Lion City Rock

Jean Seizure has been in the public eye as a child actor, but since has since become one of Singapore's notable singer-songwriters! 2023 has been quite the year for Jean - she recently capped of the year with an award for being one in the Top 5 "Rising 65" chart on Spotify (for the track ' Tell Me '), and she has been creating content for platforms like TikTok et al. Is this a...

When it comes to the Lion City's hip-hop scene, someone who's making a wave in recent years is ABANGSAPAU . He's one of the new breed of rappers that have inspired the young(er) generation of music fans in Singapore. In this special chat, he talks about his love for rap, and how one fateful gig changed his life forever. Kevin's and Chris' rant and raves this week include, comme...

The Axean Festival last month featured 50 music artistes taking the opportunity to strut their stuff for the audiences at the Goodman Arts Centre, but did it achieve its goals? We don't know, we didn't organise it. But we can tell you what we liked and didn't like. Especially since we have our favourite gig guy Bas Linders in this episode to share his views. Meanwhile, Chris and Kevin...

THIS WEEK: It's the incredible tale of J.M3 ! Recorded in early October, we sat down with the Singapore hip-hop artiste who has been making waves not just in the Lion City but in the region and beyond. Her hit 'Hot Sauce' has been featured in the US TV series, Kung Fu ; 'Tap Out' was in the movie, Joy Ride (starring Everything Everywhere All At Once actress Stephanie Hsu), and...

Meet Aeriqah, a musician whose introspective tunes have captured the hearts of fans both in Singapore and overseas. How else can you explain her picking up the Best Duet (Viewers Choice) prize at this year's California Music Video Awards for her song 'Maybe', a duet featuring Umar Sirhan? From forming a circle of like-minded friends in the music scene - including the likes of RENE and...

Ti-i-i-ime seems to be on Lim Kiang's side. As a founding member of Straydogs, he was responsible for helping to shape the sound of Singapore's Sixties, thanks to songs like 'Freedom', 'Mum's Too Pampering', 'Cold Morning' and 'Repent'. The band captured the harder rhythms that earlier bands like The Quests and The Crescendos lacked. Now, nearly 60 years...

It may not seem like it, but our guest Joe Ng has probably worked on more movies than, er, Fann Wong, Chin Han and Tan Kheng Hua combined! (*We could be wrong - maths is not our strength.) But let's tick off those that we know: Confinement, The Maid, Gone Shopping, One Leg Kicking, Eating Air, Rule #1, Zombiepura, Unlucky Plaza, Bait, Battle Of The Damned, Sex. Violence. FamilyValues., Republi...

"Hey Joe, where you gonna go..." well, if it's Joe Ng, then he went from fronting synth-pop duo Corporate Toil to promoting bands as a record executive to becoming an award-winning music composer for film. But just how did he do it? Find out what he really thinks of... working with Richard Claydermann being the co-star of Mee Pok Man having a band name like "Joe Ng and Friends"...

You'd have to be living under a rock not to know about Shye . She's one of the hottest names in the Lion City these days and no wonder: In the past five years, Shye has released 4 EPs, 1 album, received a slew of awards, gigged around the world, and played support acts for some big names in music-dom (most recently for Grammy winner Daniel Caesar). And she's only barely 21! It seems li...

Wanna know what the sound of 50 bands from the region (and then some!) is like? Then head to the Axean Festival 2023 on 28-29 Oct, 2-10.30pm . This multi-genre showcase will feature rising music stars from countries like Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, The Philippines, Indonesia and more! To tell us more about it is Piyapong "Py" Muenprasertdee, one of the co-founders of t...

After a years-long absence, one of our favourite live bands, Great Spy Experiment, returns to the stage this weekend at the 2023 Baybeats festival! So to help you prep for the gig, why not check out this previous chat with the GSE's lead singer, Saiful Idris, as he shares how the band became one of Singapore's most exciting live bands of the 2000s. ****** LINKS Our review of Great Spy'...

It's been two years since Chris Ho left this world to join the great gig in the sky, but his legacy still remains, in the form of his music. Kevin and Chris hit the rewind button on his debut offering, Regal Vigor, recorded with his band, Zircon Lounge. Does it actually live up to its reputation as THE alternative album that started it all? Tell us what you think! Pix: Singapore Storeroom ****...

