Are solo artistes at a disadvantage in S’pore?
Every first and third Wednesday of the month, Yahoo! MusicScene shines the spotlight on talented, up-and-coming Singaporean bands or musicians. This week, we focus on young musical talents in Singapore.
Who says Singapore does not have good young talent?
Six artistes -- all below 35-years-old -- were chosen as winners in the recently-concluded Noise-Timbre Singer-Songwriter Programme.
Under the programme, young aspiring singer-songwriters send in YouTube videos for a chance to gig at Timbre @ The Substation. Those whose entries get the most votes win.
Chief creative director and co-founder of Timbre Group, Danny Loong, told Yahoo! Singapore, that Timbre Music Academy will be taking baby steps to work on developing the chosen musicians into recognised performers.
Loong, the ex-bandleader and founder of critically-acclaimed blues band Ublues, lamented that Singaporeans' mindset is to see more bands play, but not solo performers.
"Customers to Timbre always ask 'which band is playing' and not 'which musician is playing'. The mindset is angled towards bands, but we are taking baby steps to work towards growing these solo artistes and to get more people interested in watching them."
Yahoo! Singapore got the chance to speak to three winners -- undergraduate Deon Toh, student Moses Soh and IT journalist Victoria Ho.
Toh and Ho are not strangers to performing. Toh was previously a drummer for musicians in the Singapore scene, having played at Indochine in 2008 for Tay Kewei, while Ho has performed at venues like the Esplanade, Blujazz and Paulaner Brauhaus.
Currently a New Media undergraduate at the National University of Singapore, Toh explained why he took part in Noise.
"The local scene is really small and in my opinion, we have to take on as many platforms as possible if we want to put our name out there," he said.
The 24-year-old initially intended to enter Noise Singapore's apprenticeship programme, but he submitted the wrong form and ended up in the open category.
Drawing influences from The Beatles, Coldplay, Rachael Yamagata and Brooke Fraser, Toh started writing songs in 2010 with catchy melodies and a distinctive folk influence.
Ho has a solid foundation as a musician, having been trained from a young age. She has Grade 8 training in piano, Grade 6 in violin, pop piano accreditation and vocal training. She also learnt the guitar on her own.
Currently an IT journalist, the 27-year-old has a wealth of gigging experience, but she now hopes to have at least one performance every month.
The programme may encourage her to establish her own voice, despite the perceived demands of the market.
"Usually when I gig I'm always prepared to do covers, but I forget sometimes that there is a market for original songs. I actually have a backlog of original songs, but I never play them for anybody to hear. I always think that people do not want to hear them, which is actually a wrong mindset," she explained.
"I think there is a market for original songs. It is nice to know that there is a community and people teaching it as well," she added.
Another winner is 17-year-old Moses Soh, a student in Raffles Junior College. Soh had never written an original song before the programme and submitted his piece as a challenge to himself.
"Songwriting for me is a little bit of reflection, a little bit of expression. It is something I've never tried before. I always feel that when we're young we should just try as many many things as we can," said the teenager, who aspires to be a doctor.
Even though he has made a significant achievement in winning Noise, Soh remains down to earth about his fledgling musical journey.
"I don't think I've achieved any results so far. I think I'm only just beginning," he said, adding that he will be writing as many songs as he can to improve his craft.
Acclaimed local singer-songwriter Kevin Mathews added that a big factor in the lack of vibrancy in the local music arena is the low confidence musicians here have.
"I don't want to say things like the government is not supportive. At the end of the day, it really boils down to the musicians themselves. It may be because parents don't encourage their children enough, but that is probably a cultural thing.
"Society in general does not view musicians in a very good light. It will take time for things to change," added Mathews.
