New York, NY (March 6, 2013) – Award-winning Singapore emcee Kevin Lester, aka ‘The LionCityBoy‘ announces the release of his debut EP Everything You Love, You Hate via Vertusent/Sony RED on April 2. The first single, “Hear Me Go”impacts mixshow radio on March 19 and is available for download at iTunes today.
Platinum sellers Ugly Kid Joe have come back after a long vacation, and they’re ready to rock harder than ever. The California band’s new EP, Stairway to Hell, is due on April 16th through MRI, and it contains songs that span the full repertoire of influences that made Ugly Kid Joe the soundtrack for young snowboarders, surfers, and keggers worldwide. Here’s the first new track – “I’m Alright” – check it out!
6 March 2013, Singapore – Race and event promoter Singapore GP Pte Ltd announces its first Padang Stage headliner for this season’s edition of the 2013 FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX with the Las Vegas alternative rock band THE KILLERS performing post-qualifying on Saturday, 21 September 2013.
Sat & Sun 09 & 10 Mar | 8pm University Cultural Centre Dance Studio | $15
An hour-and-a-half long audio-visual showcase featuring original electronic music by EML members.
Our contemporary environment has been evolving at a tremendous rate and while many struggle to find meaning and purpose in the ever changing environment, some attempt to solve this quandary through the creation of a persona. They view this persona as a safeguard, a comfort zone, and a form of self-empowerment.
Faces, masks, identities – how many do we have, and how real is each one?
Persona is an enhanced audio-visual performance tracing the path of an android and her quest for the perfect persona. She escapes the laboratory where she was programmed to be the perfect alter-ego, and instead travels through the diverse landscape of electronic music – a rendered universe of constructed identities and originally composed music.
Developed by humans as part of a research project in the name of scientific recognition and reputation, it is symbolic of the struggles of the creator and the created over control.
Is the creation of a persona the answer or the problem? Is it the end or the beginning?
Holla holla holla! Anaki Records is upping the DB and taking ANAKI ROCKS THE CITY right to the core of our beloved streets. With our unstoppable Lion City boys rocking a massive playlist of originals across pretty much any genre you can think of, it’s 2 days of refreshing new tunes – created from scratch and rehearsed to sonic nirvana. So if you like the underground & under-hyped with a major lashing of talent overdrive, then this 2-day outdoor music fest will get you pumping your fists and going hell yeah!
24 bands. 2 nights. 1 massive collective. And the best part? No tickets. It’s all love man. Venue – Dhoby Ghaut Outdoor Amphitheatre
MARCH 16 — BANDS
4.15pm • A Common Void Deck • Myre
5.00pm • Zarina Zarr • Au Revoir SG
5.45pm • Red Script • Before The Tempest
6.45pm • Templeshift • Velvet
7.45pm • Second Season Project • Godzilla
8.45pm • SparkleDrivenFairytale • Dracula
MARCH 17 — BANDS
4.15pm • Lot-lot & Friends • Chasing Orion
5.00pm • Obviously We! • Ravage
5.45pm • The Laidcomers • The Lady Tempest
6.45pm • Giveth • Hoodlum
7.45pm • Black Diamond Folds • Stopgap
8.45pm • Black! For Remembrance • Truth Of A Beast
Treading on partially wet grounds for my first concert-going experience at the west side of Singapore, The Star Performing Arts Centre served as a blooming fresh outlet for events of sorts. Despite the grandeur of the new environs, it was let down somewhat by the spectacle of snaking (really year of the snake, isn’t it?) queue lines at the ticketing counter .
Modern Soul singer-songwriter Dru Chen will be on tour in Singapore and Malaysia from March 8 to March 17 to launch Intentions EP. Successful lead single “You Bring Out The Best In Me” (http://youtu.be/LGi6Q5WsvtM) has been played on Australian radio stations Southern 88.3FM, Triple R 102.7FM, Joy 94.9FM and is looking to hit Singapore radio/blog soon. Dru Chen will be performing 8 shows, radio spots and filming 2 videos during this trip, including collaborations with Charlie Lim, Kerong Chok, For This Cycle, Charles J Tan and an appearance at Mosaic Music Festival.
Judging by the response at the Esplanade Concert Hall on Tuesday night, Ellie Goulding’s first performance in Singapore was an undisputed success.
The full house consisted of a good mix of young tweens and older hipsters, who eagerly lapped up her every word and note. Even Goulding herself repeatedly remarked at her awe and surprise with the number of people at her first show here.
Starting off the night with songs mainly from her recently released sophomore album, Halcyon, such as “Figure 8” and “My Blood”, Ellie Goulding blew us away from the very start with her beautiful voice. It was amazing to hear the entire audience sing along to the chorus of “Guns and Horses”. However, it took some time for the sound engineer to get the mixing right, as it was difficult to hear her voice over her backing track in the beginning.
