publichouse.sg

Hear ye hear ye! Baybeats, Singapore's largest indie music festival, is upon us once more!

The boys from A Town in Fear settled into the interview, all having rushed down from different locations. Like many bands here, this was time given after a hard day's work. They write and play hardcore music, a genre most might typify with images of rowdy moshpits, tattooed torsos and complex melodies played to chaotic rythm and screaming guitars.

It can be quite polarising at first sight, specially if one is not inclined to such forms of expression. But in reality, hardcore and metal is not as frightening as the imagery that represents it. In fact, the stronghold for the genre has always been defined by a message of strength and community, kept alive by an unrelentingly roar of a sound.

Guitarist Wayne, for example, attests to the positive nature of hardcore metal, quoting the influences of straight edge, a subculture born out of a rebellion against the hedonism of punk rock, as a motivation to his own resolve to be a vegan and stay away from alcohol. So really, one ought to be proud to have a metalhead son.

Good times were had, as we picked the brains of four out of the five who make up this promising young band, with what I think is an album that is worth anticipating, based on the tracks made available so far.

Find out in the videos below, about how they started, what they hope for and their thoughts on the Backstreet Boys.

Wait... "stay away from alcohol"? :(

Find out more about A Town in Fear on:

www.facebook.com/atowninfear
www.myspace.com/atowninfear
www.atowninfear.bigcartel.com
www.atowninfear.bandcamp.com
www.atowninfear.tumblr.com
www.twitter.com/atowninfear

Baybeats is on from 29th to 31st June 2012 at the Esplanade.

Thanks to Hermione, housemates and Chewy the cat for letting us use their lovely apartment.

-----------------

Join publichouse.sg on Facebook:

Like a shot of strong tequila, Black Diamond Folds' music burns with a sort of matured melancholia that alludes to those moments of intense solitude and introspection we all have at some point in our lives. Coupled with the able musicianship of members from local legends like Fishtank, Sideshow Judy and various other bands who have made their mark in the scene, the result is a repertoire that is both nostalgic and fresh in this current musical landscape.

King Kong Jane is set to perform at Baybeats on 29^th June, five years after making its debut at the annual alternative music festival.

In 2007, the indie rock act was one of several audition bands to make the final line-up at Baybeats. King Kong Jane’s eventual debut performance was a hit with the festival crowd, who lapped up the band’s unpretentious and catchy songs.

Since then, the band has established itself as one of Singapore’s brightest talents in the indie rock scene. In 2011, King Kong Jane was selected to perform in Jakarta as Singapore’s representative for the ASEAN Youth-Cultural Exchange Festival. The band also released ‘Waiting For Friday’ last year, a critically acclaimed debut album that hit No.4 on the HMV sales chart.

“We’re very excited to return to Baybeats this year. Back in 2007, we were a young band with very little experience. Since then, we’ve grown a great deal as songwriters and performers, so we’re really thrilled that we have an opportunity to showcase how we’ve evolved as a band,” said vocalist Colin Lim.

He added, “Baybeats has always been the most important annual event in Singapore’s alternative music scene, so we’ll definitely give our best on the 29^th of June. Expect album tracks from ‘Waiting For Friday’, brand new songs that we’ve never played before and maybe even songs we played in 2007, just for old time’s sake!”

“We want everyone to sing along with us on that night, so we’ve made our entire album available for streaming on http://kingkongjane.bandcamp.com”, said Colin.

King Kong Jane will be playing at Baybeats on 29^th June, Friday, 9pm, Esplanade Outdoor Theatre

For more information about Baybeats, visit http://www.baybeats.com/2012/microsite/

For more about King Kong Jane, visit http://kingkongjane.blogspot.com or http://www.facebook.com/KingKongJane

I don't think it's possible to dislike the Cashew Chemists, they are so affable that it'd be like saying you dislike baby animals or a cool drink on a hot day. This might explain their music, which Baybeats judge Daniel Sassoon describes as "...what The Strokes might have sounded like if they traded their New York hipster club-prowling swagger for a Singapore kopitiam seat-hunting gait."

I have a love-hate relationship with post rock. It can be deeply engaging at times, especially when enjoyed at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre, where the sound is always impeccably balanced and the smoke machines ever billowing. But it can also breed a sort of pretentiousness that somehow plays against the genre. Maybe it is because the appreciation can be quite open ended, like how each of us may appreciate a sunset in a different way, even though it's the same indifferent star disappearing into the horizon.