ZIGGY January 2015

POND “That sort of unclassifiability is ultimate”

33

$ Free January 2015

The Happy Issue :) Courtney Barnett Super0 Openair Laneway 2015 Local Natives Ferris Bueller Le1f

Contents 4

48 FEATURE: LANEWAY, HERE WE COME! The 2015 coming of Laneway already looks to be a knock-out; here’s everything you need to know about this fest best

Image: Glenn Yong

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Runway: Jolly Good Spring/Summer’s delivery of sunlit exuberance

Muse: Stevie Wonder How one man made happiness his musical MO

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Genius: Jean Paul Gaultier JPG bids prêt-à-porter a fond and very fun farewell

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Feature: Happy Feats All that’s joyful and merry in music

Incoming: Pond “We just try and do a bit of everything”

Collection: Superdry Autumn/Winter 2014 Keeping it casual with the UK high street’s finest

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Talk: Le1f “The viral-ness of “gay rap” as a hashtag is two years old already”

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Talk: Local Natives “With music, you grow in ways you don’t consciously intend”

Feature: Fest Dressed H&M’s guarantee that you’ll be festival-going in fine style

Parties: Urbanscapes 2014 KL’s creative arts festival calls and we answer

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Parties: ZoukOut 2014 Our nation’s definitive dance fest is 14 years older, harder, faster and stronger

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Listings: Super0 Openair All the must-sees and mustdos at this cultural bonanza

Hello 6

#33: THE HAPPY ISSUE

“The road is long, we carry on, try to have fun in the meantime.”

– Lana Del Rey, “Born To Die”

Editor in chief Min Chen min@ziggymag.sg Writer

Indran P indran@ziggymag.sg

General Manager Yu-Jin Lau jin@ziggymag.sg +65 9844 4417

Contributors

Emma Neubronner Ivanho Harlim Lenne Chai Ling ANg Loo Reed Marie Liang Marie Sog Nathanael Ng Rosalind Chua Shona Findlay Shysilia Novita

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or part without permission from the publishers. The views expressed in ZIGGY are those of the respective contributors and are not necessarily shared by the magazine or its staff. Every effort has been made to ensure all information in the magazine is correct at the time it is sent to print.

MCI (P) 083/04/2014 ZIGGY is published every month by Qwerty Publishing Pte Ltd. Printed in Singapore by Also Dominie Pte Ltd (L029/09/2013)

Introduction 8

GET HAPPY Because unhappiness is, like, so 2014 An art and a science, a chemical reaction or a thing that comes with love, happiness has been culturally framed in equal ways sentimental and cheesy, smart and heart-warming. The Turtles reckoned happiness is togetherness, Michael Stipe aligned it with flowers and a shiny tomorrow, Pharrell believed it’s the #truth and John Lennon knew it to be a warm gun. It’s also the reason why Joseph Gordon-Levitt bursts into a song-and-dance in the midst of (500) Days of

Summer and why Amélie is all lit up from within. And in a harbinger of the ecstatic blossoming of rave culture, Allen Ginsberg once did concede, “We’re all golden sunflowers inside.”

More soul-wrenching themes – loss, heartbreak, pain, loneliness, disillusionment and all-round sad – may often get the more riveting end of musical, literary and filmic nods, but let’s face it, for all its sunshine-y simplicity, happiness is harder to do than

unhappiness. Just ask Christopher Nolan. Or Bob Marley, who was of this opinion: “Just because you are happy, it does not mean that the day is perfect, but that you have looked beyond its imperfections.”

That’s easier said for those who still miss the comfort in being sad, and who, like Bukowski, view happiness is just “a little less pain”. And in fact, after Bobby McFerrin topped the Billboard charts in 1988 with “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”, it would be a good 26 years before another song

containing the word “happy” in its title (Pharrell’s “Happy”) occupied that top spot.

However a tough animal to tackle – as difficult to define as it sometimes is to achieve – we let happy have its due and the floor of our first issue of 2015.

Here, we find heavenly highs in flashes of fun fashion, in the joyous release of a Spice Girls song, in all of yesterday’s raves and in Ferris Bueller. Sad faces to the left; let’s go walk on some of that sunshine.

Introduction 9

Runway 10

Kenzo Spring/Summer 2015

Chanel Spring/Summer 2015

Moschino Spring/Summer 2015

DSquared Spring/Summer 2015

Tsumori Chisato Spring/Summer 2015

JOLLY GOOD Smile for Spring’s blinding splash of colours Words: Min Chen

Fashion’s Spring/Summer payloads have never been grave or grim affairs (but you’re excused, Junya Watanabe), but are consistently set aglow with blazing hues, zesty prints and the unmistakable whiff of fresh air. It’s enough to put a smile on anyone’s po-face. This season’s treasure trove of colours runs the gamut from bright to brighter, offset by a good play on shapes (Kenzo, Dsquared) and abstract motifs (Tsumori Chisato, Burberry Prorsum). But the fun times really start as Chanel steps into the fray with its energetic re-creation of psychedelia on

everything from mini-skirts to boots to coat linings. Lagerfeld will admit to no nostalgia but this: “No ‘60s, no ‘70s, no whatever; more mode de vie than mode.” In that same vein comes Jeremy Scott with Moschino’s new line-up of menswear, which gazes right into the sunlit face of pop, rave and urban culture. Logos, patterns and every conceivable primary colour have been blended well and hard into this collection, which, amidst all its attention-deficit hyperactivity, also effectively bears the first and last word of the season in its sunny smiley face.

GET ON UP! Happiness is infectious in these 7 songs that don’t lack for good cheer Words: Indran P

Listomania 11 Outkast: “Hey Ya!” Channelling influences from the Ramones and The Smiths with a big, bright dollop of funk into an alchemically transformative and unforgettable tune that’s charged with skyward, hands-in-the-air energy, Andre 3000 manages to turn an anti-commitment anthem into an open-hearted plea.

The Beach Boys: “Good Vibrations” That the presence of our beloved can send us into beatific, neardelirious highs is something that Brian Wilson is very aware of.

And as poet-poptimist-genius, he’s made a path-lighting inquiry into that phenomenon with confessions of his own: “Gotta keep those lovin’ good vibrations a-happenin’ with her”, over a majestic psych-rock orchestra.

R.E.M.: “Shiny Happy People” “Many people’s idea of R.E.M, and me in particular, is very serious.

But I’m also actually quite funny,” said Michael Stipe. But it’s this bubblegum-my jaunt that makes a strong case for his carefree and ridiculous leanings.

Sleigh Bells feat. Tink: “That Did It” In Tink’s stare-down verses, Alexis Krauss’ caramelised coos and Derek Miller’s frosted dance-rock sounds, there’s the munitionsgrade sugar high to lend truth to the song’s imperative: “Settle down with your infinite power”.

Tegan & Sara feat. The Lonely Island: “Everything is Awesome” With a title like that and with guests like them, there’s no backing down, is there? From start to finish, this is a satisfactionguaranteed, endorphin-spiking EDM-rap banger overstuffed with all the pep and fun you’ll need for a sunny-side-up life.

Nina Simone: “Feeling Good” What could possibly put a greater spring in your step than the promise of a “new dawn”, a “new day” and a “new life”?

Taylor Swift: “22” Nothing comes close as this to evoking the unfettered abandon that comes with having not a care in the world. Age is but a number, after all, and here, Tay Tay descends from her Top 40 throne to hang with the rest of world in pumping, ageless fashion.

Cult 12

RAY OF LIGHT Without Stevie Wonder, there wouldn’t be Pharrell or “Happy”, so respectfully, we honour the man who turned happiness into an art form Words: Indran P

The blind leading While it’s the scoff-inducing mission of Hallmark and Tyler Perry movies to ignite feel-good splendour by setting off the fuse on a narrative where adversity is overcome and the odds heroically shrugged off, Stevie Wonder’s story is unequivocally inspiring and legendarily so. Born six weeks premature and blind, the child prodigy became known for his skills on the harmonica, drums, bass and undoubtedly, piano, singing at age 11 to Motown’s Tamla label. From this arrangement onwards, where he received US$2.50 a week to his place now at the zenith of pop music in the 20th century, where his musical and humanitarian endeavours have made him what Bob Dylan calls a “genius”, his life and works have been a beacon of happiness to all. “Ya gots to work with what you gots to work with”, he once said. And for the last 50 years, we’ve been the recipients of all his good work.

The key of life Though Wonder’s songbook contains many immortal, endlessly rallying hits like “Superstition” and “Higher Ground”, as a complete authorial statement on the life-blessing powers of a sunny-side-up musicality and worldview, his status-defining 18th album and universally revered Greatest-Album-Of-All-Time mainstay Songs In the Key of Life, endures as both (unsurpassable) gold standard and credo as to

why the human predisposition for happiness is such a great thing.

From autobiographical songs like “I Wish” to love-struck ones like “Knock Me Off My Feet”, Wonder’s passion for humankind, his hortatory urgings and the groundbreaking soul-funk inroads from which they resound serve as this lifetime’s pathways to a good time and a good, sociallyconscious life. The jazz legend Herbie Hancock whose sparkling keys grace closer “As”, had this to say about the album: “There was nothing like that before, nothing”.

And almost 40 years on, we’ll add that there’s been nothing like it since.

That powerful smile Wonder’s beatific grin is a staple in pop culture’s image bank. But his Colgate smile has also been impelled to howls of protest by the injustices of the day. Out of his many contributions to this front – which in their sum total make Bono as politically relevant as Green Day – one is particularly emphatic: following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1969, a bill was drawn up in Congress to commemorate his life and struggle with a national holiday that was routinely opposed until 1981 when Wonder released the ode to King, “Happy Birthday”, leading President Ronald Reagan to make Martin Luther King, Jr. Day official. That is the power of the Stevie Wonder smile.

THE BIG TEES

Icon 14

Henry Holland was only joking, and it did make for a pretty good laugh Words: Rosalind Chua

Henry Holland’s empire may have been built on a T-shirt, but it ain’t no plain or humble tee that’s sealed his rep. Wild with slogans and ultra-neon hues, Holland’s T-shirts were launched upon London Fashion Week in 2006 and in less than a heartbeat, were flying off the racks of Dover Street Market.

Dubbed his “fashion groupie” T-shirts, they were tagged with such joyous designer-devoted lines as “CAUSE ME PAIN HEDI SLIMANE”, “GET YR FREAK ON GILES DEACON” and “UHU GARETH PUGH”, which were as catchy as they were catching, with the kind of fluorescence that shone particularly well in the age of nu rave. Though hardly the stuff of lofty high-fashion, Holland’s tees, in their bright and bold sloganeering, obviously had their fashion loyalties in place, even as they had their tongue in cheek.

Serious fashion, after all, should be left to serious people.

And as Holland himself will admit, “I started my entire business as a joke, which sounds bad, doesn’t it?” But it’s exactly this same jest and joy that’s seen House of Holland make fashion fun and fun fashionable all over again. So while slogan tees have long existed (as has the English tradition of not taking things too seriously), it took the application of Holland’s

in-jokes to successfully woo a post-modern, proto-hipster crowd for whom, in his words, “Looking stupid’s part of the fun”. His house would continue to up that game with its next trick – slogan tees that fanboy-ed for models (“FLICK YR BEANS FOR AGYNESS DEYN”, “I’LL SHOW YOU WHO’S BOSS KATE MOSS”) – just as the high street responded with their own less effective replicas. Since then, House of Holland has established itself with cheeky, youthful collections that go way beyond the slogan tees that started it. So even as Holland may have taken his bow at his Fall/Winter ’07 showcase at LFW in a T-shirt that read “ONE TRICK PONY”, this is one joke that’s far from being lost.

Rewind 16

NEVER BEEN HAPPIER In 2003, Belle and Sebastian sent shockwaves through the indie world by going full-on happy on their sixth album Dear Catastrophe Waitress.

Let’s soak up its sunshine.

Words: Indran P

So much more than twee as fuzz The indie hangdog vibes, the insistent oh-so precious disingenuousness, the musical and emotional worldview that belied a fervent Hello Kitty fixation – such were the signifiers of Belle and Sebastian. Even its honcho Stuart Murdoch gave off the impression of being Scotland’s answer to Morrissey taken to the passive aggressiveth extreme. But on Waitress, the band presented a turnaround where something as simple as happiness is the new big deal. Enlisting producer Trevor Horn, the man responsible for helping Yes and Tatu (uh huh) realise themselves, the band switched gears from its quaint acoustic mode and went big, bright and polyglot here with Brit Invasion guitars, Bollywood tropes and twinkling orchestral arrangements. “We had a lot of fun making that record”, Murdoch later said. And you can hear it in every note.

Hail to the king Up until their third album, The Boy with the Arab Strap, Belle and Sebastian were the sort of band that moved according to the ex cathedra dictates of its leader.

But from Strap onwards till the Hail Mary that was Waitress, a forced egalitarianism in the songwriting and singing roles led to three inconsistent and frustratingly misshaped albums that all but sealed the fate of the band as ephemeral indie curio. But taking the reins again on Waitress, Murdoch blasted all prophesies of the band’s decline into oblivion, with a back-to-basics directorial hand that guided the band’s strongest points into wholly new vistas. The lyrics are mostly his and so are the palpably earnest vocals that give every utterance a candied feel. As he sang on “Asleep on a Sunbeam”, “I thought about a new destination / I’m never short of new inspiration,” he had returned to lift us up.

Happiness is a warm gun For Belle and Sebastian, this decidedly more cheery turn was literally a shot fired to the world from a bolder artistic premise. It’s one thing to buck the “darker is the move” trend by shocking its core fan base with an uncharacteristically sanguine turn that muso Scott Plagenhoeff describes as “so brow-furringly cheery, [it’d] be comfortable amidst a cruise-ship revue”, but to do so in ways that testify to the best of pop’s of sugary immediacy with a singular nuance and complexity is a bona fide coup.

This is what makes a song as, dare we say, stupidly happy, as “I’m A Cuckoo” emanate its own deeply personal, unignorable truth. So yes, Waitress was the shot heard round the world – delivered by rainbows and whimsy.

Seriously 18

SHIMMY SHIMMY YEAH We give 1997’s Spiceworld, the sophomore release by the best-selling female group of all time (sorry, Destiny’s Child), the critical revisit and serious reassessment it deserves Words: Indran P

Sound: Rah rah What makes pop, well, pop, is that at its very essence, it’s an irresistible phenomenon that levels all standards of taste to penetrate into heart of the cultural mainstream. By this metric, Spice Girls’ Spiceworld is a bona fide pop masterpiece.

Applying the recombinative bent of Top 40 sensibilities to a host of canons, namely funk, rock, house, disco, hip hop and soul, the record dissolves boundaries with a carefree energy and a sublime goes-down-easy ebullience.

There’s no denying the pure, cosmic sense of fun of its singles, like the opener “Spice Up Your Life” which sweeps up salsa and samba elements with a hyperactive backbeat and aims skyward. Even the less animated ballads like “Too Much” and “Viva Forever” have enough going on to keep you involved with the emotional dramas of Scary, Sporty, Ginger, Posh and Baby, whether you’re actually identifying with them soundtrack-of-my-life-style or just savouring the tunes.

Subject: Girl power, of course Like all things, pop isn’t immune to the overarching value system that dispenses good-bad judgements, and rightfully so. By all accounts, Spiceworld is good because it does what it does so well. Throughout its filler-free 39 minutes, it addresses the tremulous concerns of its target demographic with all the accessibility, sincerity and aspirational cachet of the pop realm without ever sounding forced or dogmatic. From selfseeking empowerment (“Do It”) that also serves as a gateway drug to Girl Power/feminist philosophy (“Saturday Night Divas”) to relishing the possibilities of the fairy tale clichés of love (the whole album), Spiceworld reflects the echoes of its teenaged female multitudes perfectly. “Let me tell you ‘bout a thing, gotta put it to the test / It’s a celebration, motivation Generation X”, goes a verse on the chest-thumping “Move Over”. When was the last time you encountered something that was so emphatic about what it was and who it was for?

Legacy: Here forever Another thing that makes Spiceworld work so well is the ease with which it lends itself to timelessness. Pre-digital, pre-maximal and pre-Nicki Minaj, it stands as an effortlessly compelling document of the first-blush exuberance of youth.

The live instrumentation maintains an organic and inviting air of spectacle throughout while the instructive bent of the lyrics keeps things superlatively relatable. For as long as growing pains exist, Spiceworld will be here to ease and alleviate. And for the fully grown, it’s an ever-ready portal to a simpler time.

Screen 20

LEISURE RULES Ferris Bueller’s Day Off has had more fun than you ever will Words: Min Chen

It’s been almost three decades since Ferris Bueller had his much-fabled day off and no one’s stopped rejoicing yet. After all, there’s scarcely been this wise of a guy (on film, anyway) to outsmart parents, principals, maître d’s and all manner of adults with this much pluck and pizzazz, if just to have himself the Best Day Ever. “It’s a little stupid and childish,” Ferris himself admits, “but then, so is high school.” And ultimately, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off doesn’t just take sheer delight in the world’s most famous class-cutter, but glows with an unparalleled joie de vivre that’s still fresh, potent and downright infectious.

By 1986, John Hughes was already an accomplished maker of such remarkable teen films as Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club, all of which defined and ennobled the adolescent experience for

and in the ‘80s. But with Ferris Bueller, Hughes stumbled upon no humble teenager and in his words, “a character who could handle everyone and everything”.

And yes, it is Ferris’ mad skills and self-assurance that enable him to ditch school, grab his best pal and gal, and paint Chicago a singular shade of red. No one gets busted on a day that sees the trio roll into town in a “borrowed” convertible, dine at a fancy French restaurant, enjoy a Bande à part-esque romp through the Art Institute of Chicago, attend to a baseball game and crash a parade, where Ferris delivers a version of “Twist and Shout” that pretty much makes the entire film. All the way, FBDO effectively coasts on its main man’s confidence and pure mettle: “Only the meek get pinched. The bold survive.”

It’s not the most artful of plots or structures, though in the

Ferris Bueller’s greatest hits

film’s episodic beats, Hughes has crammed all the reckless fun and joy you’d expect from a bunch of teenagers who’ve yet to shoulder the responsibilities of adulthood.

In between its youthful hedonism and free-spirited delinquency, FBDO is happy to be alive. And without over-sentimentality or pontification, it tells us that we should be too. Looking back on his adventure, Ferris unveils the film’s warm heart with its immortal lines, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Nearly 30 years on, we’re still glad Ferris took the time off to do that.

The Car Ferris rolls into town in a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder, lifted from his best friend’s father’s garage: “It’s his fault he didn’t lock the garage”

The Museum Cramming “more works of art in this movie than there have ever been before”, Hughes plants his trio in the presence of Seurat, Picasso and the like

Grace, the Secretary Echoing sentiments within and without Ferris’ high school, Grace, the principal’s secretary, accurately dubs him a “righteous dude”. Right on.

Lookbook 22

MERRY MEN Band of Outsiders’ Fall/Winter 2014 Polaroid campaign is all-star and all-smiles Words: Rosalind Chua

A decade’s worth of Band of Outsiders has meant a whole lot of Californian prep, and also, a profusion of Polaroid snaps to go with it. Ever since its Holiday ’07 collection, the label has been extra visible for its campaigns, shot on Polaroid film by Scott Sternberg himself and starring a host of West Coast faces. Says Sternberg, “The film was cheap, I could shoot alone, and the look felt exactly how I wanted these campaigns to feel – like a daydream.”

