The Observatory Is Alive: Deciphering The Unleashed Chaos Of Its Current Iteration
Since its inception in 2001, The Observatory has always been more than just a band, but an idea. It represents the quintessence of adaptation and the fearlessness in evolution, with trophies of experimentation on its mantelpiece. Like particles in Brownian motion, the activity of The Observatory is erratic and often shapeless, with an ever-morphing structure that changes with each album and iteration. Not to be mistaken with instability, it is this drive to provoke and defy that loyal patrons of the scene have come to love about the art-rockers – a fixture of the local industry the elevates the perception and limits of Singaporean alternative music.
The current collective incarnation of The Observatory consists of Cheryl Ong on drums, and Dharma and Yuen Chee Wai on guitars, electronics and other miscellaneous paraphernalia. Each, while adept and renowned in his and her own respective projects over the years, has been a part of The Observatory through different phases of its transformation, but make up the core trio that we see today. In this instrumental configuration, this is an Observatory that’s more unforgivably brutal in its radical antics, with freer rein in manoeuvring through its free-form concoctions, leaving more space for subjective interpretation amongst spectators of their craft.
On its latest endeavour, Authority Is Alive released on Ujikaji Records, the respected supergroup collaborated with Japanese multi-instrumentalist and musical savant, Haino Keiji, for the Playfreely Festival in 2019. The resultant yield is a two-track recording of that live performance, a sonic cacophony that traverses the theme of “The Transparency of Turbulence”. Unlike some of The Observatory’s past records that explored elements of experimental rock, post-punk, alt-folk and jazz, this is a product that’s delightfully indefinable. Mallets are smashed against guitar strings with metallic sheets and rods held in between, percussions pound in rhythmic response to the unhinged shrieks of Haino, and other improvised constituents emerge to produce a wall of sound painted with jagged textures, creaking crescendos, destructive outbursts and hypnotic lulls. Poetically put, it’s a jam session from another dimension, ushered in by this unexpected, in-sync pairing.
Few bands out there can rise to this challenge like The Observatory; few bands out there would dare to. Beneath the intimidating, abstruse mastery is a playful desire to pull out courage from the hat and attempt the unattempted. It’s a philosophy that’s immortalised the legacy of The Observatory across nearly two decades, even as its members come and go like the changing seasons. Years from now, we might even get an Observatory unrecognisable from now. But this right here – in all its no-hoots-given glory with regards to what music should be – is an Observatory that matters in a time bogged down by global disorder. Embrace it while it lasts.
I check in with all three members of The Observatory in this interview feature, as they reveal the process behind Authority Is Alive, the significance of their music, and how they’re keeping the flag of The Observatory held high.
Hi Obs, it’s an honour to have you aboard this interview feature. Firstly, for a band that’s existed so long with evolving lineups, is there ever any pressure to uphold – with every new iteration of the band – the original essence and ethos of The Observatory? Is there one, even?
Dharma: Hi Kevin, thanks for this interview. We have always put pressure on ourselves to deliver interesting and adventurous music (and projects); that I’m quite sure of and I think is the original essence of The Obs. But I don't recall having a formal set of ethos besides staying true to what we believe in and not compromising that for monetary or popularity gain. Having said that, we constantly discuss (and rant!) about socio-political issues, especially the injustices, inequities and atrocities that happen around us. My memory tells me we have never been in disagreement on such matters. I would like to think that’s because of the kind of music we play, which is much more than just harmonics, rhythm and sound.
And right now, how would you describe the current form of The Observatory? What does the band embody in this day and age?
Chee Wai: I think the current form of The Observatory is a rather fluid one. We are constantly looking at each other’s strengths and building on it, riding off one another. In some ways, we each have a different set of training that we bring to the studio, and that’s where we marinate, cook and stew. This way of writing has also opened up avenues for us to collaborate with people more. We keep things open and indefinite, and by doing so, it allows us to surprise ourselves with material that could eventually be uncategorisable, or not having a determinable genre.
The three of you each have your individual idiosyncrasies with plenty of expertise over the years. How has each of your pasts helped prime you for your role in The Observatory today?
Chee Wai: Cheryl is classically trained, and she sometimes brings some semblance of structure to our composition, which is very necessary. And her love for electronic music and techno naturally grounds us with a strong metric when we need to dig in. Dharma has a keen ear for details. He can zone into details of things we listen to that none of us can pick out. His curiosity for exploring new music releases and sharing with us gives us insights to what is happening around us. For me, the past few years I have been touring a lot overseas, watching, playing and curating shows in other projects. This has led me to conjure ideas and bring them to the table. What results is a gestalt of work that organically forms and moulds itself unintentionally.
What about ideologies or philosophies when it comes to making music? Does it differ amongst each of you?
Chee Wai: I think we can agree that the main ideology is just to try, to experiment, and to allow for failure. If we do not allow ourselves to do that, new interesting things will not emerge. What we can also ideologically agree on is that we do not compromise or cave in to expectations on how/what we should sound like based on barometers calibrated by mainstream market standards. I think socio-political awareness guides us more – than for instance, music theory – in making music. It trains us to be true to ourselves, and not be coloured or distracted by things that repress us.
That’s interesting to hear. Because with so much wisdom embedded in the band, one might presume that The Observatory is a very technical group deeply rooted in music theory.
