Lion City Rock

Coming to you live - but recorded - from New Zealand ... it's Eza! Although he may not have excelled in school when he was a kid, Isa Seow, better known to the music world as Eza, found that he excelled in crafting songs. The multi-instrumentalist signed with Pony Canyon as a teenager in Singapore and produced recordings that were just as good as any out there. He was featured in the New Schoo...

Formed in 2007, Wormrot is Singapore's offering to the world of grindcore. They have been described as one of the top 10 grindcore bands in the world, and have three albums to their name (with another on the way). They also became the first Singaporean band to perform at the Glastonbury Festival. In this episode, drummer Vijesh shares his Wormrot journey and answers our pressing questions: Wha...

Before there were Singapore Idols like Taufik Batisah, Sezairi Sezali or even Stef Sun, JJ Lin or Kit Chan, there were The Crescendos – Singapore's OG teen idols! They were discovered when they were taking part in the 1962 Talentime competition, and even though they didn't win, they achieved several firsts: They were the first local artists to be signed to an international record label, Ph...

Rene Ann Wong started learning to play the piano when she was only four, and now, she's well on the way to taking on the world with her unique blend of pop-punk. Even the pandemic hasn't stopped her musical journey. In 2021, she released her debut EP, Something To Hide , and rocked the Baybeats stage at the end of last year. In this episode, she shares... ...about her time in The Lonely He...

Case Woo has been dropping beats for nearly 30 years, first with collab collectives like electro-punk trio Daze, and EDM outfit Quadmix, among others, and then as a solo artist. Along with Joe Ng, Jason Tan and Leonard T, Case Woo was part of the pioneering group of producers taking the big leap into the electronic music scene in Singapore, and later, around the world, working with the likes of Ki...

And we're baaaaack! It's a brand new season and Chris and Kevin return with more conversations about Singapore's pop scene. But first, it's a special performance by The Fast Colors, the only band covering songs from the Lion City. Recorded in January at the Festive Arts Theatre @ Our Tampines Hub, The Fast Colors took a musical journey, going through Singa-pop's history and her...

Welcome to Part Two of our season finale, featuring the one and only, Art Fazil! After his jaunt to the UK and Europe, Art headed back to the Lion City, only to find things had changed quite a bit since he went away. Why did he return and how did he get back into the swing of things here? Why is he fronting a rock band and doing recordings of children's songs? Will he ever finish his book abou...

It's our Season Finale! And like our season debut, we're ending it with a two-part special featuring another icon of the indie music scene: It's none other than singer-songwriter Art Fazil! He not only made a name for himself as a solo artist but also as a songwriter for some of the biggest names in Malay pop/rock, including our very own Papa Rock, Ramli Sarip. In Part 1, Art shares......

In the days when guys were all jumping on the alternative rock bandwagon, Sideshow Judy , led by Pauline Chong , made a splash because they were one of only a few female-fronted rock bands in Singapore (no, really!) While the band's recording output was limited to compilations such as Left Of The Dial and Flush After Use, they garnered a fanbase that showed their utmost support at the gigs. He...

Nobody combined the funky smooth sounds with Lion City vibes better than The Stoned Revivals . Formed by friends who just wanted to play music, The Stoned Revivals had a uniquely different sound to what the rest of the indie scene was churning out. Their perky grooves, syncopated beats and stage flair meant these guys would always be the life of any party. Now, members Esam Salleh, Kamal Yacob and...

One of our favourite rockers, Linda Ong of Lunarin is our guest this week! Lunarin has been progressively rocking the Lion City ever since Linda, Eng Teck and Kah Wye first met in Dunman High. With influences ranging from Nirvana to Tool, critics have described Lunarin's brand of prog-rock as "snarling", "propulsive", "groovy metal bangers" and – our favourite – "ce...

It's a new year and a brand new episode for you Lion City Rockers. But what do Roald Dahl, Richard Linklater's Slackers and HG Wells have to do with Singapore music? A lot, if you're pop-punk/surf punk/garage rock/surf yeh yeh band, Force Vomit! Founding members Dino and Alvin join us in this super-fun chat to share what made Force Vomit such a force in the Singapore and Malaysia music...

And so this is Christmas ... and what have we done? Another year nearly over, a new one just about to begin. In this episode, Kevin and Chris take a look back at the year and recount their Lion City Rock journey. Well, kind of. Mostly, they end up talking about anything and everything under the sun. This is what happens when you give them drinks and record at night. But they do answer some intrigu...

