It’s been a few weeks since Music Matters Live came to an end in Singapore, and we wanted to take a moment out of our regularly schedule Coldplay madness to look back at the final night of festivities. The mainstage of Music Matters Live in Singapore is the “Fountain Stage”, which takes over the central plaza of Clarke Quay. The final night was the biggest of the week and the main stage’s lineup included three of Australia’s most well known acts – Dune Rats, Ash Grunwald and Jeremy Neale.
At 6pm festivities kicked off with the last man on that list, Jeremy Neale (pictured above), who finished out his set with the excellent “In Stranger Times”. Though only a small crowd had gathered for the first of many sets that night, he certainly got them all dancing. And considering the humidity and 30 degree heat outside, it was impressive that the Brisbane based artist and his band kept true to their dedication of wearing turtlenecks through each performance. That would not have been comfortable. But boy did they look good!
Calgary’s Sidney York (pictured above) followed, who were in Australia last September to play BIGSOUND. There was plenty of synth and a great amount of energy as the duo and their band pulled out the ukulele, the bassoon and tracks from their latest record Hearts, which they’re releasing in five volumes throughout the year. A highlight of the set was “Electro-Love”, which saw the girls move solo onto the keys in what was a beautiful track. But picking a highlight of the set is like pulling teeth – they brought it from start to finish.
Irish five piece Buffalo Sunn brought some great melodies to proceedings. The lead singer’s voice is of particular mention, with an impressive falsetto; it’s one that would sit comfortably on any radio station. Their catchy single “By Your Side” ended the all-too-brief but memorable set.
Brisbane trio Dune Rats (pictured above) followed, part of the impressive Australian contingency at the Singapore event. “Funny Guy” opened things up, as they ran through favourites from “Pogo” to the virally fantastic “Red Light, Green Light” which ended the set. Always fun, with killer energy, Dune Rats show no signs of slowing down. Their long awaited debut full length has been released since the Asian tour, and you’re currently seeing them in an Australian city near you! Ash Grunwald (pictured below) also won over the crowd, with his Howlin’ Wolf inspired “woo hoos” and excellent riffs. A track with the excellent lyrics “…don’t care about north and west because I’m going down…” was a highlight, with “Walking” closing things up.
Waving the flag for WA, The Love Junkies impressed with tracks like “Maybelene”, though they wouldn’t admit to the praise, claiming during the set,”we just get drunk and yell at people!” Well, in many ways, isn’t that the basis for rock and roll, and what makes it so great? Over on the hip hop side of the equation, Art of Fresh are something of a Canadian “supergroup” of emerging hip-hop talents, including Famous, who made waves at Music Matters last year (you can read our chat with him HERE). In addition to their own tracks, they rolled out a freestyle about Music Matters, HP and YouTube. I’m sure the sponsors would have been happy with that one.
India had their moment in the spotlight with Dualist Inquiry, a solo electronic artist, next on the main stage. Looping guitars with beats behind him, this artist shows just how eclectic the emerging scene in India has become, showcasing an energetic and dance-inducing set in the process. From there I moved indoors to the Aquanova (where I would see The Boxer Rebellion later in the evening), catching local outfit Gentle Bones (pictured below) – technically a solo project but featuring at least seven musicians on the stage – performing tracks that included “Until We Die”, which ended the set. The lead vocalist, Joel Tan, had a stand out voice, and their poppy music was definitely made with the intention to get you singing and dancing along; which they achieved with ease.
And it was amongst these performances that Music Matters Live came to an end for 2014. With an incredible array of over 60 bands from around the world, with a good chunk of Australian presence, Music Matters in Singapore once again showed that the music from the Australiasian region sits amongst the best in the world. And with something for everyone at the event, there was plenty of fun to be had in doing so. Until next year!
