Our First Song! – Holding the Love by Faris Ridzuan (Frees Heart)

We are thrilled to share our first ever song commission at the MockingOwl Roost! The song comes to us from award-winning singer/songwriter Faris Ridzuan (aka Frees Heart) from Singapore. We are eager to share this, our first song, with you on YouTube this November day in 2023: Holding the Love.

YouTube Video of Holding the Love

Inspiration for the Song: Holding the Love

From Faris Ridzuan/Frees Heart:

“I wrote one third of this song during the Covid Pandemic. I was grappling with issues of loneliness, abandonment and loss, and health issues. Loving felt painful at times because I felt others’ pain and suffering too.

“After mutually helping, supporting, and healing with others, I realised that healing is a journey, not an end point. A journey of holding the love, together, interdependently, in full appreciation of life in the moment. I realised that beyond people, the vastness of all animals, plants – all of life and the world, even the cosmos – is deeply interlinked with us.

“The final two thirds of the song came about in nature, with my foot planted to the earth. I recorded the whole song right after writing the rest of the two thirds, live, with no edits. Together as one, I sang from my heart, about holding the love to free our hearts from all that binds us from living our interconnectedness.”

Song Lyrics for Holding the Love

Love is a mirror that we shine upon our lives,
Spreading the love could only make us strong in time
When going away means that I’m with you
When turning away means I lean on you

Cause we’re all in this together
Braving the pain, the hurt, the loneliness inside
Cause we’re all in this together
Holding the love, the smiles the hearts that fuel our lives

Badapada pap…

Praise is a lover of all beings in what is,
Holding the spaceless space and timeless time within,
When we see our value when we know who we truly are,
When we’re in praise we see the gifts that we all bring

Cause we’re all in this together
Braving the pain, the hurt, the loneliness inside
Cause we’re all in this together
Holding the love, the smiles the hearts that fuel our lives

Thanks in all moments, is a gratitude that flows,
Abundant within, without let morrow come to us,
When in the now, the past and present fades away
When present within, our hearts can’t ever be pulled away

Cause we’re all in this together
Braving the pain, the hurt, the loneliness inside
Cause we’re all in this together
Holding the love, the smiles the hearts that fuel our lives

Badapada pap…

Faris Ridzuan, full Artist Bio

Faris Ridzuan, or Frees Heart, is a musician, singer-songwriter and being who dances to the tune of the unfolding and interdependent life.

He has won several international and local music competitions and clinched prestigious awards such as, Silver (Voice, Professional Category) Prize Winner of the 2023 Euro-Elite International Music Competitions | Unique Interpretation Award of the 2023 UK International Music Competition | Bronze Prize Winner out of 2 Winners Internationally in the Voice, Professional Category, of the 2023 Grand Metropolitan International Music Competition | Silver (Voice, Professional Artist Category) Prize Winner of the 2022 – 2023 Canadian International Music Competition | Second Prize Winner (Vocal, Professional Category) of the 2023 UK International Music Competition.

His story, musical accolades and music have been featured on local news and media, and he seeks to be inspired and inspire through the glad tidings of music from the depths of the songs within each soul and Being he encounters in the joyous details of his life, and the sorrows of his moment.

We hope you have enjoyed our first song at the MockingOwl Roost! If you’d like more of our creative endeavors, check out the poetry readings, monologues, web comics, and others from our staff and contributors.

• The Flung Man – Poetry Reading
• Letting Go – Poetry Reading
• The Way Cats Wake Up to a Passion of Birds – Poetry Reading
• Last Words/Elizabeth – Poetry Reading
• Fluff of Delight – Monologue
• My Magic – Audio Drama
• Flood Plain – Poetry Reading
• Emylle on Wheels – Web Comic Episode 1
• Emylle on Wheels – Web Comic Episode 2

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Faris Ridzuan

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Faris is a multilingual musician, artist, and writer. He has played roles such as education and youth policy officer, tech product policy manager, branding and curriculum lead, strategy lead, manpower lead, and social science and interdisciplinary researcher. He is due to graduate soon with a Master’s in Malay Studies from the National University of Singapore (NUS), where he tutored Asian and Malay Studies, winning teaching awards. Faris graduated from NUS with a First Class Honours in Sociology, minoring in European Studies. He has been leading national, regional & global initiatives such as Youth Panel Member for AMP 4th National Convention, Global Project Advisor for Connecting Climate Minds, and Co-Lead for Asia, Global Indigenous Youth Summit on Climate Change. Faris was awarded the prestigious NUS Outstanding Young Alumni Award in 2023.

Learn more about Faris on LinkedIn, enjoy his music on TikTok and YouTube  and discover some of his research and writings in the publications section on LinkedIn and Google Scholar.

• Faris Ridzuan

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