15 October 2017
Singapore’s inaugural Rock and Indie Festival (RIF) took off at LASALLE College of the Arts on 14 October 2017, and as the sky turned dusky, the crowd kept swelling. At the Campus Green where more acoustic tunes were being played, there was not a single unoccupied beanbag. Over at the Creative Cube where heavier beats were being dealt out, it was standing room only as the house was full.
Dr Timothy O’Dwyer, Head of LASALLE’s School of Contemporary Music, commented, “I was there pretty much from start to finish and loved every minute of it.” His sentiments were echoed by the many who were seen tune-humming, feet-tapping, head-banging and fist-pumping at the festival.
But behind the scenes were months of preparation work. From mobilising various internal stakeholders within LASALLE, such as our Audio Production lecturers and students to design sound systems, to engaging with external partners like PONY for their support of the event, RIF was an ambitious undertaking as the country’s first dedicated festival celebrating local rock and indie music.
As LASALLE’s music lecturer, Tan Weixiang, observed: “In Singapore, we have a blossoming of highly original music from homegrown talents, and they are being heard all over the world. The festival we envisioned aims to showcase these young individuals, and provide them with a platform to gain even greater exposure.”
A glance at the set list will reveal this very intention as many of the performing artists are fresh to the scene. In fact, Joel Raphael Gan, who is pictured above, is still in school at LASALLE pursuing a degree in music. A self-taught guitarist, his deft finger-work on the electric guitar was reminiscent of some of rock’s greatest shredders, and left audiences in awe.
Others who were once in Joel’s shoes were also back in their alma mater to demonstrate their growth. Ffion Williams from the graduating class of 2017 belted out a couple of tunes from her debut EP Bad Habits (2017). In her soft, soulful voice, she sang of conflicted romance that touched listeners to the core.
Happening concurrently but at a different stage was Test the Divide, and if the evocative songstress that is Ffion can lull you into a weightless languor, this five-piece progressive metal band will definitely revive you. As soon as the first chords were struck by alumni Dale Low, Tabitha Boon, Thomas Low, Wei Lung and Darren Tan, the audience was jamming on their feet. For a group that had only just recently released a demo, the support from the crowd was heartwarming.
But alongside these fresh faces were also a couple of more seasoned musicians. BECKA was recently back from Seoul after performing at Zandari Festa 2017. While a jet-setting career might sound fun, the girl more fondly remembered as Rebecca Tan by her lecturers at LASALLE shared that she is constantly on work-mode. “I’m always writing new material through things I’ve experienced. Like in Korea, there was this sleazy guy that tried to hit on me and I wanted to document the exact feeling I had then. What I did was to sing into my phone a couple of verses and this is where my ideas usually spark off.”
Known for her light-hearted spin on challenges in life, her bubblegum pop sound did not disappoint at RIF. A bar in to her catchy Twenty Seconds, which was also the opening theme song of TOGGLE’s original teenage drama The Breakup List, and the crowd was clapping in-sync to her piano.
At the other end of the musical spectrum though is Wormrot (pictured above) whose genre focus is grindcore – a mix of hardcore punk, extreme metal, and noise rock. This might sound niche to the untrained ear but the number of fans that turned up at RIF would indicate otherwise.
Vocalist Mohammad Arif was endeared by the response, especially given the fact that the event day itself marked the one-year anniversary of their third full-length studio album, Voices (2016). Despite a number of changes in their member line-up, the latest being drummer and LASALLE alumnus Vijesh Ghariwala coming on board, Wormrot has gone from strength to strength.
Their latest achievement was being Singapore’s first and only band to play at Glastonbury Festival, one of the world’s largest and most prominent music event, this past June. With that said, guitarist Muhammad Nurrasyid Juraimi admitted that the team simply “blacked-out” after coming down from the adrenaline rush that accompanied the finishing of two stages at Glastonbury.
Such anecdotes remind us that musicians truly give their utmost when they are on stage, and attendees at RIF would be hard-pressed to disagree. Off-stage, the artists’ unwavering passion to establish their own voice is also undeniable. For those that are signed, they are with independent record labels, as opposed to more commercial ones, which gives them the autonomy to define their unique sound. For those unattached to a label, platforms such as SoundCloud and BandCamp allow them the freedom to upload and promote their original compositions.
RIF was, beyond doubt, a celebration of the promise in our local musicians. More than the success, the festival brought out the gratitude, friendship and affection in Singapore’s music community.
Thomas Low of Test the Divide encapsulated this best when post-event, he wrote on social media: “It’s been about six hours since I played at RIF and it’s still surreal – so many new faces and so many new friends. It used to be a cheesy line but I believe this now – we do what we do, only because we have you all. Till next time.”
You may ease your RIF blues by seeing some of the photos in our Flickr album.
