Music has always been a part of Francis’ life, even from a young age. Anyone growing up in an Asian household would know that learning a musical instrument was an unspoken rule rather than an expectation. Francis took up piano lessons, which resulted in his love of music. You could say that this passion was ingrained in him. The first piece that he could play by heart? Ten Little Indians. And that is how he knew that music excited him much more than studying!

He did music because he loved to, not because he wanted fame.

As a creative, passion doesn’t always outlive purpose. When Francis started out as a DJ, he thought that all that mattered was the hype and large crowds. Being popular and getting recognised seemed like the only way to pursue music. Over time though, Francis found that he much preferred creating music that impact the lives of those listening. He knew that he needed to take a step back for the music to shine. And he hasn’t looked back since!

Over the last few years, Francis has actively stayed behind the console at HTBB church. He is the dedicated and dependable sound guy. One of the first faces you see when stepping into church on Sunday morning. With the team at Worship Central Malaysia, Francis helped produced several singles. He also produced many worship songs with HTBB worship leader Stew McIlrath. But Francis never limited himself to just creating music in church. He was always experimenting and sending tracks to his close friends to get their feedback and comments.

At the end of May this 2020, Francis finally revived his music career as ISTHMUS! Although his journey hasn’t always been easy, Francis kept pushing through. His perseverance has led him to fulfil his dream of producing his own music. “SHINE” is one of the first few single that Francis produced under the moniker ISTHMUS, and it features Zoe, as a singer from Malaysia which landed in HITZFM the local number 1 English radio station.