Pop culture musings by Kevin Mathews
Believe me, it’s not often a band that I actually dig plays in Singapore. Yep, I’m weird that way. But when I first realized JPNSGRLS (Japanese Girls) that were coming down to Singapore for Music Matters Live ’14, I was pretty stoked. I had loved the Vancouver band’s debut EP Sharkweek from one year ago and well, I was excited by the prospect. The combination of pop smarts, post-punk veneer and rock ‘n’ roll attitude made JPNSGRLS a top band in my opinion and a definite highlight of MML’14.
It’s a small world, after all!
When I saw Dublin sextet Buffalo Sunn play at Beer Market for Music Matters Live ’14, I was entranced by their wondrous approximation of country-folk-rock and post-punk styles into a pleasing whole. Having four brothers in the lineup – the musical Paxton men (Daniel the songwriter, guitarist and lead vocalist, Neil on keys, guitar and backing vocals, Conor on keys and guitar and Ruairi on bass) – sure helps in producing those heavenly harmonies. Together with Donagh O’Brien on drums and Patrick McHugh on vocals and guitar, the Paxton brothers as Buffalo Sunn made for a formidable band, as many in the audience at Music Matters Live found out.
On a personal note, I had the chance to talk to the band’s management team (Elvera and James Butler) and discovered that the band are mates with members of Pugwash, whom I had met last year in London! In that light, I felt it appropriate to make available the recording of my conversations with the band last week in the Green Room at Music Matters Live.
First off, we talked about Sweet Jane and similarities with The Beach Boys…
Next, the band discussed why it was important for them to play in Asia…
Is it a good time to be a musician? The band weigh in with their thoughts on how technological developments have impacted their music…
We wrapped up with a discussion on the Buffalo Sunn music videos on YouTube and the master plan for world domination…
Well, that’s it!
Look out for Buffalo Sunn’s debut album coming soon. In the meantime, check out the music video of the latest single, “By Your Side” below.
Buy on iTunes http://tinyurl.com/m2croya
www.buffalosunn.com
www.twitter.com/BUFFALOSUNN
www.facebook.com/BUFFALOSUNN
Great to know that life is still able to surprise me, even in this day and age. When I originally got in touch with JPNSGRLS regarding their performances at Music Matters Live ’14, all I was thinking about was getting an interview out of that contact. I seriously did not expect more than that. But from the moment, guitarist Oliver Mann recognized my name tag at the first day of the Music Matters conference (21st May) and introduced himself, it set off an unusual sequence of events where I would learn tons, enjoy awesome music and bond with four incredible young musicians!
Lighter moments with The 13 Band from Taiwan. Guess I should have paid more attention during Mandarin classes. Enjoy…
Melbourne band EMPRA has a strong Lion City connection as their frontman Sanny Veloo is Singaporean and part of the legendary local indie rockers Boredphucks/The Suns. Fittingly, EMPRA will be town as part of the Music Matters Live 2014 lineup. Sanny graciously filled in our MML Q&A.
Why did you apply to play at Music Matters Live ’14?
Cos we needed an excuse to return to Singapore to eat more sambal kangkong! (Damn good reason – KM)
How do you think playing at the Festival will help you?
We’ve had some interest from Japan, India, China and Asia and we were hoping that we could perform at Music Matters and blow all these promoters away so they’ll book us into cool tours of Asia and Festivals with great Singapore food on our band riders.
What are your scheduled slots at MML’14?
We’re pretty busy… here’s what we have on at MML…
21 May
10 – 1030pm Crazy Elephant
22 May
830 – 855pm Beer Market
1130-1am Hard Rock Cafe, Orchard
23 May
8 – 830pm China One
24 May
1210 – 1240am Paulaner
25 May
1215 – 1245am Timbre @ Substation
How are you preparing for MML’14?
We’ve actually been doing heaps of shows in Australia, rehearsing heaps and having losta fun hanging out at live venues with all our mates who are in bands and planning an itinerary of places we wanna visit in Singapore including various food stops, touristy places like the Night Safari and cool clubs and bars!
Why should music lovers come and watch you at MML’14?
Cos we have been lifting people’s spirits since 2011 and I promise you that if you come to an EMPRA show you will leave feeling utterly amazing and you’ll wanna hang out with us after the show for beers!!!
