While I have no problem with shamelessly self-promoting my own music, I would not discredit any of my PoP10 ‘Best of’ lists by inserting myself into the picture. Who am I? Kanye??
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Pioneering musician. Award-winning filmmaker. All-round loveable guy. The local music, movie and creative scenes were devastated when, on 14 June, influential DIY figure, Abdul Nizam Hamid, unexpectedly passed away from liver, lung and pancreatic cancer. Nizam, as his friends called him, was only 50. Bonded in grief, his friends have come together to organise a special tribute concert and fund- raising commemoration to this singular, inspiring and dearly missed man.
We will be hosting the Baybeats Open Stage on 25th/26th so you know where to find us from about 5pm to 9.30pm. Other than that, these are the acts we are hoping to catch at Baybeats 2016.
bittymacbeth (aka Beth Yap) launches her debut album Beauty for Ashes at the Esplanade Recital Studio tomorrow night. Guess what? SOLD OUT! In any case, Beth was kind enough to take part in our PoP Ten for our reading pleasure. Enjoy!
Singer-songwriter DEON has just released Oceans Remix, a free to download EP, available at various digital platforms.
We loved Bandwagon Riverboat last time out! Great music in a unique setting. What’s more, the the boat rockin’ and rollin’ made it easy to groove naturally! Kudos!!
No surprise perhaps that the kind folks at Bandwagon have decided to expand the event to TWO days, with a cracking lineup to match!
So what are you waiting for? Book them tickets now before they are sold out!
See you there!!
By Marilyn Yun Jin
SINGER-SONGWRITER NICHOLAS CHIM RELEASES NEW SINGLE OVERBOARD AHEAD OF THE GREATEST ENEMY EP
Singer-songwriter, Gentle Bones returns with a new street single, “Geniuses & Thieves”, taken off his upcoming as yet-to-be titled EP.
Bennett Bay releases debut single entitled “Komorebi”
Snapshots of the Singapore music scene.
WATCH MICHELLE SGP’S MUSIC VIDEO OF SERENITY
LISTEN TO INTRIGUANT’S REMIX OF CHARLIE LIM’S NOTHING SO CRUEL
… still there’s more …
We get to know our favourite artists a little better with 10 questions.
Universal Music Singapore has announced a new date for Gentle Bones’ concert this year.
In the last couple of years, we have seen various initiatives to develop the young music talent in Singapore, notably NOISE Singapore (via National Arts Council) and Baybeats Festival (via The Esplanade) and the various NAC music grants.
Now we have Level Up! – a private joint venture (between Roland Lim & Cross Ratio Entertainment) to groom young music artistes.
Kudos to the folks at Bandwagon for bringing us another unique music experience. Not content with merely presenting music on a bus, we now have Singapore music on a riverboat. And a great lineup to boot! Don’t miss this.
Tickets now available from http://riverboat.peatix.com/!
2015 is almost done and dusted but there are still a couple of loose ends to tie up. Here’s a couple of Singapore instrumental albums released this year that you might want to examine a little closer.
CHARLIE LIM
Photo by Aloysius Lim
Back in 2011, in a public Facebook note, singer-songwriter iNCH (a.k.a Inch Chua) criticised Singaporean attitudes toward local music. iNCH even moved out of Singapore (to the US) in order to pursue her musical career. Four years later, back in Singapore, as a packed audience demonstrates their hearty approval, iNCH is moved to tears by a post-gig video filled with expressions of congratulations, love, admiration and celebration for the launch of iNCH’s new EP, Letters to Ubin.
Polymath – “a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas”.
I am certainly not suggesting that JAWN (aka Jon Chan) is Leonardo Da Vinci but at a superficial level, I found the above definition to be representative of my experience of JAWN.
Into their second single for Sony Music, it’s clear that The Sam Willows have honed their pop technique to a tight construct with “For Love” – the chorus comes with soaring banks of vocals even if the familiar melody does not move listeners that much.
The song recalls Imagine Dragons, Of Monsters & Men and even the quartet’s own “Glasshouse”. Not quite as incongruous as its predecessor “Take Heart”, this time the electro-pop elements complement the song rather well.
The message behind the video is strong and to the band’s credit maintains a personal emotional connection. It might be too close to the bone for many people but if pop music can be used to touch hearts, minds and souls in this manner then kudos to The Sam Willows for at least, taking their best shot at making a statement!
Pre-order the album Take Heart:
https://SonyMusicSG.lnk.to/TSWTakeHeartAlbum