The medium’s ease has indeed translated into carefree and utterly effortless shots featuring the likes of Michelle Williams, Andrew Garfield, Amy Adams, Sarah Silverman, Frank Ocean and Josh Brolin clad in chic threads and high spirits. Even in pre-Instagram times, they were

quite special. Knowing this, BOO went on a big blowout during Fall/ Winter 2014, marking its 10th year anniversary by roping in an all-star line-up for its latest glee-filled Polaroid campaign.

The label’s previous subjects, Devendra Banhart, Andrew Garfield, Spike Jonze and Jason Schwartzman (who graced BOO’s first-ever Polaroid campaign), are back, joined by new friends, Donald Glover, Paul Jasmin and Max Minghella. These are images that frame BOO’s latest drop of repp ties, striped blazers and elbow-patched cardigans in more frisky and off-beat signatures, with proof that there’s always room for play in prep. So even as Sternberg’s stockpile of Polaroid film dwindles with each campaign, at least fun, games and some pretty great snaps were had in the process.

Genius 23

JEAN PAUL GAULTIER SAYS GOOD NIGHT Fashion’s enfant terrible bids a pleasure-buoyed farewell to prêt-à-porter Words: Min Chen

The honour of being Paris fashion’s first and last enfant terrible has never fallen more perfectly than on Jean Paul Gaultier’s shoulders. Excelling in irreverence and theatricality, the man’s groundbreaking creations have been unorthodox and provocative things – conical bras, breaded dresses, mariniere inspirations and an effective use of kilts – that’ve turned musty ol’ fashion into a fun-jammed playground.

JPG’s Spring/Summer ’15 season, though, marks the last of his ready-to-wear lines, in order that he may concentrate on haute couture, his fragrance business and other collaborations.

“Commercial constraints, as well as a the frenetic pace of collections, don’t leave any freedom, nor the necessary time to find fresh ideas and to innovate,” explained Gaultier.

So however much the end of a fantastic era, the decision to scale down – emerging equally from shifts in the industry as much as the designer’s own yen for creative focus – will ultimately make for more quality JPG output. And of course, it also made his latest S/S showcase one hell of a send-off.

In typical Gaultier tradition, the grandest fun and flamboyance was on full display at his penultimate prêt-à-porter showing at Paris

Fashion Week last September.

Titled Élection de Miss Jean Paul Gaultier 2015, the collection was brimming with the designer’s greatest hits – sassy footballers’ wives, electrifying wrestlers and immaculately styled fashion editors. All that play aside, Gaultier’s subversion still reigned on his half-tailored, half-Madonna eveningwear hybrids and his employment of advanced-age models, who proudly strode down the catwalk on the arms of barechested men.

All of the above came less as with the surprise of provocation, but in this post-JPG age, were warmly embraced as more proof of Gaultier’s mad skills, wit and derring-do. His S/S beauty pageant rounded off with Anna Cleveland and Coco Rocha taking the crown in his cone-breasted corset designs, while Gaultier himself took his final bow with a sash that proclaimed him “Miss L’Enfant Terrible”, because, well, of course. Trust Gaultier – and only Gaultier – to put his RTW legacy to rest with a final hurrah crammed with this much good humour, confetti-strewn happiness and time-honoured fabulousness.

Feature 24

HAPPY FEATS Contrary to Radiohead’s opinion, music can and has been a joyous exercise. Just watch as we chase the good vibes through canons and scenes Text: Indran P

CHILL PILLS

Even though it’s become a musical dirty word, chillwave cannot be ignored as an agent of an agent of too-blissedout-to-care fun. Its very christening, though devised in the spirit of mockery, was, at its apex, the promise of a great dose of chill. Influenced by ‘80s touchstones like shoegaze, synth-pop and the summerevoking charms of Beach Boys, acts like Ariel Pink, Washed Out and Neon Indian, made whispery, shimmering sounds of their own, where every note and utterance was burnished in the glow of sunshine. And even when it was reflective, it rarely strayed beyond what Neon Indian honcho Alan Palomo outlined in “Hex Girlfriend”: “I know I won’t be here forever / Slow burn fades into a dream”.

Essential listening Washed Out’s “It Feels All Right”, Toro Y Moi’s “Talamak”

FUMES OF BLISS

HIP HOP WITH A SMILE

“We’re bringing the Daisy Age... Everything is coming from within us. It’s time to pull down that front, trying to be like somebody else. You come out with what’s inside you” – this was De La Soul’s mission statement to the world. Swerving hard from the chest-thumping aggression, uninspired machismo and gold teeth and gold chains of hardcore hip hop, Kelvin Mercer, David Jude Jolicoeur

and Vincent Mason brought the very machinery of the prevailing hip hop machine to a halt and got it running again in a patently more happier (read: constructive) direction. Foundation stone of the ‘90s golden age, their debut 3 Feet High and Rising was a pristine counterpoint to the gangsta rap boom, which urged social change through “ghetto love” and humour. They truly were the best medicine.

Essential listening De La Soul’s “Me, Myself and I” and “Ghetto Thang”

Snoop Dogg started it; A$AP Rocky made it an indie thing; Wiz Khalifa took it mainstream.

Musically and philosophically inseparable from Top 40 emissions now, the cloud rap sound is the definitive good time sound that’s frozen the needle of pop culture in its hazy-eyed grooves. In the early ‘90s, Snoop pioneered it as a lifestyle sound, showcasing his lazy-rich flow and his liking for the herb (“Smokin on these trees / Keeps me at ease”). Later, over the prismatic, deceptively lackadaisical productions of Clams Casino’s, Rocky’d dispense his own fragrant wisdom, setting the precedent for the trend-thirst that led to smooth-talking drawls displacing spitfire flows in the effort to give off that high.

Essential listening A$AP Rocky’s “Bass” and “Peso”, Wiz Khalifa’s “Roll Up”

Feature 25

POWERED BY POP

A NEW ROCK

POP’S CANDYMAN

“Some artists write their best songs when they’re heartbroken.

I don’t. At all,” said Michael Holbrook Penniman, Jr aka Mika. Operatically trained, and predisposed to a very loud and fey strain of fabulousness, the London-via-Beirut singer and pianist has been responsible for some of pop’s most peppy and sunny-side-up tunes since the aughts. Bringing a saccharine payload of candy and roses to hearts and charts, his best songs exhibit a self-consciously gaudy palette of sounds to spark off a sugary lift-off. Then there’s that sky-scraping voice that has earned him comparisons to the late great Freddie Mercury to remind that happiness is highstakes and sacrosanct, as it should very well be.

Essential listening Mika’s “Relax, Take it Easy” and “Celebrate”, and Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” for good measure

With the advertised effect of “mind expansion”, LSD entered into the pop cultural bloodstream of the ‘60s and percolated into the lexicon of rock. Free love, flower power, love & peace for all the earth’s peoples – these were the chemically-induced sensibilities that brought humanity as close as it ever came to positing a collective aim towards a utopic society.

Likewise, the musicians of the day, borne by the wisdom of those tabs, shrugged off the logistics of reality and delved inward, reflecting their preternatural exuberance in the mode of acid rock. Though it was but fleeting, this temporary respite from the Vietnam war and the particularly brutal period in the history of racism, was a happy pause that gave the world The Doors, Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix.

Essential listening Grateful Dead’s “Truckin’”, Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb”

ELECTRIC AVENUE

With the possible exception of a retro-themed blowout, the spatio-temporal entity that is the rave is the happiest place on Earth. Even leaving narcotics aside, it’s plain to see why it’s damn near impossible to be/feel emo when everyone’s dancing to sounds custom-built to make you, as Simon Reynolds very succinctly opined, “lose yourself”.

At soaring tempos and at groovebusting BPMs, all the sounds of the dance discipline make for a rousing, unquenchably bodyanimating impetus whose kinetic power is impossible to ignore and resist. Beginning as localised scene parties in apartments, lofts and disused spaces, these parties have now evolved into allare-welcome global behemoths like Tomorrowland, Ultra Music Festival and the Electric Daisy Carnival, where this thing called vibe will lift you up, up and away.

Essential listening Frankie Knuckles’ “Your Love”, Shades of Rhythm’s “Extacy”

In describing the music of The Who, Pete Townshend coined the term “power pop”. If pop professed a generally upbeat worldview, power pop adhered to a specificity that catapulted pop’s gifts to even more rousing heights.

Syrupy melodies, Technicolor synths and head-on drums were chief ingredients of what allowed an entire lineage of bands, from progenitors like The Knack to indie vets like The New Pornographers to radio overlords like Weezer and Fountains of Wayne to deliver their sweet somethings to us over generations. And since not even its more downcast songs could escape its cosmological pep (just ask Jimmy Eat World), we have to give power pop its due and happy props.

Essential listening Weezer’s “Buddy Holly”, The New Pornographers’ “War on The East Coast”

Incoming 26

THE DEEP END Words: Indran P

Later this month, Pond will release their sixth fulllength Man, It Feels Like Space Again. In what’s shaping up to be the high-point of its mind-melting, scale-defying run, the Perth outfit and Tame Impala affiliates will deliver the most polished take on its cavernous sound, expanding even more on the sweet

jolts of behemoth psychedelia and starry freefalls of textures that they offered up on its prior album 2013’s Hobo Rocket.

Helping us tread across the band’s colossal sounds and bringing forth the genius in the madness before their set at Laneway Festival Singapore 2015, is multiinstrumentalist Jay Watson.

Incoming 27 The Pond sound incorporates every sub-discipline of rock ‘n’ roll. Did the band consciously set out with this “meta” approach in mind?

I never really thought about it that way, though. Our new album is very rock ‘n’ roll, straight-up. I guess we just try and do a bit of everything. We’ve been getting into different kinds of music over the years and what we’ve been putting out is a reflection of that.

It was just natural.

Yes, you’ve said before that the band has been concerned with projecting a particular mood rather than a definitive musical statement.

That’s true. We just like lots of different sorts of music so the idea of sounding like one sort of thing would depress us! This is why we’ve tried a bunch of different stuff.

2010’s Frond, where you incorporated a surprisingly big pop sound was definitely an indication of that.

Yes! Our new album is very much like that too. I’d call it a better version of Frond. With both albums, we made each song a genre unto itself. Each song was really epic, triumphant and huge. We were really into Prince and psych-rock at the time so we channelled that through pop.

It was the same with the new album. I think that once you hear that, Hobo Rocket will make more sense!

Do you really think that about Hobo Rocket? Despite being recorded over a single weekend, it feels like a fully realised artistic vision.

You think so? I think we turned it into something that sounds realised. Yes, it was done in

a weekend and we recorded everything live. After that, we spent a couple of months tweaking it and making it sound more lush.

Given the complex nature of your music, would you say that there is no strict starting point from which a Pond song takes shape?

Thanks for thinking that it’s complex. I actually think it’s pretty dumb! Typically, Joe (guitar and bass) and Nick (vocals and keys) and myself will write a song and the others will tweak it and work on it – I think of it as having three songwriters. Nick sometimes starts with the lyrics but we usually come up with the music first.

The single “Giant Tortoise” is the heaviest, most consciously rock-sounding Pond song to date. What led to this riff-heavy showing on the album?

I’ve had that riff for the past five years; we call it the “Teenage Boy Riff”. It’s the sort of music you want to hear when you’re 14, you know? So we just took that and tried to make it over the top and really massive.

It bears a strong resemblance to the Queen sound.

Totally! That’s actually how I would consider the song. Actually, I just bought a copy of a Brian May signature guitar! On the guitar side of things, I’d say that Queen has been a pretty huge influence on me.

You play a vast array of instruments. Are there any musical heroes, besides Queen, that you look up to personally?

There are, for sure. I have the utmost respect for Brian Eno and R. Stevie Moore. As far as bands go, I love Funkadelic. These are my top three.

It’s interesting that you mention R. Stevie Moore since a lot of your music and especially the new song “Elvis’ Flaming Star” has a patently homemade sensibility.

Exactly. I’m glad you picked up on that. That’s what I meant when I said that this new album sounds more like Frond. It’s more upbeat and happy but it has some crazy twists and turns.

The hook of that song is, “Bring back Elvis”. Were you wishing

for a return to a rock ‘n’ roll golden age?

No, it was actually a throwaway thing. We actually had the title before anything else. I guess it’s just a bit of whimsical fun, you know? But we wanted it to feel a little retro so maybe we were unconsciously thinking of bringing back something from the past.

And how does it feel to start off 2015 with a new album?

It feels really good. We worked on this for a lot longer than we did on Hobo Rocket and the songs were written over a longer period too; about three years or so. There are songs from all over the place. It’s also interesting beginning from a new premise as well: there aren’t a lot of guitars here since we wanted a more twisted kind of glam album. It sounds more “professional”.

The album also drops the day before your set at Laneway Festival Singapore. Are you looking forward to that too?

Yes! The crowd at Laneway was really awesome when Tame Impala played there in 2013. It was a great feeling just being there. I also really want to see Mac Demarco!

Together with Tame Impala, Pond has come to be seen as responsible for a rock revival of sorts. How do you feel about that?

I’ve always thought that we are less rock than we seem. A lot of the music I listen to isn’t rock ‘n’ roll, like hip hop and the electronic stuff. But there’s this band from Australia that I really like called King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard that plays great rock. Actually, I think rock’s been around for long enough, either way! This is why we try not to make straightforward rock ‘n’ roll. Just look at Elvis: he’s rock ‘n’ roll but so much else too. That sort of unclassifiability is ultimate.

Catch Pond live at Laneway Festival Singapore 2015 on 24 January at the Meadow, Gardens By the Bay. Flip to page 48 for the scoop on the festival.

Man, It Feels Like Space Again will be out on 23 January on Modular Recordings

Fresh 28

SLEATERKINNEY: NO CITIES TO LOVE Words: Indran P

In 1996, a 21-year old Carrie Brownstein declared: “World domination is what I want for Sleater-Kinney”.

Almost two decades on, in her band’s rise from riot grrrl activists to the fullest realisation of both parts of the “punk rock” juggernaut yet, it’s plain to see her aspirations more as prophecy than bravado. 2005’s The Woods seemed to be the culmination of this until the rhapsodic riff-driven overload of “Bury Our Friends” heralded No Cities to Love into the ether, with Brownstein adding, “We sound possessed on these songs, willing it all”. We’ve been warned again.

Out 20 January

Hanni El Khatib: Moonlight LA’s Hanni El Khatib is of the opinion that the title track off his upcoming album sounds like Iggy Pop, RZA and Iggy Azalea all mixed together. Truth be told, he ain’t lying. And with Dan Auerbach helping out, we can expect Moonlight to be a feat of garage-minded insurrectionism.

Out 20 January

Mark Ronson: Uptown Special Here’s what the multi-hyphenate Brit has been up to: an album where Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Chabon wrote most of the lyrics, where Bruno Mars, Hudson Mohawke, Miike Snow’s Andrew Wyatt and James Ford all lend hands. Doubt it’ll work? “Uptown Funk” will change your mind.

Out 27 January

The Decemberists: What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World The dip in buzz around baroque pop looks to be fixed by this forthcoming seventh album by one of the genre’s indisputable titans. Coming four years after the mellow The King Is Dead, first listens “Make You Better” and “Lake Song” kick the doors in with swooning melodies and cavernous polyrhythmic scale.

Out 20 January

Panda Bear: Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper To quote the Animal Collective honcho and psychedelic pop godhead Noah Lennox, his fifth full-length turn as Panda Bear will be a “break-centric” hat-tip to hip hop icon 9th Wonder.

But first reveal “Mr Noah” (yep) is all kaleidoscopic spazz-rock splendour. Wait for the full drop, then.

Out 13 January

Viet Cong: Viet Cong Following the onstage punch-up that led to the dissolution of Women, its bassist-singer Matt Flegel and drummer Michael Wallace put Viet Cong together to pick up the pieces and make fantastic post-punk. The proof is in the gravelly yet melodious “Continental Shelf” and everything else to come.

Out 20 January

The Dodos: Individ The guitar-and-drums duo of Meric Long and Logan Kroeber has never put flash or statementmaking over writing honest, urgent songs. Individ promises a more aggressive and blustery variation on this theme with “Competition” taking off on a heat-seeking rhythm and soaring on heaving sentiments.

Out 27 January

Next 29

TEEN SPIRIT, SCREAMING Mourn are young, angry and full of heart; give them your full attention Words: Indran P As far as talking points go, Mourn is a band that is chock-full of them. For one, its members are incredibly young: frontwoman Jazz Rodríguez Bueno, guitarist Carla Pérez Vas and drummer Antonio Postius Echeverría are all 18. Bass duties are handled

by Bueno’s sister Leia, who comes in at 15. Then, there’s the astoundingly traditional approach to the bracing and soul-searing music that the Catalan quartet makes, too unpolished to qualify as “rock” and too personal to cross off any of punk’s statementmaking prerequisites. It’s hard, gravelly, disjointed – lightning in a bottle that is set to emblazon the skies of 2015 and beyond.

Parting the gathering seas of hype, what makes the band so readily affecting and arresting is the youthful, completely un-selfconscious way in which it invokes key touchstones of the musical fringes to emotionally devastating effect. As Bueno tells it, it all happened with her discovery of PJ Harvey when she was 14. “She was what I wanted to be because

she doesn’t sing like, ‘Oh yeah, la la la!’”, she says, adding that she “just loved the power” in the fact that “she screams when she has to scream and she plays very well”.

Finding like-minded comrades in the Catalan underground scene for whom the governing sounds of ska and cumbia were musically and emotionally inadequate, she formed Mourn and found a way to align her admiration of outlier rock’s elders with her growing interest in ‘90s milestones like Sleater-Kinney and Sunny Day Real Estate.

The teetering, unabashed “Boys Are C***s” was the first stride taken as Mourn before the more refined, alternately punch-drunk and seething cuts like “Silver Gold”, “Otitis” and “Your Brain Is Made of Candy” unveiled them to a larger audience in ways that still surprise them. “We don’t even believe it’s real yet,” Bueno says.

But that’s just the youth talking.

Mourn is available digitally on iTunes and will be out in CD and vinyl in February 2015

Collection 30

CASUAL CODE Superdry’s Fall/Winter outing may be casual, but that don’t mean it ain’t luxe too Words: Min Chen It’s now 10 years since Julian Dunkerton and James Holder pressed Superdry’s first T-shirt, following style cues from American sportswear and Japanese imagery, and set it loose on the high street. Since then, the duo has watched its label grow from that humble tee into a retail giant with a global footprint, a loyal fanbase that includes one David Beckham and a diverse range of lifestyle goods, which stretches from eyewear to

watches to fragrances. But even as its path to world domination has been swift, Superdry’s made sure its core ethos hasn’t been left behind in the process. As of Fall/ Winter 2014, the British brand can still boast of casualwear that’s strong in vintage finishes, ultrasoft cotton and street-friendly cuts. And there’s more.