This podcast series isn't only about musos of the past – this week, we talk to young Isaac Chiew , a music lover and musician who's taking things into his own hands with his band Cactus Cactus and his company, Big Duck Music . How did he get started? What made him decide to stage his version of Baybeats – calling it Naybeats? And why did he risk getting charged by his army commander just s...

The Quests have been labelled as Singapore's version of The Beatles . Not only did they knock The Beatles off the top spot with their song, Shanty ; they couldn't go anywhere without being recognised, they were always on TV and radio or in the news, and yes, screaming fans would flock to their gigs. They were legends in their own right. So we were thrilled to speak to Henry Chua , The Ques...

In the late 1980s, few bands rocked harder than Opposition Party , the pioneering punk band that paved the way for other punk rockers, even as they blazed a trail into hardcore. With their hard-as-nails look – spiky hair, chains, leathers and jeans – the band raised eyebrows at every gig, pelting the audience with their ferocious and face-melting sound as they thundered through songs like Impendin...

It's our 10TH EPISODE! And we have none other than Mei Wong, a.k.a. The Analog Girl . To our minds, she the embodiment of the D.I.Y. spirit, ever since she put up a concert for her dad at home when she was a young girl so that he would agree to let her pursue a music career. Throughout her journey, she has shown that it's sometimes best to seize the day and make things happen for yourself...

Music educator Ray Aziz spends his days teaching children how to appreciate rhythms, melodies and the stories behind the songs they learn. But Ray's story behind his musical journey is worth noting: beginning with drumming for rockers Swirling Madness and later, joining Singapore's first full-on punk rock band, Opposition Party. His next stop was the US, where he honed his musical knowledg...

In 2015, Saiful Idris and his band The Great Spy Experiment finally called it a day after 10 years of rocking the nation with their infectiously catchy brand of dance-punk-rock. But that wasn't the end of the road for Saiful, who has carved a new niche for himself putting out pumping dance/electronic music that seems a far cry from what The Great Spy Experiment was about, but really, it was th...

As the bassist of Psycho Sonique , one of Singapore's first all-girl punk bands in the 1990s, Ginette Chittick made young hormonal teens drool as they played their spitfire songs on stages in Singapore and Malaysia. They recorded several songs - along with an EP, We Can Do It - that showcased a "just do it" attitude better than any shoe with a swoosh. She later joined Astreal , a band...

With No1 singles and hit albums, Electrico were the band of the 2000s in Singapore. Formed as a quartet, they eventually settled on their classic line-up of Amanda, Dave, Daniel, Desmond & William in 2003, which led to one wild rollercoaster ride as they drove on to become the Lion City band to beat. But as the 2010s rolled around, the band - now reduced to the core trio of Dave, Desmond and W...

On 27 Sept, 2021, Chris Ho passed away, joining the great gig in the sky. He was "forever 27", so in a way, he's also a member of the 27 Club. As the singer of Zircon Lounge, Chris Ho helped push New Wave onto our shores. As the columnist who wrote Pop Life and radio deejay, he introduced local artists to the mainstream audience here. As the author of Skew Me, You Rebel Meh? he bared h...

For most of his life, Dru Chen has turned to music for soulful expression. After graduating from university, he carved out a career as one of the bright young stars in Singapore. He's certainly one of the most hardworking: he has put out several EPs and singles since 2013, as well as a full-length album, Mirror Work (2019). By the time you hear this, his new album, Slow Life , would be ready t...

Guitarist extraordinaire and furkid dad Daniel Sassoon jumps on the Lion City Rock bandwagon with us! Daniel Sassoon is not, as far as we know, related to Vidal, but he's no less talented. The legal eagle is one of the coolest guitarists we know. He lived through the '90s with rock outfit Livonia ; he was rockin' out with 2000s pop-rock faves Electrico ; and he later became the head ho...

In the 1990s, the Singapore music scene experienced a resurgence, with many indie bands dropping new singles and albums every year. After the dearth of material in the 1970s and 1980s, it was sometimes called the "second wave" of local music or "the indie years". Artists who topped the charts during this era included The Oddfellows, Watchmen, Kick, Livonia, Humpback Oak, Art Fazil...