The Esoterica Of Evening Chants: Unravelling The Contemporary Local Label

Strange sounds abound with local label, Evening Chants (Credit: Evening Chants (front), Nicholas Kent Tann [rear])

People look to music labels for discovery; to excavate new music that would otherwise remain hidden from their field of vision. Label honchos often lure these sound-searching wanderers by opening new doors, welcoming them into a world forged from their vision. When it comes to Nigel Lopez and Jasmine Ho of Evening Chants, theirs is an esoteric, twisty-turny rabbit hole that challenges perception and intends to perplex. Evening Chants doesn’t try to fit into any mould, and instead carves its own pathways that lead to its unapologetically niche repertoire. All this makes the payoff of discovery even more satisfying, and as label owners, they mean to reel you in deeper.

Jasmine Ho and Nigel Lopez of Evening Chants (Credit: Chris Sim)

Formed in 2018, the small yet devoted label emerged from the labyrinthine, web-scouring music taste of Nigel. While juggling student commitments, Nigel had already made an impact in the scene not only as a connoisseur of tunage, but the perceptive owner of yet another label, Middle Class Cigars – another story to tell. The formation of Evening Chants, together with Jasmine who’s on board as its creative director, signified the departure of Nigel from his former project, shifting from indie-centric dream-pop and shoegaze to contemporary electronic music that pervades the philosophy of the new label. On a commercial scale, it’s less accessible, but absolutely gratifying if you’re an audiophile seeking the abstract.

For instance, the label debuted with the release of Kwaidan by Japanese composer, Meitei – a collection of hypnotic, meditative ambient pieces inspired by Japanese ghost stories. Softman from the UK followed up with the label’s sophomore release (on cassette, no less), 500ms, which presented a cascade of nebulous minimatronica derived from rejuvenated samples. In all, these are challenging, sense-stirring anti-songs that would fit in a listening lounge just as well as an arts space, with their digestibility elevating beyond just one medium. This isn’t just music to be heard, but experiences to be felt.

In this interview, we enter the minds of Nigel and Jasmine about this uncharted territory they’ve decided to embark on. What’s next in the cards for Evening Chants, and how deep does its narrative go? The exploration with them continues here.

The repertoire of Evening Chants so far has been dizzying, defiant and unabashedly eclectic. To those not yet in the know, what is the philosophy of Evening Chants and what drives you as a label?

Nigel: We pride ourselves in unearthing strange and peculiar sounds from the hidden depths of the Internet. Our releases have stemmed from hours of digging through Bandcamp, NTS and Soundcloud. I would say that little joy of discovering new music and wanting to share this with a wider audience through the label is the primary drive for the label.

Jasmine: For both Nigel and I, we believe in elevating an artist and try to give them a platform to start out from. Overseeing the creative direction for the brand and each release, my main role is to design an experience that would accompany and amplify the artist's music. It’s always an honour to work with such gifted and talented people.

How would you describe the respective day-to-day operations of the label? And how do you balance this with your other full-time commitments?

Nigel: I don’t see it as a chore to do anything related to the label. In fact, it feels very much a part of my life and I thoroughly enjoy doing this. I can’t say that it is easy juggling school and my other freelance pursuits, but I make it work somehow.

Jasmine: I do Evening Chants on top of my full-time job in a design agency. Nigel and I usually use text to communicate with each other and we try to plan and follow a schedule that we've set up in order to release on time. At the end of it, I think once you understand the responsibility of your role in the label, you'll naturally slot it into your time and work-life balance.

The label released We Come From Tomorrow by the Taiwan-based Melting Bridge (Credit: Evening Chants) — The label released *We Come From Tomorrow* by the Taiwan-based Melting Bridge (Credit: Evening Chants)

I’d say the most immediately outstanding quality of the label is its affinity with the avant-garde and off-kilter electronic music. What is it about this sphere that appeals to you?

Nigel: I was exposed to the concept of “avant-garde” in 2012 when I was in Poly. As part of a theatre module I was doing, my lecturer took us to watch an adaptation of Kuo Pao Kun’s The Spirits Play. A collaboration between two theatre heavyweights from Tokyo and Hong Kong, they presented an interesting blend of Noh theatre and Kunqu opera. It was extremely challenging to consume, considering the notorious slow pace of Noh theatre, but I absolutely loved it. I can’t say I fully understood it, but I left the venue constantly thinking about what I just experienced – and to me, that’s what art should be able to do.

I was then exposed to other avant-garde theatre directors like Romeo Castellucci, which really kick-started my foray into this realm of experimental art and avant-garde in general. Of course, my music taste naturally expanded into that realm, with introductions to Oneohtrix Point Never, Tim Hecker, and Grouper (thanks, Daniel Peters). I have digressed, but to answer your question, I love this sphere of music because of its constant pursuit of pushing boundaries that we never thought existed in the first place. More importantly, I absolutely love the feeling it gives me. I don’t think I can describe why I love it so much. I just do.

Jasmine: It started with a lot of vaporwave and ambient and noise and so on. I usually get bored with songs and I like to collect new input and content. As you delve deeper into more experimental artists, textural music fills in this criteria for me. Squeaky sounds and bleep bloops are something I enjoy a lot.