Especially for this collection, Superdry’s laid the emphasis on texture and detailing: there’s a

feast of fabrics from selvedge denim to luxe leather, as well as a host of metallic embellishments and winter-ready accents to make this a great lesson in casual luxury. Womenswear is anchored by a biker look, complete with jacket and super-skinny jeans, while menswear is strongly sartorial, with smart outwear and contemporary denim on the frontlines. And since winter is indeed coming, the collection’s shearling-lined zippered ski

jackets and Everest coats should keep those shoulders warm. It’s a pretty exciting launch that coincides with Superdry’s arrival onto our shores, so all that casual cool is within your easy reach.

Find Superdry at VivoCity, #01-129

Collection 31

C.O.A.C.H NEON The Coach you know and love won’t be sitting quietly this Spring/ Summer, not as it unveils its C.O.A.C.H. Collection. This is Stuart Vevers’ idea, of course, and sees the house shedding its earthy leather skin for the fun and flamboyant hues of neon. C.O.A.C.H. (or the Cult of The Outrageous Atomic Carriage House, if you like) is lined up with limited edition Rhyders, Taxi Totes, Slip-On Sneakers and a clutch of other accessories playfully accented with fluorescent pinks, yellows and oranges. To drive the point home, there’s even a C.O.A.C.H. Bicycle that’s been trimmed in leather and electric neon for maximum impact.

Available at Coach

adidas Originals = Pharrell Williams Equality’s the message on the latest drop of adidas Originals = Pharrell Williams (see what happened there?), which translates joyously enough onto a drop of the Superstar Track Jacket and Stan Smith sneakers that have been re-designed with Spring colours and an infectious round of polka-dots.

Available at adidas Originals and Limited Edition

Moschino Donna Accessories If you can’t already tell the kind of fun that Jeremy Scott’s been having on the Moschino runways, behold the house’s newest line-up of accessories. Taking off from Scott’s Barbie inspirations, these are bags and shoes (and at least one shoe is a bag) that’ll electrify with their bold colours and delight with their savvy renditions of a material world.

Available at Moschino

UNIQLO Indigo Blue Project Only authentic Japanese indigo denim has been employed to put together UNIQLO’s ultrapremium Indigo Blue Project.

Look in here for jeans, jackets, tees, sweats and shorts, crafted with Kaihara-supplied denim and woven with traditional weaving and dyeing techniques in mind.

Available at UNIQLO

Timberland Spring 2015 Timberland’s newest collection is ready to hit the road in a travel-friendly launch of lightweight trenchcoats and mac jackets that’re powered

by Hyvent® waterproof skins, and more vitally, pop-coloured Authentic 6” Premium Boots, and natural-smelling EarthkeepersTM Kempton and Abington ranges of chukkas, Oxfords and brogues.

Available at Timberland

Converse All Star Chuck ‘70 Missoni The on-going love affair between Converse First String and Missoni marks its ninth collab with the very handsome Converse All Star ‘70s Missoni Zip Suede.

In a tribute to Japanese “boro” patchwork, these kicks sport three varied brown suede tones and are lined with custom Missoni mohair, making them earthy on the outside and totally lush on the inside.

Available at Surrender

Collection 32

THE INCREDIBLE LIGHTNESS COS’ Spring/Summer 2015 arrival is illuminated from within Words: Min Chen Typical of a COS drop, the Swedish label’s Spring/Summer launch is a vision of clean cuts.

This collection, though, also brings with it a new freshness and lightness that besides falling in line with the season, also bespeaks COS’ recently uncovered sense of play.

Amidst its standard practice of well-tailored proportions and sculptural silhouettes are prints, patterns and pops of colours that put the cheeky in chic.

Both the men’s and women’s departments come anchored by COS’ monochromatic staples, from classic white shirts (newly cut longer at the back) and little black dresses (now with slits and a cutaway hem) for the ladies, to tailored suits in sky blue and black for the gents. But from hereon, the collection heads off on its own abstract sidetrack.

For starters, sporty inflections abound, informing technical cotton jackets, translucent parkas

and a cotton anorak. Voluminous yet sculptural, these pieces also carry a versatility and technical functionality that belie their lightweight design.

Not just light in construction, COS takes its play to heart too by unleashing a frisky run of colours and graphics upon this collection.

Artistic inspirations are key, with the work of David Ortiz and Jan Scharrelmann influencing the range’s fragmented typography pattern and colouristic cut-outs respectively. The brand’s blackand-white palette also bursts into occasional hues of lime green, olive, sea blue and pale violet, which go from earthy to electric in a single high-spirited heartbeat.

Rounded off with accessories like Derby sneakers, sandals, city bags and sunglasses, the collection’s lightness of spirit should fall right in line with your own.

Shop COS at ION Orchard, #03-23/23A

Next 33

SHURA THING

Pop’s taken an interesting turn and Shura’s about to make it a whole lot better Words: Indran P

Aleksandra Denton is on the cusp of something new. Under the guise of Shura, the 23-year-old East London singer and producer was responsible for one of 2014’s brightest revelations in “Touch”, a slinky future-looking throwback that has since opened a number of doors for her and for anyone with a vested interest in pop music.

Her retro-isms have married with the au courant position of the pop cultural needle in hushed resplendence, placing her in the same ranks as Blood Orange, Kindness and Ariel Rechtshaid.

But unlike these established names who’ve posited their vision of a new pop in a distinctive but binding style, Shura, in her own words lets on, “I’m not trained, I can’t read music, I just press things and hope for the best”.

Born to an English father and Russian mother in Manchester, Shura developed a fascination for not music per se but sounds at the first blush of her teenage years.

Watching her guitarist father play made her want to graduate from “bashing pots in the kitchen” to “make a noise with the guitar”, and

develop her own style of playing, influenced as she was by equal measures of Pink Floyd and Elton John. A series of buzz-garnering open mic nights later, London DJ-producer Hiatus dialled her up for a collab in the crystalline 2013 house-pop track “River”. This ignited her desire to produce her own songs, leading to a six-month seclusion in South America, where in near-solitude, her 2014 gems took shape.

The first was “Touch”, which she describes as the “spaghetti junction” of a breakup. Distilling Madonna’s new wave-y inclinations, TLC’s smoulder-purrs and evening-sky tropicalia into a pop-perfect earworm, she evinced her intent and chops as an auteur.

Then came the surprisingly upbeat turnaround of “Indecision”, whose unabashed guitar solo taught the world a lesson in not putting her in a box. On the strength of these two singles, Polydor invited her into its stables and she accepted, promising a record early this year. For ethereality with a redblooded verve, we won’t have to wait too long.

Shopping 34

Saint Laurent Glitter finish leather ankle boots

Kate Spade New York Las Vegas jacques coat Etro Spring/ Summer 2015

Moschino Spring/ Summer 2015

Dolce & Gabbana Handbag

Alexander Wang Cropped metallic top

Joan Lindsay Picnic at Hanging Rock

Jonathan Saunders Satin bomber jacket

TICKLED PINK Make 2015’s first blush a rosy one

Burberry Brit Slim-fit cotton shirt

American Apparel Dancing shoe in hot pink

Text & styling: Min Chen

Roksanda Ilincic Tilton silk crepe de chine midi skirt

Miss Selfridge Patterned shift dress

Carven Molleton print passport sweatshirt

Chanel Plexiglas and resin clutch

Shopping 35

Charlotte Olympia Naughty Pandora clutch in yellow Michael Kors Spring/ Summer 2015

Dior Homme Spring/ Summer 2015

Coach C.O.A.C.H. Lime Rhyder

Rains Jacket

Fendi Leather pumps

Converse 1970s Chuck Taylor Sneakers

MELLOW YELLOW A dose of sunshine never hurt anyone

Bimba Y Lola Shirt with contrast collar

Text & styling: Min Chen

Topshop Circle jacquard turtleneck

The Velvet Underground & Nico The Velvet Underground & Nico

Odd Future Dolphin donut socks

Pull & Bear Coat

Stradivarius Tie belt

COS Hooded pullover

Acne Studios Bermuda shorts

Paint 36

Maybelline HyperSharp Wing Liner

NARS Nail Polish in Delos

Aesop Skin Purifying Cream Cleanser

Bobbi Brown Warm Eye Palette

Anna Calvi

Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat Radiant Touch in Luminous Radiance

H&M Ring set

CHERRY BOMB!

Eyeko Me & My Shadow Waterproof Shadow Liner in Charcoal

Fire up your beauty kit with a dash of red-hot passion Words & styling: Min Chen

M.A.C. Red Red Red Casual Color in Out For Fun

Collection Urbanista Lip Crayon in After Hours

RMK W Color Mascara in Black & Pink

M.A.C. Red Red Red Cremesheen Glass in Meteoric

Urban Decay Naked Foundation in Medium Neutral

Paint 37

FLAMING LIPS A sassy to seductive host of lip colours to keep your smile in place. Say cheese!

Words & styling: Min Chen

Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Lipstick in Envious A rich, feisty and untamed fire-engine red

Urban Decay Sheer Revolution Lipstick in Rapture A sheer shade of dusty rose

Bobbi Brown Creamy Matte Lip Color in Warm Nude A sumptuous nude that’s far from naked

Dior Rouge Dior Baume in 988 Nuit Rose A twilit dose of red that’ll remain radiant in the shadows

NARS Audacious Lipstick in Angela A hot flush in one provocative orchid-pink hue

Marc Jacobs Beauty Kiss Pop Color Stick in Pop-arazzi A fabulous shade of pink to put all pastels to shame

Clinique Chubby Stick Lip Color Balm in Voluptuous Violet A serious plum you can’t go wrong with

Sephora Brilliant Jumbo Cheeks & Lips in Pleasant Plum An exuberant pop of plum

M.A.C Ultimate Lipstick in Soft Pout A sweet entry of pearly pink-peach

Chanel Rouge Allure in Virevoltante A seductive and smoky tint of rose

Profile 38

JACK OF HEARTS

Kele takes time off from Bloc Party to dance and dream, and his latest album Trick has everything to show for it Words: Indran P In 2014, Kele Okereke released his second solo full-length album Trick. Following one prior album and a subsequent EP of electro-minded, synth-glazed dance offerings, Trick seemed to indicate that the Bloc Party frontman was venturing further and further afield from the rousing, arena-quaking rock style the band had its name on for much of the aughts. And judging from the strident, neon-lit beats and liquid grooves, it was all but apparent that Kele was poised and comfortable in his new incarnation as the head of the pulpit on the dancefloor. But even when it arrived and especially so now, Trick complicates all of that. Emanating an ethereality and sensuousness uncommon in popular dance styles, the record showed Kele to be up to something else entirely.

And as we learnt from him, he really was.

“Intimate” and “immersive”just like its maker describes it, Trick signifies another career milestone for Kele: that of producer. As one of the most recognisable faces of millennial indie rock, Kele was responsible for rekindling interest in guitar-centric, outlier forms of rock on a global scale.

Stepping behind the boards and eventually making his own beats on Trick, Kele flexed crossover muscle unlike many of his peers.

As he tells us, the “whole idea” of even making a second solo record came to him “in between tours with Bloc Party”, adding that, over time, “the songs started to happen” during the lulls on the road. And though he acknowledges that the process

that bore Trick wasn’t that much different from that of his earlier records in that “[he] was still working by [himself]”, the thorough change-up in sensibility was evident from the get-go.

The urgent, teetering “Doubt” was Kele’s first reveal of his house-ier, sleeker guise. Alchemically fusing the hook-readiness of pop with the spatiality of house, it lent an irresistibly kinetic force to Kele’s lovelorn appeals, and in its three minutes, enshrined a dynamic best described by Kele as “a gospel-house sound made darker and more sinister along the way”. Giving this chiaroscuro dance hybrid a soulful resonance was a heightened r&b influence, and Kele affirms that while he was always a fan of the sound, on Trick he took his love of r&b “to the

forefront”. And as other standout tracks like, “First Impressions” and “Year Zero” were released into the ether, it was becoming increasingly clear that just as he had helmed Bloc Party’s evolution, he was now responding to the changing dimensions of the zeitgeist by chipping away at it himself.

“That’s kind of where my head’s at right now”, is Kele’s take on his electronic turn. From Silent Alarm to Trick, it’s been a privilege to bear witness to his implacable creative tension. Asked if he’d be stopping by our shores to serve up his tricks in the flesh, his, “I hope so. That would be super awesome,” is reason enough for us to cross our fingers.

Trick is out now on Lilac Records

Mix 39

IN LUSH COMPANY WITH

NOMSTA, ALDRIN AND BRENDON P

Keep that dial on Lush 99.5FM!

Three Lush Mix DJs spread the good word Words: Indran P

IN THE BEGINNING

Brendon P: Music was used to keep me quiet as a child. I listened to a lot of psych-rock like early Deep Purple thanks to my older cousin until I could buy my own records. I brought a Kraftwerk record in ’76 or ’77 for $2 and it spoke to the boom in the scene that brought Depeche Mode and the Human League into our lives.

Aldrin: At the turn of the ‘80s, the rise of the synthesizer and the fact that you could use it to make all these sounds that the bands were making was mind-blowing to me.

I was hooked on electronic music then and I’ve never turned back.

Nomsta: I worked in a record label and subsequently a dance label which was my first professional foray into electronic music. From releasing the work of other artists and DJ-ing myself, I just got more and more into it.

UNIQUELY SINGAPORE

Brendon P: I think the local electronic music scene’s in a good place. But I think that in order for it to get even better, mindsets have to change. People have to start going out more and being more particular about a good night out.

Right now, things are promising.

Aldrin: With the current music trends being what they are, more people who’d never have listened to dance music are now listening to dance music – this is a good thing. But I also feel that people should be more musically adventurous.

Nomsta: We’re always at a good crossroads because we get so much exposure. We have iconic clubs, festivals and recently, summits, but I also feel that people should study the history of all the music they’re consuming.

LUSH RULES

Brendon P: Lush matters so much because it offers people something alternative, something apart from either the retro or mainstream norms. We lack quality programming and Lush fills that void by playing all kinds of music.

Aldrin: It’s the only indie station right now and it provides something that none of the other stations do. Whatever’s played on Lush is niche and it has done really well for Singapore in terms of trying to inform and educate the public.

Nomsta: I feel like Lush is the only station that isn’t rigidly formatted. While the others follow Top 40 programming, it has club DJs playing sets, alternative/ indie sounds and just a great aesthetic.

PAYING PROPS

Brendon P: Shouts out to Cosmic Armchair and In Each Hand A Cutlass. And to The Observatory, one of my favourite bands. There’s so much to like.

Nomsta: I’ve mad respect for the guys that are running labels like Aldrin, Kiat, Dean and Kaye, Kavan and the people behind Dustpan Records. They are creating progression for Singapore. Kudos also to Vanessa Fernandez, Jason Tan and Michaela Therese, our own Badu.

Aldrin: Yes. It’s good to see that Singapore has finally stepped up with labels and music production.

Hopefully more locals give support by buying the records and coming for the nights.

Talk 40

A NEW G THANG

Rather than walk the established lanes and adhere to prescribed roles, Khalif Diouf aka Le1f is breaking the codes of conduct of the rap game one unquantifiable beat at a time. The openly gay rapper’s 2012 heretical breakout hit “Wut” sounded the loudest note of the birth cry of the indie/altrap phenomenon, laying the bricks to his excellent Hey EP released last year.

Before his performance at the official preZoukout 2014 party held in conjunction with the Red Bull Music Academy, he gave us the lowdown on rap’s new dawn.

Words: Indran P Are you enjoying the “Hey Asia!” tour so far?

Yes! It’s been really cool so far.

The shows have been three-forthree. The biggest highlight for me was Clockenflap. There were six stages and even though we were a musical outlier and the only rap act of the day, we still packed out our show. It was just really fun!

So did you ever think an Asian audience would react this positively to hip hop?

I don’t know if I can generalise it, because I had a show in Tokyo where people enjoyed themselves but it was more of a fashion crowd in that people mostly had their phones out snapping pictures instead of dancing. But then, just after, we played Seoul and people were moshing! Bangkok was definitely intense too. So I think it’s a good mix. The thing with the phones is quite funny because I’ve noticed that it isn’t just an Asian thing. It happens a bit in New York too, and especially in LA.

Talk 41

We can’t imagine a crowd that doesn’t dance to your music.

Oh, it definitely happens. Like in LA, I feel like they have the privilege of having too many shows so people don’t really care much about any particular one.

My friend Azealia Banks plays these ritzy shows where people do move to the music but I don’t think my fans would want to go to a black tie club in New York.

On the topic of dance, you have a background in classical dance and ballet. How did rap happen for you then?

I always wanted to be a vocalist as a teenager, but I’m still a bad singer! So I guess the only option was to rap. I saw M.I.A.’s video for “Galang” one day and I said to myself, “I’m doing that!” This was in 2004 and it finally happened.

The first reveal of you as Le1f was Das Racist’s “Combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell”. How did you hook up with those guys and what would you say your vision for the track was?

Well, I was very heavily into making beats at the time and I went through a moment where I wanted to make vogue beats that were divisive and not straightforward. That’s when I made that beat. I always thought it’d be something I’d rap over but I just couldn’t hear myself on it.

The summer before college, I got introduced to Himanshu [from Das Racist] by my DJ, who used to live with him. I spent five days a week on their couch and one day, I gave him a bunch of beats I had made and that was one of them.

We recorded it on GarageBand one drunken night.

Likewise, “Wut” has become a bona fide sensation.

That was really a fluke! I had all of Dark York, my first mixtape, done before I made that song. The session of the song that was next on the tracklist after it, “Yup”, got erased and I asked a friend to give me a beat by the next day. He asked me what the reference was and I said, “Swizz Beatz!” Once he gave me that beat, I just made it into a new song. Even though it wasn’t my process at the time because I was very meticulous, it became what it is because it’s such a cool beat. It really came out of nowhere and became a standout.

Lyrically, though, would you say that it represents your style?

No. Weirdly enough, it’s one of my few happy songs. But it definitely was the first time I felt comfortable just writing freely, without overthinking every word.

I’m happy that it worked.

Your performance of the song on The Late Show with David Letterman definitely broke the Internet when its clip surfaced.

That was another fluke! Oh man, that performance was so surreal to me. I remember seeing Brazilian Girls on Jimmy Kimmel when I was a kid and the fact that it was considered mainstream then really appealed to me. Just to be considered on that level and to have that opportunity to do something like that is really major for me. I’m from Midtown; I live six blocks away from the Letterman show. That was a really big moment.

You signed to XL and released the Hey EP earlier in the year. How big a change was this from your earlier work?

The biggest difference was that I tried to make more songs like “Wut” and “Hey”. I just wanted to play with the idea of making pop-rap songs because this mode was so foreign to me before. I thought it would be new, you know? I feel like there are a lot of artists who make a sound and try to be consistent about it, but I’m definitely the opposite. Since I’ve shied away from making pop songs, I took the EP opportunity to do that. It’s self-satisfying pop music.

In light of the tragedies involving Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown and Eric Gardner, the line, “Ask a gay question / Here’s a black answer”, on “Hey” is extremely timely and powerful.

Thank you so much. That was a definite response to a lot of the press I was getting after the “Wut” video. I was definitely having a lot of frustrations at the time with the media trying to make “gay rap” a thing, as though it was a genre or a scene. It wasn’t ever about any fixed identity as much as it was about people who appreciated good production.

I wanted to address the fact that my biggest concerns about identity are about race which is what I struggle with daily. I am

a black man, first and foremost.

