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Feb 062012
 

 

Has it really been a year since thousands braved the rain at the inaugural Laneway Festival in Singapore? Yes and on 12th February 2012, a host of popular alternative pop-rock luminaries will thrill audiences at the Fort Canning Park, where hopefully the weather will prove more hospitable than the last time out.

Here’s the Power of Pop guide of the day’s proceedings for your kind consideration.

The day will begin with Cults, who is scheduled to kick off the festivities at 1.50pm (Stage One). This buzz band is riding on the fuzz-Spector-derived-pop wave that is sweeping the indie-alternative scenes worldwide. 90s alt-rock revivalists Yuck then bring Stage Two to life at about 2.30om. Synth-pop duo Chairlift come on at 3.15pm (Stage One) before electronic trio Austra at 4pm (Stage One)

Then at 4.45pm (Stage One) Girls, one of the bands to watch, brings its retro-delic rock n’ roll to the mix and then post-punk outfit The Drums (who visited our shores in 2011) gets us dancing at 5.25pm (Stage Two). The seductive Anna Calvi (6.15pm, Stage One) and new wave-channeling Twin Shadow (7.05pm, Stage Two), two distinctive solo projects.

Laura Marling – another major highlight – will provide warm acoustic vibes at 7.50pm (Stage One) beforeThe Pains of Being Pure At Heart turn on the noise at 8.40pm (Stage Two). Still with me? Into the final lap,Toro Y Moi brings exotic, progressive beats to the affair at 9.30pm (Stage One) and then indie rockette Feist delivers heartfelt sophistication at 10.20pm (Stage Two).

And… if you’re feeling a little tired by then… trust The Horrors to spice things up with its brand of post-punk/new wave retrospectives (11.15pm, Stage One) and as Sunday becomes Monday, hot electronic band M83 will end the festival on an extremely high note at Stage Two!

But… after all’s said and done. Are you ready Singapore? And have you got your tickets yet?

Tickets available at SISTIC.

LANEWAY FESTIVAL 2012

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Jan 312012
 

Jan 172012
 

Confirmed timings

Sunday 12 February 2012

Stage 1 – Cults (1.50pm to 2.20pm), Chairlift (3.15pm to 3.55pm), Girls (4.45pm to 5.25pm), Anna Calvi (6.15pm to 7pm), Laura Marling (7.50pm to 8.35pm), Toro Y Moi (9.30pm to 10.15pm), Horrors (11.15pm to 12 midnight)

Stage 2 – Yuck (2.30pm to 3pm), Austra (4pm to 4.40pm), The Drums (5.25pm to 6.10pm), Twin Shadow (7.05pm to 7.45pm), The Pains of Being Pure in Heart (8.40pm to 9.25pm), Feist (10.20pm to 11.10pm), M83 (12.05am to 12.55am)

Dec 172011
 

LAURA MARLING

English singer-songwriter Laura Marling turns 22 in February 2012. Yet this young songstress has already three critically acclaimed full-length albums under her belt! Since her debut release – Alas, I Cannot Swim – Marling has earned accolades galore for her mature songwriting and her unique appropriation of the pioneering musical styles of Joni Mitchell, Sandy Denny, Linda Thompson, Laura Nyro and Judee Sill. Artists who made their mark on the music world decades before Marling was even born.

Watching Marling in video interviews, it is clear that this fresh-faced young lady is down-to-earth, casual but deadly serious about her art and craft. This is evident in her prolific output and in the artistic development pursued in her three albums so far. Her latest album – A Creature I Don’t Know – was released in September 2012 and the leaps and bounds that Marling has moved forward with her music is simply impressive.

Even her singing style has gone deeper and lower to suggest such a greater sense of maturity that it is almost impossible to imagine that Marling is as young as she is! If I could highlight just three tracks off her brilliant new album it would be the Judee Sill-channeling Don’t Ask Me Why, the evocative Salinas and the bittersweet Sophia. On these wondrous tracks, the words and music carry the listener into a lost and forgotten world – a grand time for true music fans when music was made for music’s sake – a romantic ideal where vocal and instrumental arrangements embellish the beauty that already lies within and not merely to cynically ‘hide’ flaws and imperfections.

There’s little doubt in my mind that Marling will enrich true music fans when she plays Laneway Festival in Singapore come February 2012 – I for one am looking forward to this momentous occasion with bated breath…

Official Site – Laura Marling | Official Site – Laneway

Tickets available at SISTIC.

Watch Marling perform Don’t Ask Me Why and Salinas live below.

Jan 302011
 

OR HOW I LOST MY SOLE AT RAINWAY…

Where do I start? How about being hugely bummed out at missing on Foals, the band I most wanted to catch at Laneway? Or should that be “Rainway”? Most of the inaugural Singapore edition of this Aussie indie festival was a washed in showers from on high and the venue Fort Canning Park was turned into a mud bath.

Notwithstanding the inclement weather (which continued well in Sunday), the fans lapped it all up. A good sized crowd packed the park decked out in their ponchos and umbrellas, with the ladies getting all wet, the men didn’t complain too much! But it began oh so differently, when what looked initially like a passing shower blessed the festival grounds even before opening act Warpaint took to the stage but it was soon apparent that the rain was here with us to stay…

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Jan 272011
 

Australian indie rock festival Laneway makes its debut in Singapore in a few days’ time (Saturday, 29th January). LA band Warpaint is one of the bands playing and here is the transcription of the phone interview I did with drummer Stella Mozgawa late last year and formed the basis for my TODAY article.

Who is the big David Bowie fan in the band?

I think we all are in many ways. I can definitely call myself a big David Bowie fan. He is a staple for musicians these days. He is so popular and so influential, and yet so credible. We’re all big lovers of his music.

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Nov 182010
 

Here ya go, indie fans.

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Nov 162010
 

Laneway Festival, one of the foremost indie rock festivals in the Asia-Pacific region will make its debut appearance in Asia in 2011. And in Singapore as well. The press con was held yesterday afternoon at the New Asia Bar where organizers Chugg Entertainment announced that bands like !!! (Chk Chk Chk), Beach House, Deerhunter, Foals, Holy Fuck, Ladyhawke, Warpaint and Yeasayer will be performing at the Fort Canning Park on 29 January 2011.

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