“I don’t see many local bands in Singapore–” Yeah, that’s because they’re booked and busy elsewhere.
To those who are unfamiliar with the local scene, catching homegrown artists live might be difficult. As long as you’re not at the right place at the right time, you probably would not have attended their gigs or even heard their music being played at MRT stations. Despite hearing “local music sucks, there are hardly any artists in Singapore” countless times, our local musicians are booked and busy securing gigs overseas and some even going on tour.
Courtesy of motifs
Local shoegaze icons motifs share their experience as they wrapped up their first-ever Asia Tour last December. The band consists of –Elspeth Ong (vocals, guitar), JJ Tan (lead guitar), Badrul Amin (synth, vocals, guitar), Paul Yuen (bass) and Jolin Chiam (drums).
It’s always going to be nerve-wracking
Despite having performed overseas before at Taiwan's Golden Melody Awards in June last year, the band shares how they were still struck by how surreal yet daunting it felt everytime they were at the airport before a show. In Elspeth’s words, “We prepared for the worst.”
She expresses the worries that raced through their minds, “When we play in Singapore, we usually see the same familiar faces and we can kind of recognise the people who enjoy our music. But playing overseas is such a different setting. Before the show, we’ll always think – What if they don’t like our music? What if the crowd’s reaction isn’t great?”
“It breathes new life into our song”
Does a band ever get tired from playing the same setlist over and over again? Well, yes. But the members of motifs share how performing overseas evokes a whole different atmosphere on stage for them.
“You would think that after playing a song many times, it would have ‘expired’ its period of attachment to us. But playing it overseas just gives a whole new meaning to it and reminds us of the time we first played it,” Bassist Paul Yuen recalled.
Meanwhile, emerging rapper, hip hop artist and lyricist San (aka The Wordsmith) just recently started the year with a bang by performing at the Music Lane Festival 2024 in Okinawa, Japan. Joining him on stage was his band The Workshop. No stranger to the region, San has made his appearance a few times in Malaysia, Indonesia and even Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China.
“I’ve performed a few times overseas but this festival was one of the memorable ones as I feel that this music festival was earned through sheer hard work throughout the years.” San articulates.
Among all his band members, San voiced how he felt the most nerveous prior to the show, “My members realised how stressed I was really quickly. They decided to help me out by having me eat a bunch and encouraged me to go for a few open mics. Which I did!”
For San, the stakes felt higher. Knowing this how this could be a pivotal moment in his independent music career, he was determined to make the most out of this experience.
Not just Singapore, but all over the world
Courtesy of Shentonista
“Majority of my listeners are from Southeast Asia. There isn't one where one country listens more than the other. I realised this after people from other countries started commenting more often in my videos, which in turn surprised me quite a bit,” The Wordsmith himself shares about his influence over the regional scene.
Courtesy of motifs
Congruently, motifs' listeners also hail from all over the globe including places like Thailand, Taiwan and even all the way in Canada and the United States. “We couldn’t believe that 400 people all over the globe bought our vinyls when they were first released,” Elspeth expressed her disbelief at how their vinyls were sold out even internationally.
"Maybe the real music was the friends we made along the way"
Beyond just performing overseas, both musicians could agree that the most memorable part of the experience was being able to connect with people from all over the world. Though touring has presented these artists with new industry connections and perhaps helped them secure more gig opportunities, it’s safe to say that forging bonds with fresh faces was one of the most rewarding and memorable parts yet.
These were just two amongst the many homegrown acts like Mary Sue, Krunkle and Cactus Cactus who’ve established a following overseas and we can’t wait to see where in the world our local scene goes next.
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