The Resilience Of Singaporean Scene Spirit: There Are Some Things COVID Can’t Crush

The local scene is more resilient than you might think

At this point, over two months have passed since the claws of the Circuit Breaker – a sugarcoated synonym for lockdown – left scars on the complexion of the music scene in Singapore. The physical devastation is plain to see, as enforced social distancing has left a trail of shuttered venues, cancelled events, afflicted businesses and loss of revenue for individual musicians. Emotionally, it’s been one big wet blanket that’s dampened the morale of most, if not all.

Never in my near-decade as a music journalist have I witnessed an obstacle like this, one that has spared no one in its onslaught. Being a chaser of stories, particularly in the music and nightlife industry, I assumed that I’d face a dry spell during these parched circumstances. And more pertinently as a life-long supporter of music events, I could feel the gloom seeping into the consciousness of the scene like soul-crushing venom. Top all of that off with a lockdown and culling of social life, and you have moods at an all-time low.  

The scene finds ways to adapt and patch itself up (Credit in clockwise: Josh Sorenson [Pexels], The Council, Baybeats, Nineteen80)

The thing about scenes, however, is that they are built on foundations. While the Singaporean music scene might seem small to some, it most certainly isn’t an infant. It’s an entity that's amassed an ironclad community over the decades, keeping tabs on its developments with a keen eye. And it is one that’s always evolving, with adaptability being part and parcel of the process. It’s how the scene’s remained staunch and relevant through tough times, and this ordeal has been no different.

In contrast with the quiet streets outside, the scene has kept astir in the digital realm, making its presence seen and heard. Within the dance circuit, for starters, revellers aren’t hard-pressed to find their party fix online. The live-streaming phenomenon didn’t take long to plant its roots here, as more and more local DJs hopped aboard the trend.

More and more local DJs and collectives are giving live-streaming a shot (Credit: Koflow FB page, The Council, Telok Ayer Arts Club FB page [front] | Pexels: Loong Ken (rear)]

Homegrown collectives have taken advantage of this advancement, live-streaming from home while showcasing the diversity that this scene holds; these have included the African jams of Afrodisia and the vintage Asian funk of Tiko Disko. Another heartening development has been the re-emergence of established collectives such as Rawjak and Syndicate, embellishing the digital space with their tried-and-tested repertoire like an auditory journey down memory lane. Collectives have even used this uncharted territory to break new ground, like when Darker Than Wax recreated their signature BREW series in the virtual world of Habbo, allowing attendees to interact with each other via avatars.

Darker Than Wax truly surprised everyone with a Habbo-recreated party (Screenshot from Habbo)

Hit hard by the restrictions, clubs in Singapore have had to adapt as well, with several going through the streaming route. Both Pinball Wizard and Nineteen80 under A Phat Cat Collective have carried on exhibiting their retro music policy through regular Twitch streams. Establishments have even executed large-scale programmes, with superclub Zouk Singapore (one of the first to latch onto the cloud clubbing buzz locally) organising a multi-day event dubbed Phuturescapes which featured international and local acts. Likewise, Marquee Singapore didn’t let the lockdown rain on its parade, as it commemorated its first anniversary with a big-time bash of its own.

What’s even more encouraging is that several of these streams have done all of this in the name of charity, not oblivious to the suffering of other sectors affected by the virus. Revision Music and Ice Cream Sundays are two collectives that have used the live-stream platform to raise funds for vulnerable women and medical frontliners in The Philippines respectively, and Blackout Agency broadcast a two-day radio show that raised nearly $19,000 for The Food Bank Singapore. These initiatives demonstrate the selfless inclusivity of the party industry, doing its part to assist others through music when it is under immense pressure itself.

The initiative to rescue club culture in Asia reached Singapore as well (Credit: United We Stream Asia)

Helping to lift it further has been the elevating efforts of United We Stream Asia, an offshoot of the initiative (United We Stream) making waves in Europe. With a mission to save club culture in Asia, the programme shows sets from clubs and performance venues that, in Singapore, have remained closed during the Circuit Breaker and beyond, due to the sluggish reopening of the country in phases. This, too, was made possible by a group based in Singapore, Homeaway Agency.

Even with mass closures and event shutdowns, it’s clear that partygoers are still spoilt for choice when finding local DJ sets online; I myself have concurred that these streams have reached a point of near-saturation. It also goes without saying that watching a set through a screen can never compete with the sensation of catching one live. But aside from generating noise when everything is on mute, these streams additionally help by bringing communities together through virtual interaction, and that to me is just as important as an event’s choice of soundtrack. The scene, after all, is nothing without community.

Sunshine Nation has been amazingly consistent with its daily curated Home Sessions (Credit: Sunshine Nation [front] / Pexels: Oleg Magni, Gaby Tenda, Elly Fairytale [rear])

Beyond the stream, key players in the scene are relying on other means to keep busy both financially and as a brand. Sunshine Nation, the promoters behind Garden Beats, is one luminous example. With events put on hold, it has instead curated a daily online programme titled Sunshine Nation Home Sessions, with a series of themed activities and workshops in line with its community. Scene frontrunners, The Council, have also focused their efforts elsewhere, keeping its social media presence alive and well with official merchandise sales and other affiliated products like imported Mate Mate beverages.