Cheryl: That’s a presumption that’s very far from the truth! Primarily, I think music theory is a Western construct and in recent years, the types of music we have been interested in exploring go beyond that. We just want to make the music interesting and the outcome of the listening experience is key. It doesn’t have to be theoretically difficult, or sometimes it could be based on post-analysis, but it definitely has to flow and sound good.
During sessions, is it all about communication between the sound, with ample room for improvisation and free-play? Or is there usually a pre-discussed backbone in place before you start jamming?
Cheryl: It really depends on what we are setting out to do. If it’s improv, we would usually head into the studio and play before discussing or talking about what we are going to embark on, so with improv, it’s really more of a post-rationalisation thing; “that was quite nice, maybe something of that style would be good…” stuff like that. But in actual fact, it’s probably 80% playing and 20% talking.
When it comes to composed material, the working style is a little different. Each of us comes in with certain ideas we want to work on and we will develop on those ideas from there. We do like to leave space for free-play even within compositions. It's just a lot more exciting to play when there is space to change and evolve.
What about the case of your performance for Authority Is Alive? Was it an organic collaboration process between the band and Haino Keiji?
Chee Wai: It happened over a series of email exchanges and also spending time together. Haino-san has quite an ordered process when he approaches working with collaborators. He would first need to be comfortable and understand the collaborator’s music, so that he can have some mental preparation on how to collaborate. When he was here in Singapore, we spent a lot of time together, eating, chatting and eventually talking brief approaches to the collaboration. It was a very smooth and comfortable process, and everything eventually took shape during soundcheck. We did a very short and quick soundcheck, and he said that was enough, “Let’s keep the good things for the show, and keep it fresh.”
The band experimented with offbeat constituents such as placing metallic sheets in between guitar strings. How did the band decide what sonic colours to adopt in this special performance?
Dharma: I call it prepared and extended techniques. We first started experimenting with these techniques just before A Far Cry from Here and developed it through the years. There has been no set rule of how to go about it besides trial and error. For example, sometimes I find an interesting object and try it out in certain positions on the guitar during our practice sessions. If I’m not sure, I will always ask how it sounds. Not every and any object may work; it depends on the shape, size and material. So it’s also a process of building a relationship with those objects, which become almost like part of the instrument. Interestingly enough, Cheryl found a piece of spring made of thick wire while playing with Elisabeth (cat in residence at our studio area) and gave it to me. I will try it out at the studio to see if it could work for our upcoming gigs.
Over the years, I know what object in which position gives what kind of sounds and how I can further tweak it with my effect pedals as well, and also how to develop this application even further, sometimes to extreme ends. What you hear of this application in the performance (which was totally free improvisation) is what we have developed through the years and that constantly evolves too.
How important is it for the band to make material that carries strong messages within? Do you feel a responsibility towards your listeners and society?
Cheryl: I think Dharma has mentioned earlier that we constantly discuss or rant about socio-political issues or injustices that happen around us, so it’s inevitable that some of these ideas inform or seep into the music and material. It’s really more of an expression of self than anything else. Sometimes, people do expect from us and we do feel a certain responsibility especially with how social media is nowadays.
This can be a rather tiring one because ultimately, The Observatory’s main output is music. We believe in creating works that reflect and inform but that also has to happen within our own means and capacity.
Just a glimpse of the repertoire of The Observatory over the years. Click on each album cover to listen.
How does the band feel about its enduring legacy in the industry, one that continues to reel in a new generation of young listeners?
Dharma: Yes we are constantly growing old haha. I know we have endured for nearly 20 years now. It feels great and all but I have never thought about it as “a legacy” and I don't really think about stuff like that actually. I would rather leave it to the listener. I’m happy to be able to keep making uncompromising music (and always keen on discovering new music too). It’s great if the newer generation is equally adventurous as well because that would make for more interesting music out there. But if not, it's all good too.
Do you think local musicians are not taking enough risks today? Has it become very safe? And on the contrary, are there any acts you’re currently paying attention to?
Dharma: Yes I do wish musicians (not just local) would take more chances and not play it safe, and also not to sound so clean and polished, production-wise. But even more important than that is that they should pursue what they feel is meaningful and exciting to them. Having said that, I do like what younger bands like sl_owtalk, Urgent Matter and Sial have been up to. Also some of the stuff from the label Shit Resist; please look them up on Bandcamp (NOT Spotify!).
Lastly, following the release of Authority Is Alive, what’s next for The Observatory? Has COVID affected the trajectory of the band?
Cheryl: COVID has definitely affected our trajectory as a band. That said, The Observatory has always embedded this spirit of improvisation. This spirit is good in some ways and bad in some (haha), but it has allowed us to continue doing creative work during a time like this.
There are a few projects that we have been working on. A BlackKaji at The Substation that will be out online in mid-October. This edition of BlackKaji will consist of three acts: ourselves, George Chua and sl_owtalk. We are also currently working on BlackKaji Radio, a four-episode radio programme that will feature close to 40 musicians in different permutations and collaborations.
We have also been taking the time to write new material and developing ideas on projects that will be rolled out next year. Despite not being able to travel, we have been pretty busy, which is really a blessing. Last but not least, we are planning to still present Playfreely in some way or another, so do stay tuned for that.
You can listen to Authority Is Alive by The Observatory and Haino Keiji on Bandcamp, out now on Ujikaji Records. Follow The Observatory on Facebook and Instagram to stay updated with their activities, and listen to their entire repertoire on their Bandcamp page.