The viral-ness of “gay rap” as a hashtag is two years old already.

It’s known that you’re very much inspired by indie artists like Björk and Animal Collective. What other indie/experimental acts interest you?

I like all the indie rappers on XL, Dizzee Rascal and M.I.A., as far as rap goes. My favourite singer is Erlend Øye from Kings of Convenience. Adult, Crystal Castles and Death Grips are also on my iPod all the time. The beauty of the Internet is that it brings all these progressive sounds together now. Whether you’re an artist with a broken MacBook or one with an Interscope record deal, you’re now exposed to all these sounds. When I saw Beyoncé listening to Feist in her documentary, I knew everyone was down!

Lastly, what can we expect from your upcoming debut album?

It’s almost done! Blood Orange is on it and so are Lunice, Balam Acab and some others. I’m so excited to have it out soon!

The Hey EP is out now on Terrible Records/XL Recordings

Talk 42

A SPACE ODYSSEY

Scott Hansen is a multi-hyphenate phenomenon.

For more than a decade, his incarnations as ISO50 and Tycho have been responsible for mixed-media graphic design and sweeping soundscapes that likewise swirl electronic elements and live instrumentation into productions of interstellar scale. Last year, he served up his magnum opus in Awake, an album that saw him record with a full band, expanding his expressive gifts remarkably. He gives us the following peek into his pullulating universe, and as you’ll find out, it was a dazzling trip.

Words: Indran P

Talk 43

What’s kept you busy lately?

I’ve been working on a remix for the Spoon song, “Inside Out”, and doing some graphic design for the Lightning in a Bottle festival which we’ll be playing at next summer.

Congrats on the brilliant Awake.

How do you feel about the record’s positive reception?

I’m very satisfied with how the record came out and overwhelmed by the reaction that followed. We’ve been really fortunate this year.

You’ve said that Awake is “the first real Tycho album”. Please elaborate.

I just felt like it was the first time all the years of learning and practicing came together in a single work. It was also the first time I worked so closely with other musicians (Zac Brown and Rory O’ Connor) and I think that helped finally to achieve the vision I had for this thing all along.

Awake also marked the first time you recorded with a full-band set-up and live instrumentation.

How different was this experience from that of your earlier work?

The experience was definitely a lot smoother and more inspired.

It took nearly five years to write and complete Dive; Awake took eight months. Working with Zac and Rory made the process fun again for me and added a new dimension to the music.

Much has been made in the critical press about Awake being the culmination of all your endeavours so far. Do you feel the same way?

I think Awake was a moment in my career where a larger group of people were introduced to this overall vision in its entirety, and for me that was very gratifying.

But although it may look like a culmination from the outside, I’d like to think that it’s just one step along the way of a long evolution.

You’ve also said that the album was inspired by “wide-open spaces” and to this end, “Montana” is definitely one of the album’s highlights. What does Montana mean to you in relation to the song’s post-rock and shoegaze-leaning sounds?

I had been messing around with that main riff from “Montana” for a long time and to me it just felt big, like some of the things I had seen driving across the US. It feels hopeful, like moving through new spaces, new experiences. There’s also something about that guitar sound that conjures up some kind of Western imagery for me.

If Awake is an exploration of space, then the closer “Plains” provides haunting closure with its fizzing white noise and eventual silence. How do you see it in the context of the album?

There is a narrative arc to the record and this is the farewell, I guess. The end of any record is the symbolic laying to rest of a period in your life and this is its elegy.

How does your work as Tycho stand in relation to what you do as ISO50? And what is the relationship between your music and your visual art?

The visual work and the music are just different facets of an overall vision. I don’t see any real separation between the ideas and emotions I’m trying to build into both.

Making the kind of music you do, how much do vocals mean to you in any song?

Vocals have always been a strange thing for me: on one hand I love listening to them and listen to vocal music almost exclusively.

But on the other hand they rarely, if ever, occur to me in my own music. I just don’t really hear the space they would occupy and I suppose the ideas and emotions that I’m trying to relate with the songs can’t really be summed up in words, at least not any that I could write. I do hope to someday work with more vocalists though, perhaps outside the context of Tycho.

What are you looking forward to the most about playing in Singapore?

Just being there, I’ve never visited so I’m excited to see what it’s like.

Catch Tycho live @ the Victoria Theatre on 15 January. Tickets are $65 and available at SISTIC Awake is out now on Ghostly International

Talk 44

THERE IS A LIGHT Words: Indran P

Channelling the West Coast into flurried drums, filigreed harmonies and earthy textures on their 2009 debut Gorilla Manor, California’s Local Natives charmed their way to indie rock’s A-list with songs that though born of sunshine, belied the complexity of the daily dramas of human existence.

Then, in 2013, they turned in the majestic Hummingbird, perfectly lining their fraught narratives with a gold lining of hope and release. Before they lent their stirring sounds to Urbanscapes 2014, guitarist Ryan Hahn filled us in on his band’s unrelenting drive.

Talk 45

THAT NEVER GOES OUT What’s the latest on the Local Natives?

We’ve been building a new rehearsal space and working on some new songs. Basically, we found this really cool warehouse and we were able to set up our gear and a bunch of microphones.

It’s just great that we have a semi-professional place to work on our songs and we’re excited to see what we can do with it.

Does that mean there’s going to be a new album?

You know, we’re always working on new music and right now, we’re really trying to make new songs come together. There isn’t really a release date in mind but it’s safe to say that we’re working on our new record.

And how do you feel about where the band’s at now?

It honestly feels great. I think we’ve accomplished a lot of the things that we set out to do and it’s good to see people responding to us trying to push ourselves to bigger and better things. It’s been a crazy past year for us; we spent 11 and a half months on tour, went to new places and met new people. Our biggest milestone also happened last year when we played our biggest show ever, in California at the Greek Theatre. We never thought we’d get to play there this early on but it actually happened, to our utmost surprise.

And musically, what’s been the biggest stride from Gorilla Manor to Hummingbird?

Collectively, we just wanted to explore different sounds and textures. This definitely led us to try different songwriting methods that we wouldn’t have before.

Picking up different instruments and not just writing songs on guitar was also another big change on Hummingbird. We messed around with a lot more synthetic elements and worked on the computer a lot more too. A lot of the darker tones on the record came about from this. I think we’ll always continue to evolve; the songs on the new record are also different from anything that came before.

It is indeed a startlingly darker record; you touch on death, depression and homelessness.

We had this weird mixture of having the greatest years of our lives, where we were travelling, playing music and doing all the things we’d always wanted to do, and at the same time, having to deal with the curveballs that life threw at us. Some heavy personal things happened; Kelcey’s [singerkeyboardist] mother passed away and we had personal issues we were dealing with. I think we just used the songs to work through our emotions as a cathartic process.

And personally, how would you say you’ve changed?

It’s interesting that with music, you grow in ways you don’t even consciously intend. That’s why our musical interests change without us being able to help it. Right now, I’m into a lot of stuff I probably wouldn’t have spent much time with when I was 20 and working on Gorilla Manor. I’ve been enjoying a lot more electronic stuff like Aphex Twin, Jamie xx and even ‘90s legends like DJ Shadow.

Your standout songs like “Cards & Quarters” and “Heavy Feet” boast a traditionalist approach in the intricacy of their harmonies. Do you see this as something that’s missing in contemporary music?

No, I think it’s just something that happens when you have multiple songwriters and singers in a band.

We just grew up with each other musically and gravitated towards this way of playing. It comes automatically to us when we’re rehearsing new songs and we’re always finding interesting ways to present it. I wouldn’t say that this is missing in what other new bands are doing. It just makes us more unique.

You’ve been described as a “West Coast Grizzly Bear”. What do you make of that comparison?

It’s obviously flattering! They’re such an incredible band and they’ve made a really unique mark on the musical landscape. I take that as a compliment but it’s hard

for me to wrap my head around that because we’re so different, musically. I think there’s a surfacelevel thing where people can connect our harmonies and our more intricate arrangements, but I would definitely venture to say that we’re two different bands.

Much has been made about the sunkissed nature of your songs.

Does the California landscape influence your music at all?

That’s a good question. I don’t think we realised it until we left home to tour and people started saying that they heard a “California sound” in our music.

I don’t think we ever thought about it but after having travelled, we realised that California is this unique place where there’s a lot of sunlight and I have to think that it influences us in an unconscious way. I wouldn’t say that we set out for that kind of effect because it’s from our experiences of having grown up here.

And what have you heard about the sunny weather in Asia?

I actually lived in Singapore for four years! I grew up there. My dad was in the US military and he was stationed there. We lived in Sembawang from about 19941998. I’ve also been to Malaysia with my family a few times. Having lived there, I just have a special connection with that part of Asia.

It’d be nice to play there more.

Talk 46

There is magic all around us and Courtney Barnett sees it all. Last year, the 26-year-old singersongwriter and visionary guitarist released The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas, a collection of songs that elevated the ho-hum facts of everyday life to genuine artistic concern. As a foretaste, its lead single, the spry, morning sun psych-folk hit “Avant Gardener”, saw her weeding her lawn before ending up in an ambulance after suffering from anaphylactic shock. Yes. In hopes that we could see the marvels she sees, we checked in with a pre-Laneway Courtney and she helped us along with characteristic cool.

Words: Indran P You had a fantastic 2014. How would you sum up the year?

It’s just been crazy. Everything about it was pretty overwhelming.

I made lots of new friends, toured overseas, played some big festivals and just got exposed to so much more. It was a huge experience.

I never expected any of this happen.

And your 2015’s already gearing up to be a good one with your date with Laneway Festival Singapore. Are you excited?

Of course! I’ve never been there so I’m sure everything will be interesting! I also heard that the weather will be hot and I like that.

That’s exciting enough for me!

And how do you feel about the success of The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas?

I’m still amazed that so many people connect with it and like it. That’s been one of the best things about all this. Even though the songs are autobiographical, I really didn’t think about them in that way when I was writing them since I was writing for the sake of it. They’re about pretty ordinary things and ideas and I guess a lot of people had similar thoughts and emotions and went through similar situations, so there was quite a bit of common ground for a connection.

Yes, “Avant Gardener” definitely resounded with many.

What’s so funny about that song is that it just happened! A couple of weeks after I had that accident, I was trying to write a song and I started writing about that.

The music was kind of separate but everything fit after I put it together.

Given the observational style of your songwriting, is that how your songs typically start?

Well, there isn’t a strict routine or formula that I follow. I wouldn’t say I believe in any strict ideas as well. My songs just come out of an organic process.

That’s definitely evident in your lyricism, which describes everyday phenomena with a certain measure of poetry.

It’s just the way I write. I try to make things interesting for myself. If I know that I’m going to sing a song, I’m going to have an amusing image just for me. I don’t even know if people would get it or not but it’s more interesting for me than writing any other way. Sometimes I edit a lot and sometimes I let the song flow as it is. But it depends on the song, mostly. Sometimes it can just come out easily and sometimes I edit, even over a period of months. It’s a very varied thing.

Writing of this nature almost always has a cathartic bent.

Would you say the same about how you approach your songs?

Yes. I write to come to terms with certain ideas I’m having or certain problems I’m facing, and whatever I reveal in the process is necessary for my understanding of them.

For me, that’s the purpose of songwriting.

You’ve also been widely hailed as a remarkable guitarist and “Canned Tomatoes” testifies to that. Is your musicality also spontaneous in its essence?

That song was fun to write because it has just one chord. I was trying to see how interesting a song could be with just one chord.

That’s why it has the dynamic between how it starts and how it ends. I remember listening to a lot of Sonic Youth when I was writing that song and that was my inspiration. But there’s a lot of different stuff that I like. There’s The Drones; I think Steven Malkmus is a great guitarist, and I also love PJ Harvey.

Much of the critical press has also described your sound as ‘60s-inspired.

If people think that, they’re most certainly entitled to their opinion.

But I don’t really stick with one genre or era at all. I just listen to a lot of different kinds of music and it inspires me in different ways. I’m definitely not stuck in the past. A lot of the media has also compared me to Bob Dylan and that’s crazy. He’s brilliant and that’s a silly comparison to make!

How do you feel about the “slacker rock” tag that’s also been tacked on your music then?

Again, I don’t fully understand the term but people interpret it in different ways. Whatever it means to them is what it means to them. I guess it means something seemingly effortless or lazy, but I don’t think about it at all.

You covered the Breeders’ “Cannonball” recently. Are you also inspired by the ‘90s?

Oh yes, totally. I love ‘90s music. I grew up on that stuff and I listen to it all the time. It’s what inspired me to start making music. I got to sing with The Lemonheads at a recent show and it was incredible. It was the weirdest experience ever; I really didn’t see it coming!

2014 was also a great year for women in music. How does it feel to be part of this phenomenon?

I think it’s amazing that there’s this presence that women have in music right now. It’s not just me. There are so many bands with women that are doing great stuff their way. It’s cool that this is happening.

Catch Courtney Barnett at Laneway Festival Singapore 24 January. Page 48 carries the full story. Tickets are $165 and available from SISTIC and Eventclique.

EVERYDAY WONDERS

Talk 47

Feature 48

LANEWAY, HERE WE COME! Before Laneway Festival Singapore 2015 hits us with its best shot yet, we line up everything you need to know about this musical high Words: Min Chen

Feature 49

WHAT’S GREATEST HITS: A RUNDOWN OF LANEWAY’S THE STORY? STELLAR TRACK RECORD Photography: Aloysius Lim, Alvin Ho, Glenn Yong, Min Chen and Rueven Tan

At this point, any musiclovin’ punter should be on familiar terms with Laneway Festival. With its four previous Singaporean editions, the Australiaborn festival has unveiled an unparalleled taste in music that’s seen it fill its bills with quality indie and electronic acts. Amongst its past line-ups have been up-and-comers, crowd-pleasers, leftfielders and long-standing luminaries, all of whom have been crammed into one exceptional day. No surprises, then, that while it’s certainly a long way to travel from the alleyways of Melbourne to massive stages in Auckland, Detroit and Singapore, Laneway’s done so in but a few sure strides.

Now on its fifth stop in Singapore, Laneway Festival has lined up another homerun of a programme that runs the sonic spectrum from alt-r&b to nu-soul to oldschool indie to post-punk to Scandinavian pop.

However you class them, these acts are gonna be fresh right down to the core. As you get well and ready for another great installment, we’ve put together a humble guide to help you navigate Laneway 2015’s many musical heights. We’ll see you at front row.

2011 However rain-soaked Laneway’s first Singaporean date may have been, it didn’t stop a good amount of indie die-hards from braving Fort Canning Park’s muddy field for a taste of Warpaint, Beach House, Deerhunter, Yeasayer, !!! and Foals.

2012 Laneway levelled up in its second year with a bill heavy with indietronic highlights, with the diverse likes of Toro Y Moi, Anna Calvi, Cults, Feist, Laura Marling and The Horrors ensuring something for everyone. Twin Shadow gives away his guitar and Christopher Owens gets choked up during a tribute to the late Whitney Houston.

2014 Laneway arrives at island domination. 2014 saw it rope in Chvrches, Haim, Savages, James Blake and Kurt Vile to do the honours, while expanding its scope to include a Cloud Stage, where Jamie xx, Vandetta and XXYYXX unleashed leftfield grooves.

2013 Building a rep for sending the freshest sounds and artistes our way, Laneway 2013 shifts its grounds to Gardens by The Bay, and brought us the up-and-coming likes of Alt-J and Polica, surefire hits like Kings of Convenience, outliers like Nicolas Jaar, and the downright divine Divine Fits and Bat For Lashes.

Want more Laneway memories?

Follow @lanewayfestsg for its sweet weekly drops of throwback Thursdays, and go submit your own #lanewaysgtbt

Feature 50

COMING ATTRACTIONS: WHO’S HEADING DOWN

BY WAY OF LANEWAY 2015

CHET FAKER

The scoop Aptly enough, Chet Faker announced himself to the world with a cover of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity”, which bore the soulful and downtempo groove that’s since made Faker’s rep.

Chet’s twilit trip hop would go on to do more, filling Built on Glass, his 2014 debut album, which envelopes its listener with its slinky and organic production, and a jazz-appreciating yet pop-hugging aesthetic.

LITTLE DRAGON

ST. VINCENT

The scoop What’s to say about St. Vincent that won’t be a startling understatement? Since emerging in 2007, Annie Clark has only grown in confidence, inventiveness and fearlessness as she continues to produce indie-rock of singular and challenging proportions.

Released last year, her fifth selftitled record was a knock-out from its jagged aesthetic right down to its emotional clarity, making it only slightly more fantastic than its maker. But then again, we’re just understating things.

She says “It’s always a balancing act, inviting in the chaos, the variables and then managing them.”

HANGING UP THE MOON

ROYAL BLOOD

The scoop Loud and living proof that rock is far from dead, Royal Blood trades in riffage and drummage that are heavy and muscular enough to shred the eardrums off the hardiest Zeppelin fan. “Out of The Black” and “Figure it Out” were just some highlights off the Brighton twopiece’s first long-player, which itself wasn’t shy about turbocharging its way into the charts and hell yes, Jimmy Page’s good books (“It’s music of tremendous quality,” said he).

They say “I certainly don’t feel we’re part of a revival, or anything like that. I don’t think there’s anything to be revived!”

The scoop A solo outing by Concave Scream’s Sean Lam, Hanging Up The Moon has quietly inserted itself into the local band scene, first with the lo-fi folk of its 2011 debut album and 2013’s follow-up, The Biggest Lie in the World. The latter expands on Lam’s acoustic soundscapes with help from collaborators like The Observatory’s Leslie Low, and like the heartfelt introspection that spawned it, should be wellcherished.

The scoop Two decades after coming together, Little Dragon has still got it goin’ on. Behold: “Klapp Klapp”, the first single off the Swedish band’s fourth and recent Nabuma Rubberband, a slice of indietronic magic that in its urgency and assuredness (and irresistible downtempo bassline), lets us in on Little Dragon’s continued widescreen vision.

They say “We always aim for a ‘fat sound’ that’s electronic but still organic. I’d say we play electroorganic music.”

COURTNEY BARNETT PASTEL LITE

The scoop Naming itself Pastel Lite after deeming its early songs “light and happy”, this Malaysian pair has since stretched its sonic palette to eclipse even that humble moniker. Besides sporting masterly electronic strokes, the band’s numbers like “Underdog” and “Gold” are testament to its experimental drive and make it all too deserving of all this attention.

The scoop Courtney Barnett earned her stripes playing guitar within Melbourne’s indie scene, but with the international release of The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas in 2013, there’s no hiding her highly articulate sonic narratives. Within The Double EP are collected Dylan-esque rambles about gardening, daydreams and parental concerns, all of them set to an indie rock beat worthy of whip-smart Liz Phair.

Feature 51

.GIF

The scoop For every good reason has .gif’s rise amongst our music community been swift. The duo’s blissful and fluid electronic jams are accomplished affairs, whilst its live sets are evidence of its experimental concerns. Following showings at Baybeats and Lomography’s Blue Hour Sessions, .gif’s festival debut will nudge them further into your playlist.

JUNGLE

BANKS

The scoop No mere bleep on the Internet’s hypebeat, Jillian Banks’ alternative approach to rhythm and beats bore fruit last year with the excellent Goddess. A splendid rendition of her sonic gifts and ambition, the album may be a gloomy and slow burn, but in its unflinching emotional honesty, hides none of BANKS’ sensuality and red-blooded soul.

