The inaugural Y2K14 International Live Loop Asia Festival Singapore will welcome 20 local and international live looping acts to the stage at Artistry from 25-27 September 2014.

Performances will feature music created using live looping technology – equipment that records and plays back sound, to which other sounds can be added, overlaid, deleted, filtered and mixed to form an improvisational work on the spot and using no pre-recorded material.

The lineup features 13 Singaporean acts, including Bani Haykel, SA (仨), Randolf Arriola and Eileen Chai, and introduces four international acts who will perform in Singapore for the first time: Mandoman Hideki from Japan, and Stylish Nonsense, Jin Matutamtada and Kasemsmai Wongchayasilpa from Thailand. Asia-based international acts include Para Sabda from the United States, Thorsten Vieth from Germany, and Wil Kolen from the Netherlands.

More details here, here and here!

LOST WEEKEND

Simply put, the 2nd edition of STAGEFRIGHT @ Artistry went down very well. I am again very thankful to Marcel and Prashant for making Artistry available to showcase music made in Singapore. Very pleased with the packed crowd of family, friends and fans who came down to enjoy the music. And that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?

LISTER

A ‘well-done’ goes out to Lister, By Any Means, Raufi Heights, Marcel Pereira and Lost Weekend for touching us all with their music. Aspiring bands/artists who want to showcase their music at the next STAGEFRIGHT, please send your demos, videos and online links to kamcomusic@gmail.com. I will be waiting…

Obedient Wives Club, by Cass Goh

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.

In between, I was fortunate enough to be invited to a listening party for Inch Chua‘s new album, Bumfuzzle. I left the party with my mind blown, blessed with a advance CD that is still amazing me to this day. My word, how Inch has grown. From an artistic perspective, Inch’s decision to go full-time and move to LA has paid off handsomely. Kudos to collaborators Mark John Hariman and co-producer Leonard Soosay as well. Stay tuned for the glowing review!

Of course, I would not classify Jóse James as an S-ROCKer but there was an atmosphere of an local indie gig at the American jazz-soul artist at his second appearance at TAB. James, and his crack band, played an intriguing blend of classic soul and jazz fusion which definitely moved this old-school fanatic! Part of the S-ROCK experience, was sharing it with scenesters – like the wondrous Sam Willows, former SIXXer Shaun Khiu (now, with MONSTER CAT), Esplanade’s Chris Rodrigo and Kevin Saleem (E.I.C., ex-SIXX). Rolling good times, as they use to say…

Finally, last night, Artistry Cafe kicked off its new STAGEFRIGHT event, which I curated with four acts viz. Stopgap, Punkanation, Don Shiau and Lunquist. All fairly new to the S-ROCK scene but proof of the tremendous potential out there. With an enthusiastic crowd, suitable ambience and decent sound, it turned out to be an interesting Wednesday night out for lovers of S-ROCK, which as you can tell by now, is a steadily growing number.

That’s it for this S-ROCK update, look out for even more gigs and more releases on the horizon…

…still there’s more…

Have been very excited by the many open mics/songwriter showcases popping up all over our little red dot in the past few months and I am glad to be involved in Stagefright @ Artistry together with Artistry Cafe and buddy Pat Chng. For February and March, yours truly will be curating this showcase. I’ll will be looking more at songwriting and the best way to present the song (usually acoustic) but ultimately am open to anything… drop me a line <kamcomusic@gmail.com> with all the necessary links…