The signees you currently have not only reflect an international roster but one that’s beyond the conventional radars of most. It’s such a big world out there, so how do you choose the artistes you represent?

Nigel: As mentioned above, it really is just the result of me spending so much time finding new music on the Internet and discovering such amazing artists. I found Meitei while digging through the depths of Bandcamp and Melting Bridge through Meuko! Meuko!’s NTS set, of which a friend shared with me. However, there are also certain things that I look out for apart from the music, and that is visual identity. A strong visual (be it through the album art or even the artist page) is very important in attracting the listener. If Meitei didn’t use such a striking album cover, I don’t think Jasmine and I will be here answering these questions.

Are there plans to have any Singaporean releases on the label?

Nigel: Perfect question. We’ve got something up our sleeves coming out hopefully by the end of the year. This Singaporean musician is unequivocally an influential figure in both the music and art worlds. I’m still reeling over how open he was to working with us and we are so honoured and excited to be putting his work out. But we got to be hush-hush on this one!

The label has strong community support, seen here at their past show at Antea Social (Credit: Jacky Lee)

Nigel, you ran a very tight ship with Middle Class Cigars, a label that has since made a huge impact on the scene. What made you want to put that aside and embark on the more unconventional Evening Chants route instead?

Nigel: I never expected Middle Class Cigars to be what it is today. It originally started with the intention to just be me in my bedroom duplicating cassettes manually, putting out music from local bands that have such great potential. I went into it blind and learnt so much through trial and error along the way. I am so thankful for the bands to have so much faith in the label that didn’t really know what it was doing. I also couldn’t have done it without the help from the legend, Raphael Ong, who has played such an indispensable role in the growth of MCC.

I realised that my music taste started shifting to mainly ambient/experimental/avant-garde music and away from indie music. It was very hard for me to feel excited about putting out new indie music – more specifically, music that I don’t listen to. If I continued to do so, it would’ve then started to feel like a business, which I swore to quit when it did.

However, I still loved running a label and just had this urge to start one more geared towards the music that I mainly consume, which resulted in Evening Chants. It wasn’t as daunting as I thought it would be because I’d already laid out a foundation on how to do things from my experience with Middle Class Cigars. Moreover, having Jasmine on board, someone I’ve known for many years both on a personal and professional level, has been amazing.

Jasmine, being a creative director for a music label is an uncommon role. What are the perks of having such a role? And how do you personally translate music into a visual direction?

Jasmine: I think one perk, first and foremost, is working with such brilliant people (Nigel and the artists), is something that doesn't really need saying. My love, respect and appreciation have deepened a lot through their craft.

I'll try my best to explain the latter. In the simplest terms, what I'm trying to do is to translate a feeling. Using something that is intangible but strong (the music) and trying to visually communicate that through design (the format and artwork which is tangible). Both of them go hand in hand and optimally with one another.

And back to the both of you, what lessons have you learnt from running the label so far these past two years?

Nigel: It is important to take risks sometimes and okay to fail if it does. I can be very stubborn when trying out new design ideas (Jasmine knows this. Sorry, Jasmine), but she pushes me into looking at things from a different perspective and has taught me to be more open-minded in terms of exploring such ideas.

Jasmine: Schedule well! And don’t be afraid to give enough allocated time to do things well! I’ve also learned how to communicate my ideas more clearly and specially to non-designers. Nigel has taught me a lot about the logistics/marketing/business parts of running a label and the musicians have shown me the amount of effort and pain put into music. Most importantly, I think the best outcomes come from the understanding that everyone wants the best in their respective projects.

Electronic pioneer, George Chua, performing at one of the label’s Quiet Hours gigs (Credit: Nicholas Kent Tann)

Evening Chants organised a couple of live events in the not-so-distant past, sharing sounds that echo the ethos of the label. How have crowds and audiences reacted to such sounds in a live setting?

Nigel: I hope I’m right by saying this, but people seem to generally like our shows! The response that we got from our previous two shows have been incredible, packing both venues. We try to keep things as special as possible by presenting them in unique locations (e.g. Antea Social – a teashop, and a secret venue that used to be an art auction house). By drawing them through these means, we’re able to showcase such music to an audience that might or might not have been exposed to such sounds. At the end of the day, our shows aim to create and shape a special, somewhat ~spiritual~ experience of sorts.

Are the customers who purchase your physical releases – both cassette and vinyl – dominantly local? Is there a strong demand for such formats here?

Nigel: We do have some local customers and yes, there is a healthy demand for vinyl and cassettes, with its own niche community! The Analog Vault and White Label Records (RIP) have also been a very supportive figure in supporting Evening Chants, with our releases selling out!

I would say 90% of our customers are non-local from all over the world. We’ve also had our now-sold out releases stocked in Disk Union (Japan), Commend (US), Norman Records (UK), ANOST (Germany) and more.

Lastly, the pandemic has been harsh on all sectors. How has it affected the activity of the label?

Nigel: As our business is generally run online, we have been very fortunate that it has not affected the label much. The only setback is that we are faced with many delays in terms of our cassette and vinyl productions due to backlog from the respective plants that we engage with. Other than that, things are as usual and we are excited to share what we have in store for everyone for the rest of the year!

You can support Evening Chants by making purchases from their Bandcamp page and following their Instagram channel for updates.