Clarence Chan, founder of Bandwagon (CC, pictured above): There's definitely a rise in the scene, in terms of artists and talent. And digital media has a big role to play. Look at Gentle Bones – he's big because of his first few videos. 'Until We Die' has to date a few hundred thousand plays. I remember it was on YouTube that I found out about him, and now he's signed by Universal [Music Singapore].
At Bandwagon, we aggregate gigs, and we've found that year after year, there's about a 28 percent increase in the number of gigs. You see more pubs starting to embrace local bands. Even Beer Market, which was traditionally a cover music venue, started to have Original Sundays. Then you have Timbre Originals and Hood Bar.
But the beauty of it is that bands are starting to take ownership in organising their own shows. JAWN, the singer-songwriter, organised everything for his album launch, from the decor to the way the CDs were distributed. It's in the care and the details. That has really blossomed in the music scene – people taking ownership of their gigs. They curate the line-up, do their own posters, and market it on their own, through Facebook or word-of-mouth.
Tow Huiwen, cellist of Vox (TH, pictured above): It's also a lot easier to do now. The receptivity in Singapore has exponentially increased over the last couple of years. There are so many platforms to express yourself and be known. The responsibility is as much on the musicians as it is on the organisers.
Grayson Seah, guitarist of Stopgap (GS): But over-saturation is a bit of a problem.
Adin Kindermann, vocalist of Stopgap (AK): Nah, the music takes care of itself. If something;s good, you share it, and that's how you get noticed.
GS: It changes from 'how do you get your music out' to 'how do you stand out'.
AK: If you wanna make money, you need to be extremely creative in the way you do things and put yourself out there. Otherwise no one's gonna notice. Like many local bands, we're very DIY. There's no other way to do it with a 20-year-old's money.
CC: It helps to be yourself. At Bandwagon, we get a lot of records. And the ones I remember are unconventional. This is what pushes the envelope and gets bands to level up each other. It's only a positive thing for the scene.
AK: It's how you 'trick' people into listening to your music. For Sphaeras [local instrumental rock band], their EP came in a booklet with no CD, just a download code. It blew my mind. If it's not typical, that gets me excited.