She says “I just make and I just write. It just comes out; nothing is logical, premeditated or planned about my music.”

The scoop Jungle may have found life in the bedrooms of Tom McFarland and Josh Lloyd-Watson, though evidently enough, those narrow confines were never enough to contain its wild and wonderful funk.

Now expanded to a full band line-up, the UK collective’s first album was a dancefloor-inclined blend of old school soul, tropical textures, soaring choruses and that inescapable groove that’s left critics and listeners in a sweat.

They say “Does it sound good and does it make you feel good? Those are the two rules for making music for us.”

FKA TWIGS

ENTERPRISE

The scoop When not flying the flag for dance-rock in Malaysia, Enterprise just wants to party.

And you can tell from the fivepiece’s upbeat synthscapes, which however dotted with nu-gaze textures, also carry sweet riffs and pop hooks to ensure both ends of “dance” and “rock” are served.

Not for nothing is one of its tracks titled “LHFT”, ie. Let’s Have Fun Tonight. Let’s, indeed.

The scoop Standing tall amongst 2014 crop of newbies is Tahliah Barnett. Better known as FKA twigs, not only has she retooled r&b with an electronic and experimental hand on twin EPs (notable for “Water Me” and “Ache”), her full-length LP1 was a monumental revelation of the breadth of her singularity, skill and sonic innovation. The future is bright and FKA twigs is already waiting for us there.

She says “It’s interesting to be constantly challenged and pushed by ideas and to have people chasing your tail. I thrive on this.”

JON HOPKINS

The scoop He may come from ambient heritage (with a Brian Eno collab to show for it), but with his accomplished breakthrough, Immunity, Jon Hopkins proves that he too knows his way around a warm, pulsating dance tune.

Covering both the meditative and hedonistic ends of the musical spectrum is no ordinary feat, but then, Hopkins, he of exceptional craft and nuance, is no ordinary producer.

He says “I love that contrast of the intense and aggressive parts dissipating into melancholy and a beautiful kind of warmth.”

POND

The scoop Working like an all-star social experiment amidst Perth’s musical community, Pond doesn’t just feature a revolving line-up (with members culled from the stables of Tame Impala, The Growl and The Silents), but a multihued sound to match. Listen in on the collaborative collective’s past efforts like Hobo Rocket for a thrilling taste of its psychedelic and rock expertise and look forward to Man, It Feels Like Space Again, which is due for release on the eve of Laneway.

They say “That sort of unclassifiability is ultimate.” (see more on page 26)

EAGULLS

The scoop Typical of youth and post-punks, Eagulls wield a restlessness in the flesh, a ramshackle ferocity on stage and fuzzed-out intensity on record.

After four good years of plying its trade on roughshod singles (released on cassette and 7”, of course), the band’s debut record hit home last year, uncovering the band’s abrasive marriage of hardcore and shoegaze. It’s tense, loud and best of all, unapologetically so.

They say “We’re not really bothered what type of music people think we are – let them pick.”

Feature 52

MORE THAN A FEELING: A PLAYLIST TO STOKE YOUR FESTIVAL FIRES Rustie: “Attak (feat. Danny Brown)” With help from Danny Brown, nothing gets held back on here

ANGUS & JULIA STONE

The scoop The Stone siblings’ alluring folk-pop has served them well, informing their three LPs with a joyous authenticity, whilst landing them chart hits in their native Australia and beyond. Rick Rubin himself commanded the production on the duo’s recent self-titled record – which is ripe with feeling, harmonies and a new experimentation – and reckons them “pure people who do things from the heart”. Word.

They say “A good song is kind of a doorway into the house of the rest of the things that you love.”

Mac DeMarco: “Freaking Out The Neighbourhood” Mac needn’t apologise, but at least he’s doing it to a psych-perfect guitar line

RUSTIE

The scoop Maximalism is the name of Rustie’s game, which sees the Scottish producer deftly juggle beats and bleeps as he does concepts like trap, dubstep, r&b and electro-funk. But no idle big-room bluster, he’s also in possession of some keen instincts and sharp restraint that made his 2011 debut the supernova triumph it was, and that saw last year’s Green Language follow up with a grace, maturity and continued dazzling impact. Top marks.

MAC DEMARCO

The scoop When a guy labels his style of music as “jizz jazz”, you know he ain’t gonna be serious about being serious. Hence Mac DeMarco’s wickedly playful run of fuzz-pop tracks that are way too breezy and lazy to remove tongue from cheek. And though Mac’s newest, Polaris-nominated Salad Days bears evidence of his tour fatigue, the off-kilter brilliance on display here is far from tired out.

He says “It’s worth remembering that, sure, the crowd want to rock, but most nights, so do I.”

BANKS: “Beggin For Thread” Jillian at her dusky, sensuous and pop-hooky best Royal Blood: “Figure it Out” Play this one at maximum volume; Josh Homme won’t mind

Chet Faker: “Gold” Newschooled trip hop (with bonus handclaps) that goes down smooth and soulful Jungle: “Platoon” A sly slice of funk that rumbles in all the right places Eagulls: “Tough Luck” Bristly and bristling with enough grit to rival an early Clash

FUTURE ISLANDS

The scoop After three years of approaching synth-pop with headlong abandon, Future Islands finessed things to bring us Singles in 2014. Informed by a soaring confidence, the album was pristine from its polished pop to its lush production to its empowered delivery. It’s a bold new adventure for the band, as beautifully captured on The Late Show with David Letterman as on “A Song For Our Grandfathers” with the plain urging: “Let’s be brave.”

They say “We haven’t been working hard for years so that we could not do the big things.”

Jon Hopkins: “Open Eye Signal” The divine result of a dirty synth and a techno backbeat

Courtney Barnett: “Avant Gardener” Still the finest indie tribute to the art of gardening St. Vincent: “Birth in Reverse” Annie Clark’s crunchy and uncompromising “report from the edge”

FKA twigs: “Two Weeks” Desire rendered with voluptuous ethereality and utter breathlessness

Hanging Up The Moon: “Wild Thing Ginger” A folksy, ukulele-led ode to freedom and sun-chasers Little Dragon: “Paris” Waving a goodbye rarely sounds this effortless

Pond: “Giant Tortoise” Giant, indeed, in sweep and soundscaping, though not necessarily in tortoise

Feature 53

GAME ON: .GIF’S DIN AND WEISH ON GETTING THEIR ACT TOGETHER FOR LANEWAY CHECK LIST: GET STOCKED UP FOR LANEWAY Cash because the site ain’t littered with ATMs Earplugs should things get too loud for you Phone to stay in touch Picnic mat should you wish for a posh sit-down Poncho in case things get wet Smiles because good times are ahead Sunglasses and sunscreen in case things get bright Tickets so you can get in

What’s been on your plate lately?

Both: We’ve been working really hard on our upcoming album, which we hope will be out in time for Laneway. And of course, we’ve been jamming and preparing for Laneway too.

How stoked are you to be playing Laneway 2015?

Din: We honestly thought it was a joke for a while! Needless to say, we’re both really excited to play.

Weish: We’ll be playing with a bassist and a drummer, so expect something more uptempo than our usual chilled out and laidback sets!

Do you have any cherished memories from previous Laneway festivals?

Weish: Oh yes. We had a massive fight towards the end of Tame Impala’s set last year, and were sulking through Gotye’s set till “Somebody That I Used To Know” came on... the lyrics got so uncannily apt and the moment grew so cheesy that we both started laughing.

Din: I’d hardly call that cherished, but it was definitely memorable...

Weish: Other than that, Alt-J’s and Kimbra’s sets were absolutely mind-blowing. That was a phenomenal year.

What’s a must-have in your Laneway survival kit?

Weish: Sunnies!

Din: Money. Lots of it.

What else are you most looking forward to at Laneway 2015?

Both: Little Dragon, Chet Faker, St Vincent!

And what’s great about Laneway?

Weish: Laneway has great taste.

Din: Yeah, and it’s great value for money considering the sheer number of great acts you get to watch in one place!

Brush up on your .gif at soundcloud.com/dotgifdotgif

BUY A TICKET: OR MISS OUT FOREVER Laneway Festival Singapore 2015 happens on 24 January 2015 at The Meadow, Gardens by the Bay. Standard tickets to the festival cost $165 each, and are available via eventClique and SISTIC. Stay ahead of the crowds by acquiring your F&B tokens now at laneway.eventclique.com.

Also keep your eye on singapore. lanewayfestival.com for updates.

Feature 32

FEST DRESSED No more going naked at Laneway; H&M’s latest music-loving Festival Collection has got us all covered Words: Min Chen

Feature 55

FOR THE LOVE OF MUSIC

There’s no doubting the fact that H&M does indeed love music.

The Swedish label’s got a whole digital platform dedicated to the showcase of fresh sounds, its presence at festivals like Coachella and Pitchfork has been a constant one, and its campaigns have not fallen short on musical faces like those of Beyoncé and Lady Gaga. Music and style, after all, play well together, and it’s at this junction too that that H&M

Divided has cultivated its Festival Collections.

As suggested, these are capsule ranges that pack ultra-chic togs that’ll ensure you’re properly styled for whatever the festival season brings. Following its past rock and indie-themed deliveries, this year’s collection continues to be festival-ready in its casual and easy offerings, and has also roped in dance-pop songstress

and drummer Florrie to front it all. And bonus: the Festival Collection will hit H&M racks just in time for Laneway Festival Singapore, which is pretty much a promise that you’ll be taking in St. Vincent in style. Here’s how H&M’s latest festival wardrobe is shaping up to be.

Shop H&M’s Festival Collection from 22 January at H&M, Orchard Building, 1 Grange Road.

AGE OF AQUARIUS:

THE BOHO MOMENT LIVES ON IN FRINGE AND FLORALS

Blouse

Kimono

Dress with fringed sleeves

Boots

Jeans

Leggings

Fringe skirt

HEY GIRLFRIEND:

A FEMININE LINE-UP OF CANDY HUES AND SWEET SILHOUETTES, SPICE SOLD SEPARATELY

Jumper

Cropped top

Embossed skirt

Boots

ROCK SOLID:

A CHANNELLING OF EDGE AND ATTITUDE INTO LEATHERED AND WEATHERED LOOKS Tank top

Shorts

Cardigan Romper

Parka

Sling bag

Get your tickets!

From 16 to 22 January, Laneway Festival Singapore tickets can be picked up at H&M at Orchard Building. Just look out for the collection booth in-store from 10am to 10pm.

Spread 60

THE GREAT WHITE Photography: Lenne Chai Styling: Nathanael Ng Hair & makeup: Marie Soh Set Designer: Shona Findlay Videography: Ling Ang Model: Raquel R. @ ave Special thanks: Donovan Lim, Mama Chai and Ja’mei Hemingway the Fighting Fish

Long-sleeve top by H&M, cropped top and skirt by Topshop, cropped vest (worn over) by Feist by Feist Heist, and necklaces from Granny’s Day Out

Spread 57

Turtleneck by H&M, shirt (worn as jacket) by 20:TWOTHREE, denim vest by Andrea Crews, romper by Feist by Feist Heist, earrings (worn as collar pins) from Granny’s Day Out, and socks, stylist’s own

Top by Andrea Crews

Mesh top and leather shorts by Depression, bralet by Chung Ting Liu, coat and shoes by H&M, necklace

by Mia Jessamine, eyewear by Karen Walker, and socks, stylist’s own

Cropped top by Topshop, mesh jumper (worn under) by Depression, shirt dress (worn over) by H&M, necklace by OS Accessories, bracelet and ring from Granny’s Day Out

Vintage clock from Granny’s Day Out, shoes by Buffalo’s, and eyewear

by Karen Walker

Spread 60

THE ORDINARY BOY Photography: Ivanho Harlim & Shysilia Novita Styling: Marie Liang Model: Hideki @ ave

Spread 63

Opposite page Top: Wind resistant outback and pleated pants vest

by Tilley, checked cotton shirt by Polo Ralph Lauren, quilted nylon and suede boots by Palladium, and money belt by Bison Designs.

Bottom: Jersey printed shirt and shorts by Pras the Bandit, fleece sweater by Uniqlo This page Mock turtleneck and corduroy shirt by Uniqlo, woven shirt

by The North Face

Cotton shirt by Pras the Bandit and linen shirt by Polo Ralph Lauren

T-shirt by Uniqlo, windbreaker by Polo Ralph Lauren, softshell pants

by Black Diamond, and leather boots, model’s own

Fleece sweater and cotton T-shirt by Uniqlo, and water resistant shorts by Patagonia

Polo tee, cargo pants and cotton socks by Uniqlo, flannel shirt and vest by Polo Ralph Lauren, cap by Patagonia, and leather boots, model’s own

Printed T-shirt by Pras the Bandit, and shirt by Outdoor Research

Cotton-piquĂŠ polo shirt by Polo Ralph Lauren, and convertible shorts/pants by The North Face

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LASTLY

“That sort of unclassifiability is ultimate”

And now, here’s a hashtag to get you started.

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$ Free January 2015

The Happy Issue :) Courtney Barnett Super0 Openair Laneway 2015 Local Natives Ferris Bueller Le1f

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Review 71

TV ON THE RADIO: SEEDS Words: Indran P

in the altitudinous trajectory of its predecessors. Three plus years later, TVOTR has returned, responding to the indignant critical perception with an impossible proposition: by taking on the tenor of contemporary pop the TVOTR way.

The curse of the “classic” is something that no artist is immune to, especially TVOTR. Unlike their peers who surfaced from the boom of millennial indie rock, they have their name to not one but two fantastic, universally celebrated albums. Coming one after another, Return to Cookie Mountain and Dear Science were world-swallowing monoliths which positioned the band at the apex of the indie A-list. Then, in 2011, the inevitable happened when the bated-breath follow-up (and the really very good) Nine Types of Light was panned for not following

Rather than throwing back to some halcyon musical past, with Seeds, the band stakes a big, huge claim on the zeitgeist by responding to it on its very terms.

Beyond just boasting a maximalist thrall of disparate genres, the band’s insistence on mapping out mythic scale has made for the magnificently swollen beauty of its best songs. Here, they reprise just that, but as is the wont in the present age, with the digital medium as the guiding light. Processed and blindingly shiny, Seeds opens in this spirit with looped, colouristic keys on “Quartz”, gradually building by layers into a simmering alt-pop song whose makers’ authorial credit is all the more shocking. Also revelatory in this

early instance is the newfound earnestness that TVOTR have towards singing about matters of the heart: in the rich interlacing of frontman Tunde Adepimbe’s near-howl with guitarist-vocalist Kyp Malone’s emphatic coos, and in the down-on-the-knees refrain: “All I wanted was to love you better / But I should really give it up sometime.”

to scream/cry/exclaim them out. As always, TVOTR seem more concerned about mining every nuance of sound from its songs than faithfully colouring within the lines of the moment’s leitmotif. The difference being that right now, they’ve torn down all the walls that make the listener the spectator and them, the spectacle.

Consciously clinical but basking in the warmth of their lyrical effusions, Seeds’ songs take form in ways that reference today’s metrics but blow their signifiers right out the park.

“Textures” and “layers” have been unshakable handles ever since “alt-r&b” became inescapable, but nowhere else but on Seeds has their dramatic significance been so compellingly realised.

The gurgling synth monster that is “Careful You” and the pleadingly soulful “Right Now” appropriate the bass-heaviness of the new mode, and use the cavernous atmosphere not to obfuscate feelings but rather

Yet, Seeds isn’t entirely the coming together of sounds built in isolation.

That four-guys-playing-in-a-room feeling that is rock’s prerogative shows up unbelievably in the late diptych of “Winter” and “Lazerray”, where crunching, rapier-point riffs lead a charge where the digital element is but a supplement. In these headlong moments, not even the careening standards of the band’s best work compares in explosive thrust. But even here, there’s much to unpack– weaving filigreed polyrhythms into a punchy block of sound is a TVOTR gift after all and Seeds is where we have to work the hardest to get to the prize.

Review 72

Words: Indran P

ANDY STOTT: FAITH IN STRANGERS

Greys can be just as expressive as the darkest blacks, and Andy Stott knows this very well. On his 2012 coup Luxury Problems, the Mancunian invoked the idiom of dub techno and turned in an enchanting and dynamic performance. But Faith poses an altogether different challenge to the listener. Offering payout in its very complexity, the record is an assemblage of decaying sounds whose connection to one another is more a result of inference than auditory fact.

Appealing to emotional states in the most abstract sense, Stott hands over the reins of the narrative of these nine tracks to the listener, providing only the expressionistic colours that aid the plot. The epic standout “On Oath” is the best example of this: over eight minutes of gathering pace, a dizzying spire of sound is built around only a gorgeous vocal sample. Another prize that Faith boasts is the warmth of the analog effects that Stott astutely employs. On this score, the wispy vocals of singer Alison Skidmore flutters over tracks like “Science and Industry” and “Violence”, showing enough skin to tease the possibility of pop but not ever capitulating into a full reveal.

WU-TANG CLAN: A BETTER TOMORROW

2012 was the year rap broke; the year rap left all “urban” associations behind and bore a hole through the mainstream, placing guys like 2 Chainz in the same airspace as Top 40 overlords like Bruno Mars. So, any rap act of Wu-Tang’s stature and just as importantly, age, has one major obstacle to overcome from here on out: how to cater for a demographic that isn’t knowing and/or appreciative of your legendariness? The Wu answer this by keeping things old-school and Tomorrow is a for-day-onefans collection of lostalgic gold.

Everything that made the posse interesting and exciting is here in stunning proportions: the kung-fu references, the canny, blindsiding pop cultural references (“With the Son of Anarchy / I be Breaking Bad”) and RZA’s ingenious reinterpreting of vintage soul samples (“Preacher’s Daughter”).

And in the midst of all this, hearing the voices of every living member of the Clan careening into and dueling with each other is just exquisite. If they sound a bit too settled throughout, especially on the soul-leaning numbers “Keep Watch” and “Miracle”, it’s only because you can’t keep railing at the cosmos forever. They’re hoping for better, after all.

CHARLI XCX: SUCKER MARY J. BLIGE: THE LONDON SESSIONS

When the r&b doyenne got on a remix for the Disclosure smash “F For You”, it was to spell lovely things for her and them.

Struck by the chemistry she had with the young Brits, Blige subsequently left the Bronx and set up in London to work with its young producers. House is the revelation that Blige encounters here and throughout the album’s length-and-breath, various iterations of r&b-meets-4/4 are offered. The Sam Smith collab “Therapy” that opens the record is one of the few exceptions to this rule and on it, Blige’s rallying soul vocals are buoyed by blissed out live instrumentation. It’s to Blige’s credit that she never plays second fiddle to her young, new friends. And to this end, “Right Now” and “Follow”, the two tracks featuring the Lawrence brothers serve as reminder of that time when singers just sang on top an instrumental track and completely owned it. This is one album where the voice not the textures is the conversation piece.

