From Jungle To Afrobeat: Revision Music Celebrates Its 4th Birthday With A Triple Weekender

Not one, but three Revision Music parties coming your way (Credit: B1ON)

For niche genres to survive, you need hustlers with lots of heart. Collectively, the dynamic duo (and power couple) of Senja and Rah have been cutting their teeth on nurturing the scene for a long time. But since 2015, they’ve been spearheading a movement that’s shone the light on simmering subcultures, and that’s the rumbling, thumping momentum of Revision Music.

From the slow jams of soul to the hyperactive jaunts of jungle, Revision Music has been championing the magnetising appeal of these overlooked genres, colouring the scene with left-field hues through events like Tribe, and their flagship drum & bass nights, Sub City. Four years they’ve been pushing the tempo and pulling out all the stops, and for their next birthday, they’re having a stacked triple weekender that showcases what they’re all about. And if you’re wondering – yes, that’s three weekends of consecutive parties.

Revision Music was founded by Senja (left) and Rah (right) [Credit: Senja and Rah Facebook pages]

“We never planned to celebrate music this way over three weekends,” shares Senja on the upcoming triple threat. “Initially, we wanted to do the trendy thing of ‘Oh, four years, how about a secret location party or small intimate room of 70 people, and bang out all the genres we play and have a ball?’. But with the amount of love, resources – the venues and collaborators with the same musical mentality – and connections we’ve made through music in the past four years, we now want to showcase all the music that has shaped us and have been trying to push to the Singaporean audience since Revision’s birth.”

Kicking off the revelries at Choice Cuts Goods + Coffee on 28 September is Organika, a worldly journey that encompasses vintage African funk, Thai molam, Indonesian psych-rock, Malay disco and more. For this, Revision Music has invited the Angolan-born African Star Trekker, whom Senja and Rah first stumbled upon at Wonderfruit 2018. The vinyl-only selector will be accompanied by live sets from Singapore’s own E R I from Darker Than Wax, and the chieftain of Kribo Records, Maggot.

Part two keeps the vibe alive on 6 October, with Revision Music’s signature Tribe at Camp Kilo Charcoal Club. Aside from Senja and Rah themselves, the lineup will feature both established veterans and emerging tastemakers, including The Weatherman, Shellsuit and RTJ. Like its previous editions, the programming of Tribe is a melange of groovy genres, from Afrobeat and house to jazz and reggae.

At Sub City gigs, you’d best keep up with the speeding tempos (Credit: B1ON)

Jungle and drum & bass are intertwined genres that Revision Music has always felt strongly for, so it’s no surprise that they’re ending off with a fittingly turbo-charged celebration. “We never ever forget about our first love, and our flagship club night, Sub City, is dedicated to that,” Senja divulges. “It has given us so much all across the board since day zero, so naturally, we will cap off the celebrations with a bang with DLR of Metalheadz and Sofa Sound Bristol.” With AL:X, MASIA, OMJ and Senja on support, this climatic skank-a-thon will take place at Canvas on 12 October.

Four years and still going strong (Credit: Balakrishnan VK)

A true display of endurance and expertise, such triple weekenders like this are rarely encountered in the scene, and it bears testament to the ambitious and norm-challenging spirit of Revision Music. 

“We’ve never really celebrated Revision Music’s anniversaries in the past four years, except for maybe when we hit year one, or whenever we’ve had a DJ or artiste friend coming through town and we’re totally digging what he or she does,” Senja reveals the inspiration behind the triple weekender. “We also try to stay away from ‘milking the cow’, so we try not to jump on any celebratory period on the annual calendar, like the NDPs or F1 race weekend. That’s not why we do what we do. Music is the focus, and always will be.”

Organika LIVE!: African Star Trekker & E R I x Maggot, 28 September, 7pm-12am, Choice Cuts Goods + Coffee, #01-07 Katong Point, 451 Joo Chiat Road, Singapore 427664. Tickets available here.

Tribe: Revision Music 4th Anniversary, 6 October, 4pm-10pm, Camp Kilo Charcoal Club, #01-01, 66 Kampong Bugis, Singapore 338987. No cover charge.

Sub City: DLR [Metalheadz / Sofa Sound Bristol (UK)], 12 October, 10pm-4am, Canvas Club, B1-01/06 The Riverwalk, 20 Upper Circular Road, Singapore 058416. Tickets available here.