From Tek & Goldie: We first met Ritchell in 2018 at a concert by the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts, and heard how her parents went through agony when she developed blindness due to premature birth. In 2022, we published her story in Asian Beacon. Since then, we have remained in touch with Ritchell and her family. We recently asked Ritchell to share an update and were encouraged by how she continues to develop her talents and chase her dreams.
By Ritchell Lim
Ten years ago, I dreamed of releasing a fourth record digitally (the last three albums were released on CD). I started work on the project five years ago, but it fell through. I was devastated and wondered if maybe I was being too ambitious — perhaps I wasn’t yet ready to tackle this myself. But I wasn’t ready to give up either.
Three years ago, with God’s help and through the kindness of a church friend, I again attempted to get these songs recorded. I succeeded, but little did I know that God had plans that were different from what I initially thought would happen. I was unprepared for the curve ball that was coming my way.
An unfolding dream
Initially my goal was to record myself singing these songs while playing the piano; but soon I found myself becoming my own producer, producing string parts, backing vocals, and even a full-band production, complete with drums, bass, electric guitars and layered synthesizer sounds.
Then, just when I thought I’d done what I needed to do, I found myself becoming a tracking and mixing engineer, tracking extra production elements and even an impromptu song I decided to include in the record. Editing together and mixing this entire album from scratch was a roller coaster ride in itself, but somehow I made it. Last year, I released Paradise with 13 songs, and my decade-long dream has finally become a reality.
Giving credit where credit is due
If you were to ask me how I got here, I really don’t know how–it was truly a miracle. God’s grace has proved sufficient for me. All the confusion, frustration, long sleepless nights and the super early mornings, the moments of laughter and all of the tears, have taught me that there is power in perseverance.
Obstacles are inevitable; but I have learned through all of this that if I really want something and am determined to get it, I experience an unstoppable force. As I watched the album go live, I teared up at the thought of the goodness and faithfulness that the Lord has shown me.
I see the hand of God in every step of the process.
I hope to continue writing and releasing more songs in the not-too-distant future. My goal is to be a teller of stories through music and sound, and it’s not just my music that I hope will tell a story — I hope to help other creative songwriters and musicians like myself, to bring the stories from within their music to life.
Ritchell Lim graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in 2018. She now works as a freelance producer and audio engineer, and also teaches singing and audio theory. Listen to Ritchell’s latest album, Paradise, on Spotify here. You can also follow here on YouTube and watch her testimony in Chinese here.
Cover Photo: Ritchell Lim Music (Facebook)