After lending a hand to a run of zeitgeist-defining, standardsetting hits that include Icona Pop’s “I Love It” and Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy”, Charli XCX’s most certainly passed the makeit-or-break-it test of populist expectation by elevating the hot flavours and soft centers of the mainstream with her own winkingly adroit touch. Avoiding the atmospheric pitfalls of predecessor True Romance – which lacked 0 to 100 immediacy – Sucker is a maximally compact offering where the agenda behind the teeming sounds is as exhorting as the sounds themselves. Instead of watering down canons and melting them in day-glo electro-hell, Charli cherry picks complimentary features of disparate disciplines and ties them together in ways that pop: the opening triptych is a clever amalgamation of pop, rock, new wave and punk that even early on contains a wealth of hooks. And as a product for and of the pop arena, rarely does Sucker aim for lyricism beyond the “Never stop, it’s how we ride / Coming up until we die” variant, and knowingly so. Nuance isn’t necessary when every song is a blastoff scenario.

Review 73

ARIEL PINK: POM POM

THE SMASHING PUMPKINS: MONUMENTS TO AN ELEGY

For The Smashing Pumpkins, every post-Machina release has borne comeback stink. As its chairman of the board, Billy Corgan has charted the musical incarnation of every Pumpkins album with whatever high-stakes artistic or socio-cultural concern enters his head. And while this made for two conceptually laden albums from the late aughts, that’s not the case here. Monuments clocks in at a script-flipping 33 minutes – it’s the shortest Pumpkins album ever. It’s a thoroughly expressive and (melo) dramatic affair where lines like “cherry blossom, this is goodbye” testify to the cosmological sense of bruised longing that Corgan tapped into to make “alternative” the onetime best thing in the world. But in its strongest songs, “Being Beige” and the closer “Anti-Hero”, all the shiny synth-led glam triggerhappiness and the breathtaking guitar heroics have been pared down and sharpened to a point of bewildering accessibility. Just as well – updating the planetary Pumpkins payload with prog aplomb and punk intensity isn’t the worst way Corgan’s tried to prove himself to himself.

VANESSA FERNANDEZ: USE ME

Local chanteuse Vanessa Fernandez boasts an enviable range. Able to animate the haunting corners of the digital realm and emanate a torch song glow in an instrumentally led analogue domain, hers is an exquisitely versatile voice. In her debut full-length, she fleshes out the latter aspect of her charms, lending it to r&b and soul classics from ‘70s and ‘80s. And though the mode here is uncommonly minimal and unpretentious, what’s great about this album is how far it transcends the coffeehouse quality that conceptions of this kind normally fall prey to. Whether she’s taking on the Curtis Mayfield standard “Hard Times” or Bill Withers’ aching “Use Me”, her voice inhabits the space of the songs with a presence that enriches the emotional drama of the originals greatly. Backed by some of the finest sessionists in the business, like bassist Lee Sklar, Vanessa has brought nuance and power into a lovely dialogue.

While the complete evisceration of pop has always been Pink’s agenda and his prior work has shown him assiduously subverting the content of FM radio from the outside, pom pom situates him on the inside, in the soft center of a whole spectrum of sounds all melted into an ingeniously cloying goo thanks to his lo-fi flame thrower. From its salvo, “Plastic Raincoats in the Pig Parade”, a glockenspiel-heavy sunshine pop ode to flying your freak flag, to its closer, “Dayzed Inn Daydreams”, pom pom is widescreen a DIY pop adventure with the kookiest absurdist detours yet. Case in point: “Four Shadows” and “Sexual Athletics” are powered by heavy metal chords dressed up with B-movie gravitas and accelerate into bubblegum oblivion as they progress; “Lipstick” an ‘80s-referencing synth outing is a murder-mystery where he muses on the epistemology of truth while begging to be “showered” in blood and near the end of all this, the very great “Jell-O”, which contains this bit of wisdom: “Everyone is white bread / That’s why they’re all dead”. Gleaming with bright edges and haunting with its dark corners pom pom is the culture-jamming masterpiece we’ve all been waiting for.

HOOKWORMS: THE HUM

This Leeds psych-punk quintet is an anomaly in the age of Google: they insist on anonymity – personally and musically. Known only by their initials, the lads have been mining the more desolate regions of psych-rock, garage, post-punk, noise and hardcore and in spite of themselves, are poised on the verge of a breakthrough. The Hum all but assures it. Vaster and louder than its predecessor Pearl Mystic, it’s a monumental statement of intent from band that literally just shuts up and plays. From the stabbing cuts like “Radio Tokyo” and “Beginners”, where strobe-like bursts of sound pack pristine pop hooks swathed in layers of fuzz, to the monolithic “Off Screen”, where churning shoegaze sounds and a sugary vocal bring the best of MBV and Mogwai into captivating conversation, Hookworms testify to the best of both parts of “art-rock”. While it might be fallacious to read a postmodern ethos behind the band’s fractured compositions, the sundering quality of the sounds, the metarock referentiality of the songs’ movements and Bowie-bowing glam-out that is the closing track “Repeat”, make this as much a homage as it is a fully realised cosmology of rock today.

Parties 74

URBANSCAPES FESTIVAL 2014 @ RESORTS WORLD GENTING, MALAYSIA Words: Indran P Image: All is Amazing

Parties 75

Pouring rain didn’t stop the crowd from gathering in droves before The Lemonheads and as the first international act up on the roster, Evan Dando and co. were simply mystifying. As the prickling rain fell fast and hard, the quartet unearthed the poignant best of its spiky, wallflower-glorifying jams. From the opening “Being Around”, which Dando played solo on guitar to the unmistakably ’90s charms of “Tenderfoot” to the near-shoegaze of “Style”, theirs was a set of peppy, wistful feels, sugary leads and blissfully duelling guitars. Throwing back to a time when the expressive mode of “college rock” was amongst the richest of musical vocabularies, this showing was a definite highlight of the festival. The rain, most certainly helped.

Clockwise from left Kimbra, Local Natives, Jagwar Ma, Cashew Chemists and The Lemonheads

Concluding with Franz Ferdinand’s high-energy blast-off pop, last year’s installment of Urbanscapes posed quite the challenge to its successor, but as it turned out, Urbanscapes 2014 more than rose to the occasion and packed to the brim the vaults of memory with all its good times and unquestionably, good sounds. For the 12th time, Malaysia’s creative arts festival hit the mark with its multi-disciplinary fringe offerings and spectrum-spanning musical payload. But, as was the case with this year’s incarnation of the festival, there was even more.

In partnership with the festival, local music portal Bandwagon.sg furnished more delights for 120 attendees, with four chartered Bandwagons. Yes, these were road-ready buses retrofitted with custom performance platforms and a dedicated sound system

delivering both discerningly curated playlists as well as on-board live performances by Singapore’s most buzzing artists, courtesy of Inch Chua, Pleasantry, .gif and Gentle Bones.

Nestled in the lush and rolling green of the Titiwangsa Mountains, Resorts World Genting’s Horse Ranch provided the ideal measure of seclusion for the beyond-the-pale offerings of the festival to resound. And sounding its opening notes on the North Bangsar stage were Malaysian crooners Brendan D’Cruz and Fabian Mark Peter.

Not long after, the funk outfit Bassment Syndicate, festival staple OJ Law and the Cashew Chemists took separate stages, each act serving up of sounds that though disparate, coalesced fantastically in the chill mountain airspace.

Next up were Local Natives.

Younger than The Lemonheads but well on their way to legacy status, the band played to a larger crowd and with stirring confidence. The echoing cheers at the signal song “Breakers” ushered a hit-laden performance as the band knowingly and expertly invoked its folk, rock, and pop best, coated with the bright gold hues of summer. Shaking all the sweater-weather vibes loose at the Upfront Stage, next, were Jagwar Ma, who brought the dance with heavier and more menacing versions of the cuts from their fantastic debut album Howlin’. From electrorockabilly to honest-to-God rock, the festival’s kinetic liftoff was undoubtedly a Jagwar Ma affair. Those who remember the vaster-sounding rendition of “Uncertainty” will testify.

Lastly, it fell on Kimbra to close the live portion of the festival and with sky-scraping gravitas did she do that good deed. Clad in black boots and a reflective silver dress that looked like it had been melted down and set in its place upon her body, she blessed the festival with its most virtuosic performance. Urbanscapes 2014 officially came to a close with Kimbra’s encore performance of “Come into My Mind”, a transcendental episode of Princelike freak-outs and instrumental pizzazz, but there was still the ride back home and the sounds to be savoured then. On and off the road, Urbanscapes 2014 was the biggest blow-out yet.

Parties 76

ZOUKOUT 2014 @ SILOSO BEACH, SENTOSA Words: Min Chen

Parties 77

Clockwise from far left Skrillex, Nina Kraviz, fireworks by the Heineken tent and Richie Hawtin

In 2000, a dance festival known as ZoukOut took its first step onto Sentosa’s Siloso Beach, where it gathered a line-up of electronic acts and local bands that spent the next 13 hours dropping beats for 5,000 clubbers. It is now 14 years later and while the tides of EDM have risen and fallen and risen again, ZoukOut continues to stand strong on that very same beach. Last month, the festival headed back to Siloso, set up camp for two days, unpacked its biggest bill yet and watched as 50,000 people came to party.

It was massive, but also so much more. Amplified in size, scope and ambition, ZoukOut turned in a bumper edition for 2014 with a sky-scraping attendance record that while representing dance music’s swelling profile, also signified the festival’s undying appeal and continued credibility.

ZoukOut 2014 was themed First Light, in reference to the sunlit reward at the end of 11 hours of partying, though surely, the festival’s luminous line-up did cast a glow all of its own. Day one itself already brimmed over with greatness, anchored by Debbie

Chia’s savvy house style, Magda’s multiversal excursion through Detroit and disco, Richie Hawtin’s unbreakable techno and – make way – Above & Beyond’s worldbeating trance. All of the night’s antics, though, belonged solely to Steve Aoki, who drew whoops for his madness-freeing electrofriendly set, which was also littered with spectacles like Nicky Romero crowd-surfing on an inflatable raft.

Yes, that happened and all this was just for starters.

Day two of ZoukOut promised bigger things and naturally, it was standing room-only on the beach.

Zouk residents, Ghetto, Lincey and Jeremy Boon, warmed the early evening airwaves, alongside local jocks like Mr. Has and KFC, who resoundingly set the tone for the night’s entertainment. Blink & Goldfish filled the midnight slot of the Moon Stage with an electronic blast-off of a set, which saw singalongs, dance-alongs and a handy drop of their ZoukOut anthem, “First Light”. Showtek, Martin Garrix and Steve Angello then followed in smooth succession, offering punters a good four hours’ worth of EDM mayhem.

Meanwhile, the beautifully constructed Star Stage got busy putting the credible in incredible, with Mano Le Tough’s stunning 4/4 bulletins leading into a stateshifting act by Maya Jane Coles.

And a great hurrah too for the returning Nina Kraviz, who stood out with a new confidence, and a set that didn’t lack for techno grace and grit.

Then came Skrillex. The weekend’s top draw, ZoukOut was Sonny Moore’s to rule. Occupying the sunrise set, he turned in a phenomenal (and extended) performance strapped together with heart-stopping lashings of hip hop, house, dubstep and the other stuff in between, plus some highenergy showmanship. Declaring, “Let’s get freaky,” from the get-go, Skrillex wasted no time in shedding bass-rumbled beats and dirty vibes, whilst still making room for peanut butter jelly time. The First Light of Sunday couldn’t have come better accompanied (what with Heineken showering the crowd with balloons of goodies), and ZoukOut’s 2014 edition couldn’t have orchestrated a sweeter coda. Long may it own the beach.

Parties 78

THE FLAMING LIPS @ THE COLISEUM, HARD ROCK HOTEL Words: Indran P Image: Dominic Phua

What: A prayed-for return In 2010, The Flaming Lips landed on our shores with their big, confounding arsenal of sounds and sights. Those present and those criminally absent from that showing then went on to wax very lyrical about what a magnificent existence-defining moment it was.

And four years since, that arsenal has only grown larger and more breathtaking, with three more albums, an expanded section to their oft-mythologised live show and Miley Cyrus, now adding to the band’s unfathomable ballast.

It would be disingenuous to state

that, true to form, the night was spectacular. Yet, that was the way it went. Priming us all for the psychedelic wonderscape to come were Aussie indie-house warpers Jagwar Ma, who expertly brought the dance on.

Who: It didn’t matter At a gig of this magnitude, there was no time or space to appraise the scene. Compounded with this was the fact that the crowd was so vast and so varied that the notion of a somewhat homogenous “scene” crumbled altogether. If pressed, all we have to say is this:

there were the band T-shirted and everybody else.

How: Otherworldly rock ‘n’ roll Indubitable beneficiaries of The Flaming Lips, Jagwar Ma wasted no time in heaping their acid-drenched Madchester exhumations on the rightfully excited crowd. Even Wayne Coyne poked his head out from backstage and jived along at one point. But when his own band was up, it was something else entirely.

In a dinosaur hoodie and on a dimly-lit stage, Coyne plaintively sang and played guitar on opener

“The Abandoned Hospital Ship” until the song’s climactic outro synced up perfectly with an explosion of confetti, lights and booming sounds. Now fully in session, the band flitted through its incomparable discography, serving up “She Don’t Use Jelly” and “Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt. 1” along the way, complete with Coyne in his hamster ball, until the encore of the wistfully spectral “Do You Realize” and finally, their gloriously irreligious rendition of “Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds” closed the show.

Parties 79

BILL CALLAHAN @ THE SUBSTATION Words: Indran P Image: Maria Clare Khoo

What: Greatness in our midst Bill Callahan isn’t a superstar; chances are, he wouldn’t even register as a blimp on the RSS radar. But for the indie-watchful who’ve been clued in to the goings-on of the lo-fi and DIY worlds, his is a name that stands in inestimable esteem. His pullulating homemade instrumental tapes as Smog notwithstanding, his work under his own name has enriched the singer-songwriter canon with some of its universally acknowledged best material. And not even being released at the apex of the digital boom could prevent his 2014 album Dream

River from being an AOTY-list staple. That triumph, together with this being his first and only show in the region gave this night the quietly mythic air that it had.

And fittingly, it was Singapore’s very own Leslie Low who announced its commencement and passed the torch to him to light the way.

Who: Those who knew Neither Low nor Callahan lend themselves easily to pretenders or empty sentiment. The crowd in the attendance, therefore, was impelled to gather for no other reason than for an appreciation

of each musician’s work, which is fundamentally opposed to the trend-baiting imperatives of hype.

What we were about to receive was earnest, urgent and powerful – those who knew, knew.

How: Stripped-down revelations Taking the stage to a full house, Low lit the proceedings first with an earthy set of songs that included some from his excellent solo album No Such Thing as Ghosts. His bloodletting observations, and his acoustic stylings coupled with his weary but searing tone made for a transfixing showcase, with the simultaneously

dirgy but crystalline “Despair” being one of the night’s highlights.

Later, opening with “Riding for the Feeling”, Callahan showed just how evocative the everyday movements of life could be. His rich baritone exquisitely emphatic, paired with supporting guitarist Matt Kinsey’s lilting notes to deliver a lushness of warmth that belied the spare nature of the set. Even then, the dual trilling of electric and acoustic guitars and Callahan’s red-blooded “Whoo!” at the end of “Spring” alluded to the fathomless spontaneity of the human experience, colouring reflection with a bold hope.

Parties 80

TENACIOUS D @ THE COLISEUM, HARD ROCK HOTEL Words: Indran P Image: Dominic Phua

What: The D! At one point during the band’s first-ever performance in these parts, Jack Black asked the crowd, “What’s the strongest genre in the world?” He was answered with a deafening, “METAL!” before he launched into one of his celebrated bouts of goofball virtuosity that affirmed the innumerable powers of the D. Besting even Spinal Tap in their ability to bring the parodically minded lols to rock ‘n’ roll, Jack Black and Kyle Gass, together with their backing band, have become icons of slacker culture

and to a great degree, rock ‘n’ roll, in their 20-year run. This means that there was that much to rock to and laugh at. And on all accounts, the D more than delivered.

Who: Disciples of the D Tenacious D most definitely boasts what’s understood as a “cult following”. As such, the crowd was a diverse mix of people united by their knowledge and reverence for the testosteronefuelled lore and powers of the band. In this massive thrall of mostly dudes of all ages,

gathered a fellowship of rockers, metalheads and skinny-jeaned punks, all ready to receive the blessings about to come their way.

How: Show-stopping (oafish) brilliance Back when it was released in 2002, “Tribute” had knowingly posited itself as the Greatest Song in the World. And it’s with this world-conquering hit that the band announced themselves.

To a screeching word-for-word sing-along, Black and Gass, all hackneyed brows-furrowed intensity, frenetic strumming and

damn good singing, reminded us all of why we should take every bit of their cosmologically hilarious shtick seriously. Already blazing on all cylinders, the band then upped the stakes with the “Pick of Destiny”, flexing legit rock muscle with comedic flair. Other staples like “Kickapoo” and “Wonderboy”, as well as a jazz improv turn with Gass simultaneously playing two recorders followed until the closer “F*** Her Gently”, which Black said was “for the ladies but not for the ladies”, was dished to a whooping cacophony of cheers and laughs.

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WAX ON WAX OFF FEAT. SAMPOLOGY @ LOOF Words: Indran P

What: All vinyl everything with a touch of crazy The dance boom has brought a whole new breed of wunderkinds to the forefront of all the world’s parties. But in the outlying sectors of the electronic world, where the grooves are stranger, more implacable and exotic, Brisbane beatsmith Sam Poggioli, has been absolutely, as they say, killing it, not just with his freewheeling sounds but with his beyond-zany visuals, slamming together sight and sound into a statement-blasting symphony of pop cultural chaos. And

experimenting with world music influences since the dance and hip hop splice fest that was his debut album Doomsday Deluxe, he brought a manically brilliant touch to our choice all-vinyl shindig.

Who: Cool cats, record collectors and anyone down to groove The WOWO nights have always been a point of confluence where uncompromising taste and patently relaxed vibes meet. It’s only when the fact that a dashing cut poses undeniably potent spirit-lifting, limb-unlocking powers is forgotten that the two

are seen as antithetical. So, at the exquisitely chill bastion that is the Looftop, the unquantifiable manoeuvers of Sampology brought the hip set, the cognoscenti and the dance-ready out in droves.

How: Far-out sounds Worlds colliding – that is what the Sampology experience has come to promise and on this night, the crowd shimmied and swayed to the sounds of pop, hip hop, rock, funk, house, disco and tropicalia careening into one another. There was some

Wu-Tang in there, as well as some Latin-inspired beach-y lounge jazz and a whole host of other spectrum-defying mashups to keep energy levels on the up and up. And all throughout, smiles could be seen and laughter overheard, in awe of the madcap order of sounds. A definite highlight of the night came near its close when the unmistakable strains of the Frankie Knuckles classic “The Whistle Song” unspooled from the speakers.

Everyone got into it. And thus it was, another WOWO coup, courtesy of Sampology.

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and aged balsamic vinaigrette, giving the greens a succulence that can destroy the smugness of resolute carnivores. Also taking us unawares was the Santa Fe Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup, an exquisitely savoury chicken gumbo basting with the flavours of the roasted corn, kidney beans, pasta and tortilla chips simmering within it.