Branching out into F&B is just one of the several ways promoters have diversified to stay competitive (Credit: SELECTS Singapore)

Local gig promoters like Collective Minds Asia have branched out similarly. With over a hundred shows called off in 2020, the team is now rechannelling its efforts into a new project called SELECTS, a purveyor of premium alcoholic products that also ropes in personalities in the scene to make pairing recommendations. It’s such resourcefulness and radical thinking that have helped create an impression that, even in these times, the scene isn’t dormant but progressing.

Which local musicians have you discovered lately? Now’s the time to start digging (Credit [from left to right]: Tim M. Goh, Adriel Manoe, Khairul Ameer)

Like the party circuit, the live music climate has fallen victim to the lockdown abyss. Yet far from a creative drought, the online terrain is alive with the sound of music. One upside of people being cooped up at home means less distractions from the outside world, which translates to more musicians being productive with their songwriting. There’s certainly been no shortage of new original material from bedroom musicians and bands, including topical singles and full albums. One simply wouldn’t be able to keep up with the staggering amount of new music, and that’s testament to the vast amount of potential embedded within the scene.

Live music festivals that would’ve had their chance to take place in normal circumstances have also adapted creatively, turning a grim situation into something unexpected. A cornerstone of the local gig scene, the Baybeats Festival postponed its annual feat at The Esplanade, but promises to deliver an online edition later this year; a first for the influential, band-boosting event. Music Matters Live, another yearly spectacle, also acclimatised accordingly with a digital series where musicians could collaborate with each other from their homes.

Agencies like Zendyll have uplifted the scene by encouraging musicians to reimagine local originals (Credit: Zendyll Music Agency)

Majulah Fest, a new festival contender by Zendyll Music Agency, was supposed to make its debut this year, but shifted its marketing efforts to initiate the Majulah Challenge instead. With the opportunity for participants to perform in the postponed festival in 2021, the challenge has encouraged aspiring musicians to come up with covers or remixes of local originals, promoting the richness and creativity of the scene’s untapped talent-scape.

Showing solidarity, the community has come together to help musicians who have lost jobs, and businesses from going belly up in this crisis. Music For A Cause, a festival that generates awareness for social causes and issues, went digital to raise funds for such affected musicians via a #FundAGig campaign, in collaboration with industry pillar, SGMUSO. LITHE HOUSE, another vital longstanding institution as a multi-functional music studio, was also able to pull through thanks to a self-initiated fundraising campaign that saw it exceeding its target in a short time.

Thanks to swift donations, we won’t lose an institution like LITHE HOUSE (Credit: LITHE HOUSE)

One other progression these circumstances have brought out is the surfacing of out-of-the-box concepts, administering a shot of savvy that has prevented the new status quo from going stale. Fellow music-minded publications have taken chances on this. Popspoken, for instance, launched its monthly REM!X series (also in partnership with SGMUSO), that provides an in-depth look into how electronic producers work in their studios, as they are tasked with remixing selected local originals on the spot. Hear65, a sister site of Bandwagon, even launched a stay-home karaoke series with the National Arts Council, letting fans sing along with their favourite local acts through an intimate, personal concert experience.

All in all, these unorthodox initiatives reveal an imaginative desire to adapt, acting as mouthpieces of the scene with new ways to enlighten and educate. Our tangible surroundings might be muffled with restrictions, but the power to impact and reach communities with the message of music remains intact.

Even when broken, things can always be put back together (Credit in clockwise via Pexels: Stephen Niemeier, Edward Eyer, Anton Hooijdonk, Barthy Bonhomme)

It is beyond doubt that the COVID-19 maelstrom has ravaged the scene like never before. Yet at the same time, it has brought out the parts of it that have kept it resilient and beloved all these years – its heart, its mettle, its community. Disarray doesn’t always equate to disunity, and the scene has shown that it is capable of staying strong when the context appears bleak. As a journalist and advocate of the scene, what I see here is a clarion call for it to stick together now more than ever.

Both the live and electronic communities have gone down their respective routes in ensuring the survival of the music scene in Singapore, from capitalising on new performance formats and expanding their businesses, to soldiering on in repertoire and getting behind fundraising campaigns. With everything in flux at the moment, I can’t say for sure that this is the new norm. But I can say that the level of innovation and ingenuity these past few months has been remarkably high.

Even if things don’t fully recover in the near future with foreseeable restrictions still in place, I’d optimistically like this piece to serve as a reminder that the scene didn’t simply fizzle out. Actually, I believe it still has plenty of fight left in it.

It’s a long road ahead for everyone, but there will always be a community with faith in the strength of the scene (Credit: Nineteen80 [rear])

Feel free to reach out if you are a business or individual in the music scene affected by the COVID crisis. Life In Arpeggio will do its best to assist.