Independent music, or indie music for short, covers a wide spectrum of music genres including pop, rock, metal and folk. It is usually associated with non-mainstream productions, artistes or small independent recording companies. When talking about the Singapore indie scene, we should start with the history of English pop music in Singapore. The first wave of local pop/rock bands began in the 1960s when rock ‘n' roll swept the world by storm in what some may call the British Invasion.
Dive into the conversation between our performing arts librarian, Kong Leng Foong, and our guest, Sai Akilesh. Akilesh has been a programmer at Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay since 2015. He was involved in various projects and festivals such as "Kalaa Utsavam” and "Baybeats”, and has developed programmes such as "All Things New” and "Soundtracks”. He has also conceptualised programmes which are aimed towards providing opportunities for local Indian classical musicians.
[
10:19] Akilesh talks about how "Baybeats” started and how it has evolved alongside its audience.
[
30:40] Akilesh talks about how the production team and artistes had to pivot as they put together their first virtual festival.
[
37:15] Akilesh shares about the platforms that showcase and nurture indie music and what the future holds for Singapore indie music
Listen to the podcast as we take you down memory lane and explore Singapore's musical history and the development of its music scene through the National Library's collections and digital archive, MusicSG.
Credits:
1. Audio excerpts from performances by Wormrot, Zamaera and Disco Hue at Baybeats 2018, courtesy of Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.
2. Excerpts of audio from a performance by Bottlesmoker at Baybeats 2020, courtesy of Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.
3. Listen to featured Singapore indie artistes on MusicSG: http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/music/page/indie
4. Browse BigO magazine on the NLB catalogue: http://catalogue.nlb.gov.sg/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/ENQ/WPAC/BIBENQ?SETLVL=1&BRN=4633511
5. Learn more about Singapore indie music on Infopedia: https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_2015-03-11_152805.html
What is Radio DDC?
Welcome to Radio DDC, the National Library's new podcast featuring stories from our collections. In this four-part series, we look into Singapore's musical history, with highlights from the library's digital music archive, MusicSG. Each episode features a conversation with special guests from the industry, and is helmed by our arts librarians who will share their personal experiences and anecdotes as we traverse through the topics on Musical Theatre, Film Songs, Indie Music and Campaign Jingles.
Why Radio DDC, you may ask? The DDC in our name refers to the Dewey Decimal Classification system that the library uses to classify books.
About National Library Board, Singapore:
The National Library Board (NLB) nurtures Readers for Life, Learning Communities and a Knowledgeable Nation by promoting reading, learning and history through its network of 27 public libraries, the National Library and the National Archives of Singapore. NLB also forges strategic partnerships that encourage awareness, appreciation and greater discovery of Singapore's history through its rich collections on Singapore and the region.
About MusicSG:
MusicSG is a non-profit digital archive run by the National Library, Singapore, set up to digitise, archive and provide access to all forms of published Singapore musical works. It assembles a collection of music composed or published by Singaporeans, music produced or published in Singapore, and music related to Singapore.
Subscribe to our podcast channel wherever you listen.
We would love to hear what you think about our podcast. Leave us a rating or review. You can also write to us with your feedback at enquiry@nlb.gov.sg.