When it comes to the mains, OverEasy’s take on the essentials is likewise resplendent. In The Truffle Burger is a conquering update of the American original, with premium wagyu beef mince patties, Swiss cheese, sautéed onions and truffle mayo, sandwiched by soft, homemade brioche buns. Already unimpeachable, the Good Old Fashioned Mac & Cheese is now available in meatier form as Mac & Cheeks, where Australian beef cheeks steeped in herb brine and braised overnight are part of the dish’s can’t-go-wrong charms.

And sandwich lovers, OverEasy’s got your back with the Grilled Three Cheese Sandwich, a veritable cheese banquet where parmesan, cheddar and gruyere are the star players.

SOUL GOOD

We tuck into OverEasy’s new menu and savour the bliss of perfection Words: Indran P

Already the authority on pleasure-centre-gratifying comfort food of an American stripe, OverEasy recently made even greater inroads into serving up elevated diner fare that sees time-honoured crowd favourites, reimagined classics and singularly crafted (read: not merely bespoke) cocktails now part of its scrumptious payload of irresistible offerings.

Under the guidance of Head Chef Teow Wei Kiat, everything from the burger to even the humble salad has been given a delectably on-point makeover. On this score, the Farmer Chopped Salad is a quite the revelation, served as it is with apples, blue cheese

To wash down this eminent spread, new cocktails like the Breakfast in Bed, a heady trip with bourbon, Advocaat, maple syrup and lemon juice garnished with a waffle, and the Cherry Coke Classico, a sweet but formidable mix of Coke imported from Mexico, Amaretto and Licor 43, can be counted on. And since it isn’t a whole meal without dessert, the Bourbon Donut Holes served with homemade chocolate fudge will hit that sweet spot well and good. For a menu that promises such gastronomic bliss from start to finish, there is no better descriptor than “soul food”.

OverEasy is located at 1 Fullerton Road. For reservations and inquiries, call +65 9129 8484 and +65 6423 0701 respectively.

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THE GREAT ESCAPE

A getaway and a haven, Ziva A Boutique Villa sends happy blessings our way Words: Min Chen

The hustle and bustle of modern life is most certainly left behind with the first step into Bali’s Ziva A Boutique Villa. Tropical gardens, serene pools and an altogether tranquil air abound here, ensuring guests equal peace and privacy.

No surprises, then, that Ziva, in Sanskrit, translates into “blessing”, for the combined effect of the villa’s atmosphere, service and facilities is nothing short of a good thing.

Calm and luxurious from its rooms to its experience, Ziva boasts eight one-bedroom and three-bedroom villas, each of which are stylishly complemented with a large swimming pool, a surrounding garden, fully-equipped kitchen and a spacious open-styled living area. Stylishly yet simply designed with clean lines and cool facades, it’s an environment that works just as well as a romantic escape as it does a light-hearted family getaway. And you won’t want for anything too, as Ziva’s butler service, in-villa massages and on-site chef will ensure you’re well-provided for.

Should you choose to step outside Ziva’s haven, Bali’s finest attractions are also right at its doorstep. Ziva’s situated close to the buzzing heart of Seminyak, which means a 10-minute stroll will get you to Petitenget Beach, while Ku De Ta and Potato Head Beach Club are a quick drive away.

But for everything else – the restful, the calm and the soulenriching – you’re in good hands at Ziva. It’s one blessing that in uplifting your spirit and your senses, will be staying with you for a some time to come.

Ziva A Boutique Villa is located at Jl. Braban, No. 65, Seminyak, Indonesia. Make your reservations at zivavilla.com

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SUPER0 OPENAIR 17 JANUARY @ 24 TURNHOUSE ROAD Words: Indran P Last year, in a month-long run of next-level party-ready revelry, the best of Berghain and Space Ibiza gathered at the Mill to serve up the finest sounds this side of techno, house and drum ’n’ bass. South London Ordnance, Ryan Elliott, Daniel Bell and Tobias Thomas were just some of the cast enlisted to make us throw those shapes hard and fast. And by the conclusion of the Season, as it was so rightly called, we left heaving and utterly delighted. But the bar has been raised yet again and if you were ever wondering how Super0 was ever going to top that rousingly fantastic shindig, here’s your answer: Super0 Openair.

Held in conjunction with Singapore Art Week 2015, Super0’s Openair edition, happening at the #superoffthegrid location that’s the former SIA Sports Club, will

expand the festival’s conceptdriven ethos with an excellent pick of art, design and lifestyle activities and music showcases.

Driven by the twin turbines of artistic appreciation and discerning taste, Super0 Openair promises boundary-torching quality in its fringe activities and most definitely in its lineup.

Take the fact that there’ll be a Red Bull Music Academy stage featuring some legitimately groundbreaking artists and work your way from there. And, above all else, have a blast!

Super0 Openair happens on 17 January at the former SIA Sports Club at 24 Turnhouse Road. Tickets: $65 (advance), $75 (door) and $90 (VIP or SUPERTROOPER) available at eventclique.com Stay tuned to super0.sg for updates.

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GOOD VIBRATIONS

THE MUSICAL ATTRACTIONS OF SUPER0 OPENAIR

Red Bull Music Academy presents

MY NU LENG

Red Bull Music Academy presents

TOKIMONSTA

Jennifer Lee is no mere beauty. As the first female to be accepted into the fold of Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label, she’s also a brilliantly inventive producer with an ear for some of the most frontier-pushing instrumental hip hop and electronica sounds. With a background in classical piano informing her electronicallyled sonic questing, she’s burnt a lane all her own. Her 2014 album Desiderium was a crowning artistic statement and a guarantee that her showing here will excite and titillate.

Combine drum ’n’ bass, grime, garage, house and dubstep and you’ll get the boomingly reverberating sound of this Bristol duo’s. With their high-profile remix of Rudimental’s “Right Here”, and Annie Mac hailing their minimix as her favourite of the year, My Nu Leng have all the right ingredients for a bodymoving freakout.

Red Bull Music Academy presents

TIM SWEENEY

ZUL

As the founder of local collective SubvertHQ, Zul has long been a beacon in the dance sphere in Singapore. From playing alongside acts like dBridge, Stamina MC and Pendulum, to spreading the good word on his Subvert Sessions Podcast, to slaying it on the decks with leftfield beats of the 170 variant, Zul’ll be more than good company at Super0 Openair.

STEFFI & VIRGINIA

Not for nothing are Steffi and Virginia hailed as the “first ladies” of Berghain and Panorama Bar. Singing over her pulsating selection of beats, Virginia has lent herself easily to Steffi’s own heady pound that sweeps up techno into bass-y club sounds.

Their chemistry can be felt in the collaborative track “Yours”, as well as on the floor at Super0 Openair.

HAAN

Morphing from funk to house and techno is the name of this self-taught DJ’s game and he’s really great at it. Shaking things up locally and abroad, in venues like Sankeys and Dielectric, Haan can be relied upon for some of the festival’s shapeshifting best.

Let’s set the record straight: Tim Sweeney is one of the most important people in dance music. For the past 15 years, his homespun radio show Beats In Space has beamed seminal mixes to anyone with a vested interested in electronic music, serving as an outlet for cutting-edge sounds to enter the ether as well expanding the discourse of dance music as an art form. With more than 700 radio shows to his name and the legendary eponymous label that he presides over, Sweeny can be counted on to deliver the kinetic best of the sounds from within the apex of dance music culture.

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BEN PEARCE

The platinum-selling pop-leaning dance cut “What I Might Do” might have launched the English DJ into the firmament of dance music in 2013, but since then, he’s evolved into so much more than a producer with an ear for a hook. Blending the discipline of deep house with a whole spectrum of canons like hip hop, soul and electronica, and founding the much buzzed about label Purp & Soul, he’s more than set to have a bounty of beyond-eclectic sounds flying your way.

THE FIELD

SCHARRE

Martin Scharrenbroich holds the distinction of being the Chief Booker for Cologne electronic music powerhouse label Kompakt Records. But as Scharre, he’s also a techno giant, having moved masses all over the world with his unrelenting sounds. Now based in Japan, he presides over the techno scene there, adding both dash and discernment to the musical landscape.

When the young Axel Willner first came into contact with the gnashing power of Dead Kennedys, he never would’ve thought that he’d one day emerge as a titan of minimal techno. While we hesitate to deem his punk days behind him, it’s safe to say that the sounds that this DJ-producer makes are a lot more spaced out and shimmeringly beautiful. In 2013, he took his ethereal touch to new levels on his fourth album Cupid’s Head, expanding even more on his breathtaking scale.

Hit up “Black Sea” for some of that transportive power.

OFF THE GRID! SUPER0

OPENAIR SETS UP CAMP Red Bull Music Academy presents

TRUS’ME ZIG ZACH

This Muay Thai fighter-turned DJ has been amongst Singapore’s most forward-thinking DJs for quite a while now. From sharing the console with local legends like Brendon P to his prestigious residency at Bali’s WOOBAR, Zig Zach’s groove-bringing powers will make for a surefire win on the dancefloor.

CATSONCRACK

Ever since she debuted at ZoukOut 2012, this feline has been a wave-making sensation in the local dance circuit. No one, from Marc Jacobs to BLUEPRINT to the multitudes she regularly plays for at Tanjong Beach Club’s thumping parties, has been immune to her ingenious crate-digging sensibilities, and rightfully so.

Under the guise of Trus’me, Mancunian sonic alchemist David Wolstencroft has created a musical signature that is instantly recognisable in the dance world.

Enriching the lexicon of techno has been Trus’me’s raison d’être, and tracks like “It’s Slow” show just how far he’s pushed the boundaries of the craft. And with a new album slated to drop early 2015, a sneak peek of his revelations can definitely be expected at Super0 Openair!

If Super0 was looking for an unconventional stage to house its equally singular sounds, it’s found it at the former SIA Sports Club.

Located at 24 Turnhouse Road, this swimming complex, long abandoned, now sports a faded veneer that does nothing to mar its award-winning Art Deco design.

Super0 Openair is set to transform the venue on its big date and judging from its past reworkings of The Mill and Gillman Barracks, we know it’ll be a stunning job.

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FUN ON THE SIDE

SUPER0 OPENAIR’S EXTRA-MUSICAL OFFERINGS

SUPER0 X TOKYOBIKE

Thanks to Tokyobike Singapore, local artists will get to reinterpret the designs of five iconic Tokyobikes through a variety of disciplines, set to be showcased at the festival. Dubbed “Art of Cycle”, this initiative not only flies a flag for the local arts scene but also for a lifestyle that ensures that we’ll be looking – and feeling – fit and fab.

PANGDEMONIUM

“Singapore’s most kick-ass theatre company” will be bringing its brand of inspired zaniness to the festival in the form of interactive theatrical games from the forthcoming play Circle Mirror Transformation, promising a riotously good time full of art and heart.

DAVID LEDOUX’S TROPICAL UNCANNY

Experimental photography is an endlessly explorative and expressive medium. And tipping his hat to the festival’s art-inspired essence, the highly acclaimed French photographer David Ledoux will be debuting his first showing, Tropical Uncanny, in Asia right here.

Having shot for GQ, Dazed and Confused and Vice, this particular showing of Ledoux’s is bound to excite and mystify.

Eschewing digital touch ups and taking the hot tropics as his muse, Ledoux promises an absorbing experience.

MASH-UP

Want to turn your stuff into legit works of art? Local fashion design collective Mash-Up’s got you sorted! Its offbeat streetwear more than killed it at the Audi Fashion Festival, which means it’s well-versed in the ins and outs of repurposing everyday objects into wearable wonders.

SKINNED KNEE PRODUCTIONS

This new and patently edgy theatre company specialises in staging modern texts in atypical settings. Don’t be surprised when it’s your turn to tell the story when you encounter one of their “mini moments”.

ALCHEMY GARDEN CURATED RECORDS

Vinyl lovers, Curated Records will have your back with its discerning selection of records from both popular artists to indie ones alike.

Also, look out for Super0 Openair merch right here!

Arm in arm with Reyka Vodka and Edible Gardens, Super0 Openair will furnish a designated mixologist space where sustainable living habits as well as a deeper knowledge of all the aspects of the craft of cocktailmaking will be dispensed. There’ll be workshops and demonstrations too, so get proactive!

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SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL 2015 6 TO 8 MARCH 2015 @ MARINA BAY PROMENADE Words: Indran P

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THE STEVE MCQUEENS

GET JAZZED UP

Snarky Puppy

In its sheer expressive scope, that can switch between lounge-y, patently blissful passages to red-blooded, earthy salvoes to technique-defying bursts of virtuosic wizardry, there is nothing quite like jazz. And in honour and celebration of this wonderful discipline, the Singapore International Jazz Festival (Sing Jazz) will return for another round of scintillating multi-stage jazz and jazz-inspired performances on our shores, bringing a glorious payload of more than 250 artists to light up our skyline with their showstopping flair.

Expanding significantly on the same fervent spirit of last year’s edition, which India Arie herself described as “beautiful”, Sing Jazz 2015 promises the biggest ever line-up of attractions yet.

Leading the charge of star-power will be Jessie J, the British multihyphenate pop sensation whose resume counts funk, soul and undeniably, jazz, as instrumental in inserting her at the upper echelons of the Top 40 charts.

Adding to the festival’s eclectic picks will also be revered New York jazz-fusion outfit Snarky Puppy, whose members’ expertise has been routinely tapped by the likes of Erykah Badu and Justin Timberlake. And amongst the legends, count on the very great, 10-time Grammy winning Bobby McFerrin to shock and awe with his vocal and instrumental feats.

And speaking of instrumentation, Sing Jazz 2015 will pull out all the stops with the prolific composer/ pianist Ramsey Lewis, the jazz-pop trumpeter Chris Botti, and acclaimed British multiinstrumentalists Courtney Pine

Jessie J

Bobby McFerrin

and Alan Barnes. Flying the flag for the region, amongst many other acts, will be Indonesian jazz titan Indra Lesmana. And from the homefront, established jazz cats like Jeremy Monteiro will join newer acts like The Steve McQueens in all the enchantment.

All this creative energy and flair will be unfurling amidst the bright lights of the Singapore skyline, making Sing Jazz 2015 a thoroughly world-class live music extravaganza. From the beyond-impressive lengthand-breadth of its lineup, to its focus on the storied tradition of jazz, to the outreach programs conducted by visiting artists at the Jazz Academy, this will truly be a festival like no other. Mark your calendars and wait for all this wonderful jazz.

Tickets: $125 (1-day pass) and $255 (3-day pass), available at SISTIC

Last year, The Steve McQueens took the stage at the first ever Sing Jazz outing and began a heatseeking trajectory that’s seeing its star burn ever brighter. Besides wowing attendees with their “Neo-Vintage Soul”, which reinterprets jazz through a myriad of funk and soul styles, frontwoman Eugenia Yip, keyboardist Joshua Wan, saxophonist Fabian Lim, bassist Jase Sng and drummer Aaron James Lee, had the distinct privilege of meeting jazz icon Jean-Paul ‘Bluey’ Maunick, who later went on to produce their excellent record Einstein Moments. Hear it firsthand from the band itself.

What was it like playing at Sing Jazz 2014?

Eugenia: It was exciting to be part of the inaugural Sing Jazz festival happening in the motherland. And it felt great to share the stage with lots of talented musicians.

And what was a highlight of that experience?

Eugenia: For me, it was meeting Bluey and listening to him speak about his experience as a recording/touring artist.

It was positive, real and very encouraging.

Fabian: Yes, that was a highlight for me too. It was great to open for Bluey’s workshop.

What are your thoughts on the local jazz scene and have you seen a growth in the interest in jazz here?

Eugenia: It’s a very close-knit community, and everyone’s very encouraging and motivating.

There are definitely more people checking the scene out and being part of it, which is a great thing.

We need more of these positive things happening – not only in the local jazz scene but everywhere else.

Fabian: There is greater interest in the arts now, which is good for society.

What’s the best thing about jazz, for you?

Joshua: For me, the best thing is that, when done right, jazz lets you connect to people on a level that is deeper than anything words can achieve. This happens with both with your fellow musicians and the audience.

Fabian: The best thing about jazz is that it gives you the freedom to express yourself through spontaneous composition.

What’s got you excited about Sing Jazz 2015?

Fabian: I’m just excited about all the different music that the festival will bring.

Eugenia: I am looking forward to catching as many acts as I possibly can, as well as to gig the stuff from our new record!

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KARAOKE PARTY 16 TO 25 JANUARY @ KEEPERS SINGAPORE Words: Min Chen Image: Lenne Chai Turns out the potential of karaoke can barely be contained in a box or even by Bill Murray’s on-point rendition of “More Than This”.

In fact, with Karaoke Party, the unlikely medium acts as a creative site where music, fashion and film meet in a series of short and sweet videos.

Created and co-produced by photographer Lenne Chai, the project features three clips that have been framed by filmmaker Ling Ang in a style you may recognise from a ‘90s KTV, and with contributions from homegrown musicians and

designers. Vanessa Fernandez, Gentle Bones, Masia One, Stopgap and ENEC.E have lent original tracks to the Party, while threads from labels like Yesah, MASH UP, PAULINE.NING, styl.myl, YOUYOU and By Invite Only are given prominent airtime.

Besides starring familiar faces like ex-MTV VJ Holly Grabarek, these videos are also location-smart, being filmed on such sites as Singapore’s Kam Leng Hotel and Japan’s Gunma prefecture.

And how better to experience Karaoke Party than in the flesh.

For one week, Karaoke Party will

be exhibited as an interactive video installation at KEEPERS, where guests may interact with these films. Yes, that means your singing chops will come in handy here. All of it sounds like a fun exercise, but more so, a brilliant and wholly relatable showcase of local art by way of karaoke. Let’s sing along.

KEEPERS is located on Orchard Green, at the junction of Cairnhill Road and Orchard Road. To learn more, head to karaokeparty.sg

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THE HENDERSON PROJECT 6 & 13 FEBRUARY @

HENDERSON INDUSTRIAL PARK Words: Min Chen With The Henderson Project, Henderson Industrial Park’s all set to be a-buzzin’ next month with equal measures of play and party. For two consecutive Fridays, the initiative will be commandeering the premises with the most creative of intentions, unveiling a grand haul of art, music and film to sate even the most underground of appetites.

It’ll be an education, first-rate entertainment and most of all, the party that you asked for.

The first Friday sees the local debut of the much-applauded documentary, Our Hobby is Depeche Mode. Helmed by Jeremy Deller and Nick Abrahams, the film’s less about the titular trio and instead, turns the spotlight on Depeche Mode’s legion of die-hard fans. These are devotees whose lives and identities have been shaped by the Essex

band and according to Deller, “appropriate the band, they do their own thing and have a laugh; it’s not clean, it’s messy and chaotic”. The documentary’s garnered great notice for its sparkling insight into fan culture and will surely be a joy for anyone who’s ever loved a band. Its three screenings (at 7pm, 9pm and 11pm) at The Henderson Project will be interspersed by a 15-minute audio-visual collaboration between Aldrin Quek and M/S/F/T of Non/Aligned, and bookended by an after-party featuring Aldrin and DJ KFC on decks.

And there’s more where that came from: The Henderson Project’s second Friday will come alive with a funky blend of poetry, hip hop and a full brass section. Titled The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, this evening is headlined by Lazy Habits, a seven-piece group who’ll

be making its way down from East London to unleash its slick and singular concoction of New Orleans jazz, porto-funk, hip hop and a ‘50s big band sound. Damn, it already sounds sizzling! Local lights, including Michaela Therese, Benjamin Kheng, ShiGGa Shay and Matteblacc, will also be offering support on a night that won’t be quittin’ so easily.

