investing effort, time, and passion and it can be taxing to take on a lot of things all at once.

Now, this artist learned to treasure and take care of her ears, only reserving it for projects that she really likes and she’s really into.

“I try to make music [that] my future self would be like, ‘Okay, that’s good music.’ I try to say yes to performances that I really believe in the story that they’re trying to tell.”

Another thing that Annie considered a struggle is entering this “male-dominated industry.” She said that there’s a different sense of understanding when she’s working with women.

“I think when we’re trying to tell a story, how can we make it as honest as we can… sometimes, it’s easier when it’s just girls or women.”

She also revealed that collaborative works were a personal challenge for her as she was used to writing in her room by herself. But these collaborative experiences are parts of her learning process to be a better musician; learning to trust her ideas and being more assertive with different people in the room.

“I’m also grateful though because the peers that I generally choose to work with, they’re really respectful. They always make sure that I’m heard and they’re also honest enough to let me know that the idea is not a good idea,” she shared.

While a big part of Annie’s career now deals with other people in terms of sharing and collaborating, she still has a sense of fulfillment for herself. A feeling that she can keep in her pocket and call her own.

“The most fulfilling part for me as a singer-songwriter is finishing a song. Finishing a song and putting [it] out is one thing but finishing a song that you really like is… really, really good!”

She said that she still hopes that people would like whatever she releases but at the same time, there’s just a different kind of emotion knocking in her, as the creator, to hear a room full of people sing that song that’s personal for her.

“It’s so rewarding,” she added.

Annie shared that her most memorable song is “Hurry Up.”

“It’s the first time that I was able to put what was in my head out on paper into the world. ‘Cause ever since before then, I kinda can do it but it’s not all the way precise. ‘Hurry Up’ was the first time I precisely did what was exactly in my head.”

It was something she wrote for her class and when her classmates listened to it, she remembered how they were grooving to it and how she was overjoyed.

“That’s my favorite song and I’m so lucky that I had friends who added to it and made it even better than what it is,” she said.

Annie also tried several gigs such as modeling and acting though she did say that these are things that “just kinda happened.” As of writing, she really hasn’t landed on any major role, but she did give these other careers a short thought when she was a child. Music was just always the champion and the other entertainment-based careers had not got the chance to shine. However, Annie still thought that these can be related to music.

“There are disciplines in acting that are transferable in music. Like committing to emotion or being authentic with your emotions. Or even creating a character,” she explained.

According to her, she’s deeply interested in playing the role of a villain if given the chance. Or a character that has a twist.

“I think it’s just more fun and challenging… I hope that in the future, I can do more acting. If not, I’m totally fine to be a stunt double for the wrestling scene,” she said with a loud laugh.

If the tune changes, we might see Annie in action, living some of her early dreams, but right now, she’s still very much in love with singing and songwriting, heavily focused on it. Because after all the giggles and talks during this interview, Annie had one wish.

“Hopefully, if I’m having fun making the music, people will also have fun listening to it.”

And to all the people following her since day one, as well as her new listeners, she hopes for them to keep on following her on this journey that just started. On this symphony that’s still in the making.

“I hope you like the music as much as I like making it.”