Also, it appeared that she took a while to adjust to the stage, only moving around to interact with the inviting audience after taking awhile to get used to the venue.
Goulding was not fazed for too long though, and one of the most memorable segments of the concert was when she slowed things down with tracks like “I Know You Care” (she admitted it was about her father) and “Joy”. The audience was also in for a special treat as she sang a wonderful cover of Elton John’s “Your Song”.
Picking things back up with harder hitting songs “Only You” and “Salt Skin”, Goulding gamely danced in her sheer dress through these songs, eliciting more cheers from her fans. During other parts of the show, she also treated the audience to performances of “Hanging On” and “I Need Your Love”, which she wrote with Tinie Tempah and Calvin Harris respectively.
Most of all, it was impressive to see how she took her music to a whole new level with her live show. Her music sounded so much bigger, expansive, richer and complex live than on her studio albums. Moreover, her live energy was explosive, even reminiscent of Hayley Williams (of Paramore fame).
All in all, Eliie Goulding had great charm and clearly enjoyed performing, and her infectious energy in turn made it especially fun and enjoyable for all present. With “Lights” as her final euphoric song, she left everyone without a doubt that she could just very well be the reigning queen of the current crop of synth rock songstresses.
(Melissa Ng)
Thanks to Dan Gordon (Now/Live) for making this review possible.
Here’s your chance to catch Sarah Cheng-De Winne live as she delivers her soulful pop music with her deep, sultry vocals.
The showcase is open to the public, as long as you bring a physical copy of Sarah’s album that you have previously purchased, or you can purchase a copy at the venue (one per person). Check out the album sampler below.
Nothing quite compares to a British pop band trading in the fine legacy of Britpop and being able to make the connections between The Kinks and Blur and beyond. Instant Species has been around since 1997 and according to its official site, “we’ve made music we love, played gigs to entertain people and released records with an enormous sense of pride. It’s more than a hobby but it’s far from a career and it’s always fun. We don’t have a “plan” or “bid to be” anything other than 4 blokes playing some music we hope is half decent.”
More than “half-decent” I’d say — This Rome… is the quartet’s new album (#8) and it is chock full of catchy tunes, spiky rhythms and an edgy pop smart attitude. It’s clear from songs like the languid “Rise of the Idiot”, the bouncy “Simple Repetition”, the chirpy title track and the garage-y “I Need A Little Help” that the band writes and records the kind of music it loves without any thought about trends. Essential for fans of classic British pop music.
Here’s a urgent newsflash from the good people over at Ujikaji Records.
We’re taking 1-week-only pre-orders at a special price for this collection of 26 Nusantara gems released on the US label Sublime Frequencies. Comes in “tri-fold digipak with gorgeous artwork, two 40 page booklets with insanely extensive liner notes including band/artist bios, an overview of the era, translated lyrics, and plenty of rare photos taken from vintage magazines, album covers, and the artists’ own personal collections.”
Email ujikajirecords@gmail.com by 28 Feb 2013 if you want this CD as we are highly unlikely going to bring in many extra copies.
Click here to read more about the album from the Sublime Frequencies website.
No frills melodic rock n’ roll is the only item on the Hot Nun agenda and why the hell not? With a bio that declares that rock is not dead, Jeff Shelton (guitars, vocals, bass) and Braden McGraw (drums) keep things simple and straightforward on this eponymous debut. With eight songs that celebrate “The Spirit of ’76”, the album is aimed directly at classic rock n roll lovers and fans of Cheap Trick, KISS, T. Rex and Glam-era Bowie. Rollicking numbers like “Who Do You Love” and “Fight Fight Fight” will get adrenaline pumping easy enough. No denying the sheer power of this uncanny album, with the faithful rendition of Bowie’s “Queen Bitch” the perfect touchstone of what Hot Nun is all about.
This is so infectious it should be illegal! Seriously!! I first saw Dru Chen at an open mike years ago and was deeply impressed with his swagger and innate soulfulness BUT this new single from the Melbourne based modern soul singer-songwriter exceeds all expectations. I mean, “You Bring Out the Best in Me” should be blaring out of every single radio station in Singapore. Be warned though, once that groove hooks in, you’re in trouble. Awesome.
Local folk-pop artist DEON has been invited to play at the prestigious Canadian Music Week 2013 this 21st March. Part of the crop of talents taking their music into foreign ground, DEON will be representing Singapore alongside local bands Inch Chua, The Sam Willows and Eli T.
