Johnny Au and Larry Heath spent the last week covering the 10th annual music conference and festival Music Matters in Singapore, catching dozens of bands, a pile of talks and eating a whole heap of great food (of which no trip to the region would be complete without). Featuring over 70 bands from more than 12 countries, this event is very much positioned as an opportunity to discover new music from all over the world – and we certainly found a tonne of amazing new acts along the way. But here now, in no particular order, are the six acts that stood our for us the most….
Glen Check (South Korea)
Fans of bands like Justice, Two Door Cinema Club and The Presents should check out this catchy electronic outfit from South Korea. Singing primarily on English, the band sit more alongside their British counterparts than they do the “Korean Pop” that the event they played seemed to try and delegate them as. This is an international band, who bring together catchy music, excellent visuals (up to the 2MANYDJs standard) and a great live show. Would kill it in Australia – they just probably need to spend more time outside of Korea.
IDIOTAPE (South Korea)
One band spending more time out of Korea are another electronic band – this one without a focus on vocals (think early PVT) – IDIOTAPE, who are about to play Glastonbury. Like Glen Check, this group is anything but K-Pop, yet in playing the K-Pop Night Out annual event, they were perhaps served a disadvantage. The live instrumental electronic jams were hypnotic, intoxicating and had everyone dancing. An unquestionable highlight and discovery for this writer, though Hello Asia! Editor Johnny Au did see this band last year in Korea. And now, watch them perform at SXSW 2014:
Bastian Baker (Switzerland)
A stunning voice and consummate performer, who traverses the worlds of Folk and Pop and does it very well indeed. Definitely worth checking out.
Jeremy Loops (South Africa)
This South African artist was easily one of the most talked about artists of the festival, delivering unique, high energy performances focused around – you guessed it – vocal and instrumental loops! Starting his sets solo, he introduced an MC, saxophonist (!!!!) and additional bass guitarist to the mix, slightly changing the layout depending on the stage and the show. Incorporating the audience into the show, looping our voices as well as his own, he knew how to engage well with the crowd and always delivered an engaging performance, with the music itself bringing together roots, hop hop and more. Would kill it at Woodford or even Bluesfest.
Dave Crowe (Alice Springs)
Coming all the way from the red centre, Dave Crowe was unknown to us before this week (though one of our editors did first meet him ahead of Original Recipe NT and name him an artist to watch), but quickly was cemented in our minds with some stellar performances throughout the festival. Accompanied by Henry on the drums, the duo delivered keys driven music that sits in that sort of early Coldplay world, with tracks like “Where Do You Go” Proving a highlight. Acquaint yourself with this talented artist here:
MJ116 (Taiwan)
The Taiwanese hip hop group were lyrically impressive, the structure and flow of the rhymes were high quality, sitting on top of solid beats from a world class DJ. Well paced moving through fast and slow songs, plenty of variety. Three MCs and a DJ, all with their own styles. The deeper styles of the bigger MC seems to lead the group. Spinning in Mandarin, with what we assume are socially aware lyrics. Nominated for a Golden Melody Award this year, they’re one of the top hip hop groups from Taiwan.
Stay tuned for more exclusive coverage from Music Matters in Singapore! The AU are proud to be media partners for the event.
