Starting his career as a composer for the stage and screen, George Chen made the move to pop with his production work on Lala Hsu’s first album in 2009. He has since become one of the most respected names in Chinese-language pop, working with high-profile vocalists such as Waa Wei, Sandee Chan, Rene Liu and Eve Ai throughout the ’10s and beyond. Chen’s knack for helping artists bring out the layered stories in their songs has made him a highly sought-after producer. “I find the angles I want to convey in the lyrics, and then create the sense of time and space,” he tells Apple Music. “It’s like I’m helping the story become three-dimensional, and then letting the artists be secure in expressing themselves through their voices. That’s when the surprises come.” Below, he shares songs he feels are most dear to him. Lala Hsu, “Down in Sandbar” “This is the first pop song I ever produced. It was for Lala’s debut album, and has a different significance. When a new producer meets a new singer, there are expectations but also some nervousness. However, it’s because of this nervousness that we mustered all our courage without any hang-ups to conceive different interpretations for the song, and in the end, we made a song I really like.” Waa Wei, “Ophelia” “I try to bring theatrics to pop and attempted to combine the character [of Ophelia] with the singer by turning the famous [Shakespeare] line, ‘To be, or not to be’—which originally is a man’s [Hamlet’s] choice—into all the moments when a woman faces choices in her personal growth, work and marriage. Waa Wei’s voice sometimes croons, then soars, and paired with her reciting Hsia Yu’s poem, the song becomes this amazing inner dialogue.” Eve Ai, “Forever Young” “This song recounts time eternal, and at the same time tests love. The song’s arrangement is like a river, taking in the flow of lyrics and melody. Eve’s singing is like a ship carrying the emotions of different eras and substance.”