It is a good time to be involved in the S-ROCK scene. Interest in the scene is definitely growing as the media gives it attention it properly deserves. More releases, more gigs, more open mikes, more bands, more venues…more, more, more! In the last two weeks, I managed to witness two launches – first, by Another Sunday Afternoon and last Friday, by Obedient Wives Club. These bands are very different in terms of musical approach and execution but share the same passion, talent and ability to touch and thrill true-blue music lovers. Also worth considering – the fledging outfits that opened viz Victoria Street and Rocketswan, interestingly enough, both female-fronted! Exciting times, indeed.
Six years in the making, the sophomore effort of The Great Spy Experiment arrives with the band a completely different entity to what it was when I first met Saiful, Fandy, Song, Khai and Mag in the rehearsals for Singapore Day in 2007. Interim period has seen marriages, children and daily challenges with the ubiquitous work-life balance. Factor in the creative musical need of recording artists and things no doubt become complicated.
Now/Live are proud to present beloved Canadian indie-pop duo and identical twin sisters, Tegan and Sara, performing their debut full live show in Singapore.
In any case, I wanted to share with you the ‘video’ I put together to help push “Dare” along. It’s actually a simple photo montage chronicling my experiences in the local music scene in the last six years, the bands, the gigs and the people who made a difference. Yes, it’s a little self-indulgent but there you ago…
“Dare” is the first track to be made public from the Emo Fascism recording sessions which took place mainly in September last year at Patrick Chng’s excellent home studio. The album will consist of ten tracks (with two bonus tracks on the CD) and for the most part I wrote, sang, performed and produced the lot with Patrick engineering, mixing and mastering the recording. Only one other musician played on Emo Fascism (“Dare” to be specific) and I am proud to say that it was none other than Daniel Sassoon.
Daniel has of course, in the past, been closely involved with legendary S-ROCK bands like Livonia and Electrico. Of late, Daniel has been leading the instrumental rock outfit – In Each Hand A Cutlass – and is renowned for his talent and skill on the guitar. Sometime back, I had finally recorded a proper demo of “Dare” (which has been kicking around for decades – I shit you not) and sent it to Daniel for feedback. What I got was an offer to contribute guitar ideas to the track and I jumped – didn’t need to asked twice! So earlier this year, Daniel laid down his amazing guitar lines (and a mind-blowing solo) for “Dare” in a fecund three-hour session at Thom’s Loft.
And now you can hear the results! I am particularly proud of the final product and I am so excited to be able to share the first fruits of our labours with you all. If you liked what you heard, I hope you will share the links on your respective social media platforms and spread the word around! That would be so cool and greatly appreciated! Remember – Emo Fascism is due for release in August 2013.
I was interviewed by my former Budding Writer mentee Karen Gwee (now New Paper reporter) last night about the whole Ken Lim saga and she brought up an intriguing point about how the local indie scene may also have the commercial potential needed to save the local music industry from the verge of extinction, as Ken eloquently (and quite correctly) reckoned.
Case in point – this new single from The Summer State – which video has already garnered over 4,000 views in about a day! Rather removed from the emo-pop-punk style that I remembered the band playing in various auditions/gigs I have witnessed before. In fact, the song is a very radio-friendly pop ballad and targeted for mainstream audiences, with shiny production values to boot. Not my cup of tea, mind you, but I can understand the appeal the track will have for teenagers and tweens and this can only be a good thing for the local music scene. Check it out.
Good to see 90s indie artists still soldering on upwards and onwards. Case in point – Toronto’s Hayden has a new album – Us Alone – out now on Arts & Crafts. The hair may be visibly greying but the artistic vision has not diminished and the fire is still burning. This sad but hopeful song comes with a video that includes phone interruptions (like real life!) and the difficult concerns of the matured artist. Wistful but memorable.
The French rock n’ roll band known as Fuzzy Vox behaves as if no new music was made after 1969! This myopic vision provides incredible focus as this five-track EP amply demonstrates. The music here is simple yet powerful, straight-forward and visceral. If push came to shove, probably the most accurate reference point would be the first Stooges album. Sure, one could also point to the influences of the mod greats (The Who) and blues-rock legends (The Rolling Stones) but there’s a basic garage-punk energy that suggests Iggy and his band of freaks held greater sway. In the modern context, The Hives come to mind immediately and every other garage-punk revivalist you would care to mention. The scintillating cover of Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire” provides a clarity of purpose, translated well on the meaty title track, the beaty “Same Old Story”, the big “I’ll Be Gone” and the bouncy “Hurricane”. Pure & easy.
Listen to “I’d Be Gone” and the rest of the EP at Soundcloud.
Originally entitled Jack the Giant Killer, this latest Hollywood foray into the classic fairy tale update (Snow White and the Huntsman, Hansel and Gretel) looks like it might actually be worth the trouble. Directed by Bryan Singer – whose last two movies Superman Returns and Valkyrie were decidedly less than stellar – the movie tells the familiar story of a young farmhand (Jack) who must rescue a princess from a race of giants after inadvertently opening a gateway to their world.