Can you believe this podcast is Two Years Old? We certainly can't. That's because our memories aren't what they used to be. Nevertheless, we decided to recall the highlights of Year Two in the life of Lion City Rock and ask ourselves these questions: What were the biggest learnings we had? (OK, we had more questions but we could only get to this one...) But hey, we never let an occasio...

It's a fantastic bumper episode featuring musician and Saylah Studios founder Krysta Joy ! When it comes to music, she's a real trooper in every sense of the word: whether it's making sure she can spend time to write one song a day, or helping others achieve their goals (musical or otherwise). Her tale is an inspiring one, and it's right here on Lion City Rock! ****** Links Listen...

Here's our humble tribute of sorts as we look at the music journeys of two pioneer musicians who recently left this realm to join the great gig in the sky: Jimmy Appudurai-Chua (Meltones, Straydogs) and Peter Thomas (Naomi & The Boys). Both were instrumental in shaping the Singapore music scene of the Sixties and though they're gone, the legacy will not be forgotten. ****** Links Liste...

We continue our re-listening party with the bands featured in New School Rock III (pronounced "three" ... or "ai ai ai"), the compilation album that was given free with BigO magazine. This time round Kevin and Chris share their thoughts about Pillars of Faith, Swirling Madness, Rocket Scientists and Watchmen - with a bonus tacked at the end too! ****** Links Listen to New School Ro...

In 1993, BigO magazine released New School Rock III, the third volume in their music compilation series. Comprising 17 songs (including one hidden track) from bands like ESP, Band of Slaves, Silent Sorrow and more, this album was a microcosm of the music scene at the time. Or was it? Thirty years after its release, Chris and Kevin hit the playback button and give their reaction to the compilation....

Singer-songwriter Leslie Low (Humpback Oak, The Observatory) has come a long way since he started making music as a teen with Twang Bar Kings. He'll be doing live performances of his music journey at The Esplanade Concourse on 17 and 18 Aug (see link below). This rewind episode sees Kevin and Chris review one of the key offerings in the Lion City's music canon: Pain-Stained Morning the deb...

We’re back with a SPECIAL EPISODE featuring the one and only Sanny Veloo (Boredphucks, The Suns, EMPRA). He's been making music not only in the Lion City but also Down Under, with fans from all over the world. The vocalist and guitarist takes a walk down memory lane and recounts how Boredphucks got banned in da Singapura, how they rose again as The Suns, the tragic death of drummer Wayne Thund...

2023 marks the 30th anniversary of Force Vomit, the band that gave the world songs like "Siti" and "Spaceman Over Malaysia". With new reissues of their hit album, Give It Up For The Trust Fund Rockers, there's no better time to get into the punk-power-pop-surf these guys produced. But just how did friends from school who liked music become returning fixtures in the Lion City&#3...

If you were at Guan Chuan Street @ Tiong Bahru last night (21 July 2023), you would have been awash with the sounds of The Analog Girl, who reworked her tracks for the Your Neighbourhood Artist Exhibition 3. It's not the first time she has let her music set the scene for various art forms. Her latest projects include remixing Roberto Montoya's "Polybius" and doing the vocals for Th...

Wormrot's Singapore gig in September - as part of the Burning Desire Asia Tour - is as highly anticipated by their fans as Tay-Tay's is by her fans or Coldplay's by their fans, but Wormrot has the distinction of being the one who was featured on Lion City Rock! We spoke to drummer Vijesh back when the band was putting the final touches to their latest album, Hiss . Hear about the highs...

Not many people know this, but though Dru Chen 's latest release, Slower Life , may only be a few weeks old, the idea for it was birthed when he first appeared on Lion City Rock ( "that's not true" - ed. "That's our story and we're sticking to it!" - Chris) Find out what Dru said about the album in this rewind episode, and hear about his music journey, from learning...

Our very first guest returns for a chat! Patrick Chng (The Oddfellows, Typewriter) is back to answer questions about how the Lion City is rockin' these days: ... we've had the Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age of local music – is it time for the Ironic Age? ... the underground live scene today recalls the live scene from 30 years ago, with pockets of gigs all over the island (if you know...

This rewind episode features one of our earliest guests: Ginette Chittick , whom we think is an artist in every sense of the word. She joined the all-girl punk band Psycho Sonique without really how to play bass. But isn't what punk is all about? Psycho Sonique was a key band of Singapore's then-fledgling indie scene in the 1990s, and they made young hormonal teens drool with their spitfir...