Singapore SoundCloud Meetup – The Review
The recent SoundCloud Meetup in Singapore was a fascinating chance to see a showcase of local indie music talent.
Last night we had a great meetup for Singapore’s SoundCloud users, held as part of the SoundCloud Global Meetup Day. We had about 50 people show up for a night of live music, discussions and networking. It was also an opportunity to talk about SoundCloud and how we use the platform to share music and collaborate.
We were very thankful for the support of The Pigeonhole, a very cool arts venue who have graciously come onboard as a sponsor. The Pigeonhole is a book cafe & dynamic arts space run by Rayner Lim & Ave Chan, promoting local NGOs, music, film, fine arts and performing arts.
Shaun Khiu, Kevin Lester & Lydsey Long
Shaun (soundcloud.com/shaun-khiu), and Kevin (soundcloud.com/kevinlester) are two members of Singapore band SIXX, who were joined my Lyndsey (soundcloud.com/lynsah)to form an engaging electronica collective. The groups Maschine-driven grooves propelled three tunes that covered Mash-Up, blistering Hip-Hop and dreamy soul-pop.
Supersixteen
Supersixteen (soundcloud.com/supersixteen)is Jowell Tan’s live-looping post-rock project. I love live-looping, but outside of Japan, it doesn’t seem to be as popular in Asia as it is in the US and Europe. Which is a shame, because when it’s done well, this kind of music can be very powerful and cinematic. Supersixteen is one of my favourite Singapore Soundclouders and I was really glad to see this music getting some more exposure.
Marcus Wong
Marcus (soundcloud.com/marcuswong) helped me co-ordinate the event and really did most of the work in making the meetup happen. I was familiar with his material on SoundCloud, but had never heard him live. He performed with a backup guitarist and I was really impressed with the power and emotion he brought to his vocals. Marcus has a lot of performing experience and his alt pop style really won the crowd over.
The Panel Discussion
Unlike last year’s meetup in Hong Kong, where I performed on an iPad, this year I didn’t take to the stage. However, I did host a small panel, With Graham Perkins, President of the Singapore Music Society and Esmond Wee, founder of Supply And Demand and a local indie music veteran. We talked about the new Music Society, what it could mean for Singapore’s music industry and some of the challenges facing the music scene in this city.
The Mix
There was a real cross section of people at the event, from bedroom musicians to local music industry veterans. It was great to meet Joyce from jovenatheart.com, Kevin from powerofpop.com and one of my favourite Singapore Soundclouders, Inneke Taalman (soundcloud.com/innekesongs).
Conclusion
So, we had some electronica, we had some live looping, we had classic singer-songwriter pop-rock, we had some serious music industry discussion and we had lot of great mixing of all kinds of musical talents. I certainly walked away feeling like it was a good event.
A big thank you again to The Pigeonhole for supporting the event, to everyone who spoke and performed, to SoundCloud for a great music platform and the impetus to create a meetup and, most importantly of all, to everyone who came, enjoyed the music, asked questions and made it a memorable night.