Tickets: $15 (for 6 February); $25 (advanced for 13 February) and $30 (at-the-door for 13 February), available at Henderson Industrial Park, or call +65 6278 0377 (office hours) or email t@ thehendersonproject.com.

The Henderson Project takes place at at Henderson Industrial Park, 203 Henderson Road, #02-01 (via Lift Lobby A).

Stay tuned to facebook.com/ thehendersonproject for updates.

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JULIAN CASABLANCAS + THE VOIDZ 10 January @ The Coliseum, Hard Rock Hotel $98/$120, sistic.com.sg While his earlier band figures itself out, Julian Casablancas and his new associates in the Voidz will be serving up their scorched-earth metarock stylings to us live and in the flesh! Blacking

out entire canons of rock with a punk-mindedness that made him such an icon in the first place, Casablancas, assisted by the Voidz, closed 2014 with Tyranny, one of the most polarising albums

of the year. Whether or not you want to celebrate new, boldly experimental songs like “Father Electricity” or bask in the presence of the dude that wrote “Last Nite”, this is the time.

NOPARTYHERE FEAT. AXEL BOMAN

ZSS PRESENTS BOB SINCLAIR

PSYCHEMAGICK 9 January @ kyo $20/25

15 January @ The Victoria Theatre $65, sistic.com.sg

This French legend has literally been at it for a lifetime. Drawn to the decks in 1986, he has since risen to the uppermost echelons of the dance world with his pioneering “French touch” take on house music, best heard on “Love Generation” and “World, Hold On”. This will be a night of the sexiest house.

If you didn’t know what you were listening to the first time you heard “Valley of Paradise”, don’t beat yourself up. That’s just how the elusive British duo wants its critically-acclaimed sounds to go down. With lush, transportive textures, this will be a night where ethereality and danceability meet perfectly.

Minimal, ambient, techo, pop, post-rock – these are just names we give to aural phenomena. For more than a decade, Scott Hansen has been stripping away the baggage of jargon and blending sounds into singular statements.

And in his first ever showing here, he’ll have a full band to help him do it. Get very psyched.

2 January @ kyo $20/25

It’s hard to believe, but two years have passed since NoPartyHere crashed into our lives with their cutting-edge parties. And leading the charge on their victory lap will be house music’s super Swede, who in global smashes like “Hello” and “Purple Drank” brought back lose-yourself-feels to house in the modern age.

3 January @ Zouk $28/33

TYCHO

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SPACE DIMENSION CONTROLLER 16 January @ kyo $20/25

Merging his interest in film with his love for ‘80s funk, this young Belfast producer has woven a grippingly dystopic sci-fi narrative that he brilliantly captured in his debut album Welcome to Mikrosector-50, blending everything from Detroit electro to Prince & The Revolution to his will.

MIX MASTER MIKE 17 January @ Canvas $28/33

THE SOUND BEN SIMS & OF THE 15TH KIRK DEGIORGIO SEASON TOUR 24 January @ kyo WITH SVEN VÄTH $20/25 23 January @ Zouk $28/33

Universally sworn to as one of the greatest DJs in the world, this turntablist extraordinaire’s presence on our shores is a monumental deal. Beyond the intensity and passion that he has brought to the decks (and to a clutch of Beastie Boys albums), he’s burned throughout the decades as a beacon of unquenchable cool. Keep it real by turning up and paying props.

BASSIC PRESENTS JAMIE XX

Techno heads know what a mythic night this is. Few figures in any dance canon casts as long and as storied a shadow as Väth over the discipline and all its offshoots. In celebration of the release of the 15th compilation from his revered label Cocoon records, the master himself will grace the decks.

Between the two of them, these elder statesmen of techno share almost half a century of experience. Coming together in London and starting the club night, Machine, where Sims’ tight grooves and Degiorgio’s soul and jazz-fusion-laced techno duel, the pair burnt yet another niche for themselves. This night, the Machine will be upon you.

PARA//EL PRES. HOT SINCE 82 30 January @ Velvet Underground - Dance $28/33

10 January @ Velvet Underground - Dance $28/33

One of the most persuasive forces in modern bass music, Jamie has more than made his mark with tunes that are as hard-hitting as they are intoxicating.

Dipping deeply into garage, electronica and dubstep, the young producer has shown that there is no sound that cannot be re-galvanised by his dark and dangerous vision. From Adele to Gil Scott-Heron, markedly divergent sounds have gone under his knife and come outboomingly new. For bass-fuelled dynamism at its best, save the date now.

Daley Padley’s tongue in cheek moniker has rightfully been on the lips of every lover of future-forward house since he first announced himself in 2012.

Cue up “Knee Deep In Louise” and “House Thiz” to find out why Richie Hawtin, amongst many others, are raving about him.

HUGO MARTI 31 January @ kyo $20/25

Wrapping up the month will the young Spaniard who even at the age of 25 is a label boss whose uncanny ear for leftfield techno, immortalised on his fantastic recent EP Born Again has gotten greats like Luciano and Dennis Ferrer singing his praises. Head over and you will too.

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STOCKISTS

Where to shop

20:TWOTHREE Available at Actually, Orchard Gateway, #03-18; and Threadbare & Squirrel, 660 North Bridge Road Acne Studios Available at mrporter.com Aesop Located at Millenia Walk, #01-43; Suntec City, #01-335; Ngee Ann City, #B1-50; and 52 Club Street Alexander Wang Located at Hilton Hotel Singapore, #02-03/04 American Apparel Available at americanapparel.net Black Diamond Available at Outdoor Life, Wheelock Place, #02-18 Bobbi Brown Located at ION Orchard, #B2-45 Buffalo’s Available at buffalo-boots.com Burberry Located at ION Orchard, #02-16/17/18 Carven Located at ION Orchard, #03-12 Chanel Located at ION Orchard, #B2-43; The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, #01-59; and Ngee Ann City, #01-25/26/27 Chanel Fragrance & Beauté Located at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, #B1-134 and ION Orchard, #B2-43 Charlotte Olympia Available at On Pedder at Ngee Ann City, #0212P/Q; and Scotts Square, #02-10/13 Clinique Available at Tangs Orchard and Tangs VivoCity Coach Located at Paragon, Raffles City Shopping Centre, Takashimaya, VivoCity, Wisma Atria, DFS Galleria, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa Collection Available at Watsons andcounters at BHG Converse Located at Orchard Central, #03-03/04 COS Located at ION Orchard, #03-23; and Westgate, #01-41/42 Depression Available at SECTS, Cineleisure Orchard, #03-05A, and Orchard Gateway, #04-14 Dior Fragrance & Beauty Available at counters at BHG Bugis Junction, Isetan Scotts, Isetan Tampines, Isetan Katong, Robinsons Raffles City, Robinsons Centrepoint, Takashimaya, Tangs Orchard and Tangs VivoCity Dolce & Gabbana Located at ION Orchard, #01-24 & #02-12; and The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, #01-60/62 & #B1-138-140 Estee Lauder Located at ION Orchard, #B2-52; and available at Isetan, Metro and BG Bugis Eyeko Available at Sephora at Bugis+, Ngee Ann City, Great World City, Plaza Singapura, ION Orchard, VivoCity and The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Feist by Feist Heist Available at feistheist.com Fendi Located at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, #B1-22-25; and Ngee Ann City, #01-30-32 Granny’s Day Out Located at Peninsula Shopping Centre, #03-25 H&M Located at 1 Grange Road; ION Orchard, #B2-28; Suntec City Mall, #01-307, #01-308, #01-309, #01-310 & #01-311; JEM, #01-01, #02-01/02/03 & #03-01/02; VivoCity, #01-19/20 Jonathan Saunders Available at net-a-porter.com Karen Walker Available at On Pedder at Ngee Ann City, #02-12P/Q; and Scotts Square, #02-10/13 Kate Spade New York Located at Raffles City, #01-24; ION Orchard, #03-27; and Takashimaya, L1 M.A.C Located at Ngee Ann City, #B1-13/13A, and Sephora at ION Orchard Marc Jacobs Beauty Available at Sephora at Bugis+, Ngee Ann City, Great World City, Plaza Singapura, ION Orchard, VivoCity and The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Maybelline Available at Watsons and all good pharmacies Miss Selfridge Located at Orchard Gateway, #01-13/14; Paragon, #0348A & #03-49; VivoCity, #01-66; and Wisma Atria, #01-25/26 NARS Located at TANGS Orchard Beauty Hall, L1 The North Face Available at Outdoor Life, Wheelock Place, #02-18

Odd Future Available at store.hypebeast.com OS Accessories Available at SUPERSPACE, Orchard Gateway, #02-18 Outdoor Research Available at Outdoor Life, Wheelock Place, #02-18 Palladium Located at Plaza Singapura, #04-40 Patagonia Available at Outdoor Life, Wheelock Place, #02-18 Pras The Bandit Available at prasthebandit.com Polo Ralph Lauren Located at Shaw Centre, #01-01/02/03 & #0202/03 Pull & Bear Located at Ngee Ann City, #B2-04 Rains Available at store.hypebeast.com RMK Available at counters at Isetan Scotts, Isetan Serangoon Central and Takashimaya Shopping Centre Roksanda Ilincic Available at net-a-porter.com Saint Laurent Located at ION Orchard, #01-25 Sephora Located at Bugis+, Ngee Ann City, Great World City, Plaza Singapura, ION Orchard, VivoCity and The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Stradivarius Located at ION Orchard, #B2-15; Raffles City Shopping Centre, #02-24; and Jem, #01-38 Tilley Available at Outdoor Life, Wheelock Place, #02-18 Topshop Located at Knightsbridge, #01-05/05; ION Orchard, #B2-01; Raffles City, #02-39; Tampines Mall, #02-16; and VivoCity #01-72 Uniqlo Located at ION Orchard, Bugis+, Liang Court, Suntec City Mall, JEM, City Square Mall, Chinatown Point, Plaza Singapura, Parkway Parade, Causeway Point, VivoCity, 313@Somerset and Tampines 1 Urban Decay Available at Sephora at Bugis+, Ngee Ann City, Great World City, Plaza Singapura, ION Orchard, VivoCity and The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Yves Saint Laurent Beauté Located at ION Orchard #B2-34

Directory 95

DISTRO

Where to find ZIGGY ART, DESIGN AND MUSIC STORES

BooksActually 9 Yong Siak St Grafunkt Park Mall, #02-06; 85 Playfair Rd, Tong Yuan Ind. Bldg, #02-01 Lomography Gallery Store 295 South Bridge Rd, #01-01 Supplies & Co Raffles Hotel Arcade,#03-07 The Substation 45 Armenian St Tokyobikes 38 Haji Lane Vinylicious Records Parklane Shopping Mall, #01-26

BARS & CLUBS

Acid Bar & Alley Bar 180 Orchard Road, Peranakan Place Bikini Bar 50 Siloso Beach Walk Sentosa #01-06 Blu Jaz Cafe 12 Bali Lane Club Street Social 5 Gemmill Lane Maison Ikkoku 20 Kandahar St Outdoors Café & Bar 180 Orchard Rd, Peranakan Place Overeasy One Fullerton, #01-06 Paulaner Brauhaus Millenia Walk, #01-01 Sauce Bar Esplanade Mall, #01-10/12 Tanjong Beach Club 120 Tanjong Beach Walk, Sentosa The Merry Men 86 Robertson Quay, #01-00 Canvas 20 Upper Circular Rd, #B101/06 The Riverwalk kyō 133 Cecil Street, #B1-02, Keck Seng Tower Mansion Bay 8 Raffles Ave, Esplanade Taboo 65/67 Neil St The Butter Factory One Fullerton, #02-02/03/04 Zouk Singapore 17 Jiak Kim St

HOTELS

Hotel 1929 50 Keong Saik Rd Klapsons The Boutique Hotel 15 Hoe Chiang Rd New Majestic Hotel 31-27 Bukit Pasoh Rd Sultan Boutique Hotel 101 Jalan Sultan, #01-01 The Club Hotel 28 Ann Siang Rd The Quincy Hotel 22 Mount Elizabeth W Hotel 21 Ocean Way, Sentosa Cove Wanderlust Hotel 2 Dickson Rd Wangz 231 Outram Rd

HAIR & NAIL SALONS

Artisan Hair 42A Lorong Mambong, Holland Village Choeur Raffles Hotel Arcade, #02-23 Essensuals Orchard Central, #B1-20; 1 Vista Exchange Green, #B1-22 Hairloom The Arcade, #03-08 Kizuki Raffles Hotel Arcade, #03-03/04 Manicurious 41 Beach Rd Next Salon 271A Holland Ave, Holland Village; ION Orchard, #03-24A Prep Mandarin Gallery, #03-34 The Golden Rule Barber Co. 188 Race Course Rd, #01-02 The Panic Room 311A Geylang Rd Toni&Guy 170 East Coast Rd; 24B Lorong Mambong; Rochester Mall, #02-01 What He Wants 181 Orchard Rd, #03-30; The Cathay, #01-06

SCHOOLS

LaSalle College of the Arts 1 McNally Street, Block E, L1 Reception Nafa School of Performing Arts 151 Bencoolen St NTU Students Activities Centre 50 Nanyang Ave, L1 NUS Radio Pulze 31 Lower Kent Ridge, National University of Singapore Office of Student Affairs, Level 3, Yusof Ishak House, Tembusu College University Town, NUS, 28 College Ave East, #B1-01 Thunder Rock School 227A Upper Thomson Rd

AND EVERYWHERE ELSE

Bottles & Bottles Parkway Parade, #B1-83K/L; Tampines Central 1, #B1-28; 131 Tanglin Road, Tudor Court Shopping Gallery Camera Rental Centre 23 New Bridge Rd, #03-01 Mini Habitat (Showroom) 27 Leng Kee Rd OCBC Frank VivoCity, #01-160; Singapore Management University, Li Ka Shing Library, #B1-43; Nanyang Technological University, Academic Complex North, Ns3 01-01; Singapore Polytechnic Foodcourt 5, (Fc512) The Central 6 Eu Tong Seng St

FASHION BOUTIQUES

actually Orchard Gateway, #03-18 agnès b. ION Orchard, #03-24; Isetan Orchard, Wisma Atria; Isetan Scotts, Shaw House; Raffles City Shopping Centre, #01-26; Takashimaya Department Store, L2 Ben Sherman Paragon, #03-48; VivoCity, #01-24 Dr. Martens Orchard Central, #03-05; Wheelock Place, #02-17A Fred Perry Orchard Cineleisure, #03-07A; ION Orchard, #B3-01; Mandarin Gallery, #03-08 Front Row Raffles Hotel Arcade, #02-09 Granny’s Day Out Peninsula Shopping Centre, #03-25 J Shoes City Link Mall, #B1-22 Leftfoot Orchard Cineleisure, #02-07A; The Cathay, #01-19/20 Little Man 7C Binjai Park Mdreams Wheelock Place, #B2-03 New Balance *SCAPE, #02-15; 112 East Coast Road, #02-25; Tampines Mall, #02-18; Novena Square, #01-39/42 Porter International Wisma Atria, #03-06 P.V.S Orchard Cineleisure, #02-05 Rockstar Orchard Cineleisure, #03-08 STARTHREESIXTY Wheelock Place #02-08; Marina Square, #02-179; VivoCity, #02-09; Paragon, #03-08 Strangelets 7 Yong Siak St Surrender Raffles Hotel Arcade, #02-31 The Denim Store Mandarin Gallery, #03-09/10/11 Topshop & Topman Knightsbridge, #01-05/06; ION Orchard, #B2-01 & #B3-01B; Raffles City Shopping Centre, #02-39; Tampines 1 Mall, #01-26/27 & #02-16; VivoCity, #01-72 Vans ION Orchard, #B3-61; Orchard Central, #01-22/23; Marina Square, #02-160; Orchard Cineleisure, #03-07; VivoCity, #02-111/113 Victoria Jomo 9 Haji Lane Wesc myVillage @ Serangoon Gardens, #01-04; 112 Katong, #02-19

F&B ESTABLISHMENTS

Bar Bar Black Sheep 879 Cherry Ave; 86 Robertson Quay, #01-04; 362 Tanjong Katong Rd Coq & Balls 6 Kim Tian Rd Cupcakes With Love Tampines 1, #03-22 Doodle! Pasta Oasia Hotel, Novena Square 2 Feedex 137 Telok Ayer St, #01-01A Forty Hands 78 Yong Siak St, #01-12 Habitat Coffee 223 Upper Thomson Rd IndoChine Restaurant 47 Club St Island Creamery Serene Centre, #01-03; Holland Village Shopping Mall, #01-02 Kilo 66 Kampong Bugis Kuro Clarke Quay, Blk 3C #01-11 Little Part 1 Cafe 15 Jasmine Rd Loysel’s Toy 66 Kampung Bugis, Ture, #01-02 Oblong Place 10 Maju Ave Oceans of Seafood PasarBella, #02-06 Open Door Policy 19 Yong Siak St PACT Orchard Central, #0216/17/18/19 Papa Palheta 150 Tyrwhitt Rd PARK. 281 Holland Ave #01-01 PasarBella 200 Turf Club Rd Potato Head Folk 36 Keong Saik Rd Selfish Gene Cafe 40 Craig Rd Shots 90 Club St Skyve 10 Windstedt Rd, Block E, #01-17 SPRMRKT 2 McCallum St SuperTree 18 Gardens by the Bay, #03-01 Sushi Burrito 100 Tras St Symmetry 9 Jalan Kubor #01-01 The Forbidden City 3A Clarke Quay, Merchant’s Court, #01-02 The Fabulous Baker Boy The Foothills, 70 River Valley Rd Veganburg 44 Jalan Eunos; Golden Shoe Carpark, #01-28D; Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3, #02-05; 200 Turf Club Rd, #01-32 Wheeler’s Yard 28 Lorong Ampas

REST OF THE WORLD Zouk Kuala Lumpur 113 Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Word 96

THE ZIGGY CROSSWORD

Across 1 A dispersion of light (7) 3 The designer of Madonna’s conical bra (8) 5 Kevin Parker’s baby (10) 8 To take action, past (5) 10 Legolas Greenleaf (3) 12 A salmon colour signifying good health and youth (4) 15 Keanu Reeves’ one-time hacker name (3) 16 Sonny John Moore (8) 18 Writers of “The World Was a Mess But His Hair Was Perfect” (5) 20 British glam rock four-piece with Brian Connolly on vocals (5) 21 Cornflakes (7) 22 The Brighton venue where The Human League recorded a 2005 live album (4)

Down 1 A Scottish rapper due to play at Laneway 2015 (6) 2 A threadlike structure, like, science (5) 3 Canadian punk band (3) 4 2003 album by The White Stripes (8) 6 Our cameo lover (6) 7 Pharrell’s 22-week Billboard chart-topper (5) 9 Stuart Vevers’ office (5) 11 The star of H&M Festival Collection’s latest campaign (7) 13 A naked run (6) 14 John Lennon’s significant other (3) 15 A bird’s home, plural (5) 17 The Beatles’ swansong, __ It Be (3) 19 Denoting speed, __ to the metal (5) 23 Sam-I-Am had this with ham (3)

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