Gone Too Soon: Local Musicians Pay Tribute To XVAN In Posthumous Electronic EP

The artwork for the posthumous, self-titled, debut EP of XVAN (Credit: Jonathan Emmanuel Goh)

I’d like to think that the works of musicians are like fingerprints they leave behind, immortalising their ingenuity for others to discover as time goes by. In 2018, Ivan Tan, who went by the producer alias of XVAN, passed away from cancer in his early 20s.

XVAN made great strides in the electronic scene at a very young age (Credit: XVAN Facebook page)

It was a dark day for the scene, having lost a young luminary who clearly had a promising ascent ahead of him. Just months before his passing, he released his debut single, “What’s It?”, a polished future bass composition that caught the attention of international bigwigs like Martin Garrix. After that, XVAN even emerged victorious in a remix competition organised by MTV Asia and landed a collaboration with accomplished beatmaker, Evanturetime; all feathers in the cap of a wunderkind whose departure came too soon.

The imprint left behind by XVAN remains deep even till this day, and record label, Umami Records, is honouring his artistry with a posthumous EP featuring an all-star ensemble of collaborators. Evanturetime, MYRNE, Foxela, Brittle Bear, KNIGHTNDAE and Karena Yeo contribute to this four-track tribute EP that pays homage to XVAN, while utilising a bank of unfinished demos from the late producer.

MYRNE, whom XVAN cited as a big inspiration, has worked on the EP (Credit: Jared Ryan Rezel)

The resultant record is a glossy electronic collection that sounds brand new while retaining the melody-centric and groove-conscious approach of XVAN. In maintaining this authenticity, it also breaks new ground in its execution, reimagining what the creativity of XVAN would sound like in the spheres of house, r&b and pop. On first listening, it all fits like a glove, confirming the notion that this was a producer who could’ve truly gone far.

Evanturetime, whom XVAN had remixed for, also plays a part in the EP (Credit: Glenn Taubenfeld)

“XVAN [was] a young and amazingly talented producer and I had the joy of witnessing him remix a track of mine,” Evanturetime shares in a press release. “He [had] his own sound that is mature and uniquely identifiable to be his and his alone. I am honoured to be a part of his posthumous EP and I hope that we've done our best to reflect his love and spirit for music.”

This is an EP that attempts to move on from the tragedy, and instead, focuses on celebrating the craft of a prodigious producer who will not be forgotten.

You can listen to XVAN’s posthumous EP at this link, distributed by Umami Records.