Next up in our recommendation list for Music Matters Live ’14 is SEYRA!
Why did you apply to play at Music Matters Live ’14?
It is a great platform that allows proper, personal interaction between local independent artists and people who are in the big game. We always wanted to be a part of it the past 2 years and so we’re really glad to be playing this time around!
How do you think playing at the Festival will help you?
Being a part of an event on the scale of MML is both a privilege and opportunity to showcase Singapore’s musical talent. It is also strong recognition of the strides that the band has made in recent years. We will be launching our next EP sometime in the 3rd quarter of this year and we have been planning a regional tour to promote that. It would certainly be helpful meeting all the other regional bands and contacts from the music industry. We are also looking forward to attending some the conferences scheduled through the week.
What are your scheduled slots at MML’14?
23 May, 9 – 9.30pm at China One
24 May, 10.30 – 11pm at Kuro
How are you preparing for MML’14?
We’ll be playing a mixture of popular songs from our existing repertoire as well as a couple of new ones that will be in our upcoming EP. We are rearranging some of the songs, tweaking some parts here and there and trying out some new stuff.
Why should music lovers come and watch you at MML’14?
People should come and watch because we believe our music resonates with a common desire for understanding and connection. The band’s multi-ethnic composition demonstrates this too. We sing about life as it is – fractured yet beautiful.
We also tend to be regarded as an acoustic band known for our stripped down sets. We’ve actually not played at that many public shows with the full band and always have tons of fun rocking out on these rare occasions! It is part of our new sound moving forward as well, so we would love for you to be able to witness it first-hand.
… still there’s more …
Can you feel the anticipation? We have been covering bands/artists whom we’ve thought you ought to check out during next week’s mammoth Music Matters Live festival but of course, we simply cannot cover all the worthy bands/artists coming down. So… here’s a list of the best of the rest that we think you should consider when making that #MML checklist.
BOXER REBELLION (UK)
23rd May | 11:50pm | Fountain Stage
24th May | 11:30pm | Aqua Nova
Yet another band to look out at Music Matters ’14 – the avant-garde rock beast that is sub:shaman!
Why did you apply to play at Music Matters Live ’14?
We’ve grown and evolved a lot as a band in the past couple years, and have new material that we’re very excited to share with as many people as possible! Music Matters being a traditionally great platform to reach out to a diverse and often new profile of listeners, we really wanted to test the waters and see how people outside of our regular, gig-going circles respond to our music.
How do you think playing at the Festival will help you?
Playing this festival helps us to leave some sort of mark, or at least make our existence known to a larger network of people. We are also hoping to make lots of new friends and perhaps, along the way, open ourselves to new opportunities that hopefully extend beyond our shores as well.
What are your scheduled slots at MML’14?
Our set timings / venues are:
[Friday 23rd May] 1120 – 1150PM at AQUANOVA.
[Saturday 24th May] 940 – 1010PM at Fern & Kiwi, and 1 – 130AM at Kuro Bar Restaurant.
How are you preparing for MML’14?
Probably what every other band is doing!–Jamming, writing, etc. We’ve been busy with a host of other projects as well, so it’s been a little tough, but nonetheless extremely fun and fulfilling.
Why should music lovers come and watch you at MML’14?
We would say that we’re a slight deviation from your run-of-the-mill rock band, and judging from some of the response so far, music lovers in particular have really appreciated some of the intricacies we have worked into our music. We can’t promise that you’ll love it, but it’ll definitely be a unique experience and we’re very excited to share our sound!
… still there’s more …
Music Matters, the region’s premiere music conference returns in May 2014 and that also means it’s another round of Music Matters Live! Thus far, Music Matters Live has previously hosted acts like Simple Plan (Canada), Jezabels (Australia), Boyce Avenue (USA), Katie Noonan (Australia), Gurrumul (Australia), Prata Vetra (Latvia), Kate Miller-Heidke (Australia), Little Boots (UK), Electrico (Singapore), flumpool (Japan), Kreva (Japan), Drunken Tiger (Korea), Indus Creed (India), Nidji (Indonesia), Faber Drive (Canada) and many others.
For artists who want to perform at Music Matters Live 2014, they may contact sammy@branded.asia or click here to submit their applications online. Submissions close on 17 Jan, 2014!
Official Site.
