revelry: Podcast

#0062 - Nathan Hartono: Mandopop Nearly Killed My Passion For Music...

Nathan Hartono is a Singaporean singer-songwriter who made his debut as a singer after winning a singing competition in 2005, and later on found fame in China after clinching 1st runner-up in “Sing! China” in 2016. He is also known for performing the 2020 NDP theme song. Check out the podcast as Nathan Hartono lowers his barriers and goes unfiltered to reveal how much he struggled to adapt to life in China after finding success from “Sing! China”, and how he hated the pressures and struggles of being a Mandopop artist which nearly killed his passion for music and greatly affected his mental health. He shares his thoughts on Singaporean artists and music producers having to venture overseas to become successful and gives his two cents about being a commercial sell-out in the music industry. Nathan also reveals to us his future music plans moving away from Mandopop, even exploring the realms of electronic music genres!

#0061 - Louie Indigo: Beyond Being A Rapper...

Louie Indigo is a local singer-songwriter, rapper, and music producer who aims to do a myriad of genres and styles such as Indie, R&B, Hip Hop, Rock, and Disco. Check out the episode as Louie shares with us his artist identity and why he dislikes being labelled as a rapper. Also, Louie tells us what motivates him to continue making music regardless of the results and shares his creative thought processes in song-writing. Furthermore, he reveals how his father, who is ex-military now doing IED bomb disposals in war-torn countries like Syria, is a source of inspiration to him. Louie and LENERD also discuss the latest developments and news in Hip Hop culture such as Drake vs Kendrick beef which has been a hot topic!

#0060 - HQ Podcast: "New Jeans" HYBE vs ADOR, Monk DJ, etc...

revelry: Podcast #0060 The revelry headquarters (HQ) episode is back, featuring Charlane and ARLQIN alongside LENERD! Check out the episode as the revelry HQ team talks about recent music and entertainment news such as the New Jeans HYBE & ADOR drama, A-Mei’s upcoming tour in Singapore. The team also discusses why Chinese Pop music seems to be more popular than English Pop in Singapore, and what makes Singapore so attractive to touring international artists. The team also gives their 2 cents on the controversial South Korean Monk DJ, NewJeansNim, and his gimmicks.

#0059 - 4ByFour: PHDs By Day, DJs By Night

revelry: Podcast #0059 Läbraatz and Cosmo Carbon are DJs from 4ByFour, an electronic music collective that showcases underground electronic music such as Hard Techno and Psytrance, and both are currently doing research work in the local science field. Check out the episode as the 4ByFour DJs share their reasons for pursuing higher education and research in Singapore and elaborate on their current research work in their respective fields. They also share the music genres that have influenced their DJing journey and debate the definitions of “commercial” and “underground” music, and discuss if Techno is becoming more mainstream than underground now. Both DJs also highlight how they promote inclusivity in underground music to a wider group of clubbers who come for their events, and reveal their future plans for 4ByFour.

#0058 - Taaka: All Party Proceeds Goes To Charity

revelry: Podcast #0058 Nick Levanic aka TAAKA is an Australian expat and DJ who moved to Singapore in mid-2019 before the COVID pandemic, and is the founder of YES YOU - a House music collective that promises party-goers some “bass-driven, booty-shaking house music”. Check out the episode as TAAKA shares his experiences leaving Australia and adapting to Singapore’s nightlife scene especially due to COVID. He also explains the founding of YES YOU, and his pro-bono philosophy behind YES YOU’s events, proving that nightlife can do more good for society than just an outlet for fun!

#0057 - Fariz Jabba: "16 Baris" Sensation, Importance of Authenticity

Fariz Jabba is a renowned local Malay-English rapper well-loved by the Malay community, who first gained fame through his viral freestyle raps on social media (especially through “Kunci Gang” — a parody of “Gucci Gang”), and famously appeared in Joe Flizzow’s hit Malaysian rap series, “16 Baris”! He is also currently an ambassador for Gucci and Nike. In this episode, Fariz tells us how his tough journey as a rapper began, starting from juggling 10 jobs as a teenager, and what goes through his mind when he creates his rap flows. Fariz then reveals to us how he felt absorbed by the business nature of the music industry which negatively affected him as an artist, which eventually drove him to go indie. He also shares his life-changing experience debuting on “16 Baris” whereby he had to overcome many hiccups and setbacks during his performance. Fariz ultimately gives us his thoughts on the definition of being a successful music artist and the importance of being authentic to yourself.

#0056 - Jared Kong: Director at Gushcloud International & Part-time DJ

Jared Kong is the Director (Creative Acquisitions) at Gushcloud International, a renowned talent agency and management company founded in Singapore that now operates in 12 countries. In this episode, Jared shares with us his time working in the legal profession before joining Zouk as their Legal Counsel. Jared also recounts when his love for EDM began, leading to him becoming a part-time DJ. Jared also goes on to the topic of content creation. He talks about Gushcloud’s global talent management and what they do. He then emphasises the power of being subject-matter experts in influencing and explains the importance of authenticity over virality as a content creator in making sustainable content.

#0055 - Daniel Ang: What is Trance?

Daniel Ang is the founder of “TRANCE4M” which is a local Trance music DJ collective much loved by the trance community in Singapore, and “Last One Standing” which is an events app that regularly hosts Trance music events and often invites international Trance acts such Paul Denton and Lostly. In this episode, Daniel tells us the beginnings of his musical background with his struggles at the piano before finding Trance and DJing as his passion. He also shares the origins of “TRANCE4M” and “Last One Standing”. Daniels also reveals his immense struggles in trying to run “Last One Standing” over the past 4 years and his attempts at making it his full-time career. Daniel then discusses with LENERD the current state of Trance and the ongoing industry trends that are shaping it today and shares his criticisms about Trance DJs veering off to Techno in their sets instead.

#0054 - BONGOMAN: How To Start A Music Festival

Nick Bong, AKA Bongomann, is the former resident DJ of “Headquarters” by The Council and is currently based at Offtrack Bar. He is also a key member of Ice Cream Sundays Collective, and recently had the privilege to play for the first-ever “Boiler Room” event in Singapore last year. In this episode, Bongomann tells us the beginnings of his DJing journey which began during his overseas university study in Australia. He also talks about being involved in Ice Cream Sundays Collective, and how they managed to throw a music festival at Sarimbun Scout Camp! (of all places!) Bongomann goes on to share his latest album: Lounge Zero, and label: “Super Enjoy”. He also weighs in his opinion on Singapore’s creative talent drain and whether the only way Singaporean Creatives can succeed is to move overseas (JJ Lin Effect).

#0053 - evanturetime: Music Directing Big Artists

Evan Low AKA “evanturetime”, is an award-winning producer and music director who has worked alongside prominent local acts like Benjamin Kheng and iNCH, and was involved in the co-production of many National Day Parade theme songs such as 2021’s “The Road Ahead”. In this episode, Evan shares the beginnings of his inspirational music journey from his polytechnic to Berklee days. He also talks about his experiences touring with the famous Taiwanese Mandopopstar, A-Mei, his role working with her, and reveals the challenges involved in a live music performance. He also gives his take on supporting local talent and explains how it can be force-fed. He also shares his experience producing 2021’s popular NDP song, “The Road Ahead”.