Author: Site Administration

Baracuda Batucada is one of five acts who will be performing at Celebrate AWARE’s 25th Birthday Party. Vimal Veeran, 19-year-old lead percussionist from Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s percussion ensemble, tells AWARE’s Debbie Sim about the samba drum group that has a little bit of rhythm and a lot of soul.

What does your band name actually mean?
Batucada means Brazilian Percussion Band. The baracuda is a voracious predatory fish. We choose the name to portray a band thats filled with life, fire and thrill, incorporating samba music in the process.

Ngee Ann Business students are setting up 16 stalls at our bazaar, is that what made you perform at Celebrate and how will you support your schoolmates?
That’s not what made us want to perform for the event. We did this to help for a good cause and also to give our newer members a chance to experience the joy of performing outside of school.

You guys are going to be really, really loud while rocking those samba percussion tunes. Are we going to have some angry Dover Crescent residents on our hands?
The noise is always a double-edged sword. People are either enticed by it and gather around the music or they move away with their hands covering their ears. Whatever happens we just let the show carry on and perform the way that is intended. Anyway, the performances are early in the evening and not late at night!

What makes you want to support AWARE? Any particular cause you’re passionate about?
We’re not passionate about any area in particular. All we know is that AWARE focuses on women’s rights. I see it as an organisation to protect women and help women who are victimised by society and that is a good cause to be a part of.

What can the crowd expect from your performance at Celebrate?
They can expect a very different and enjoyable performance. Baracuda Batucada will make them move to our grooves.

Read other interviews with Lunarin, MICappella, Like A Band and Aarthi Sankar.

Like A Band is one of six acts to grace the stage at Celebrate! AWARE’s 25th Birthday Party. Drummer Muhammad Siraj explains the band’s electro-funk sound to AWARE’s Debbie Sim.

‘Like A Band’, seriously?
The name represents how different all of us are in the band. Sharon (vocals and keyboards) loves indie, Eugene (guitar) likes the blues, Brandon (bass) is all about funk and the disco era while I, Siraj (drums), am more into the rap rock craze. We couldn’t really agree on one name that represents all these dimensions. So when an ex-member suggested this name, we said: “Why not?”

You didn’t mention any of your influences on your MySpace profile. Can you name a few?
Let’s see… John Mayer, and The John Mayer Trio, Crystal Palace, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Roots, The Black Keys and The Killers.

In your bio you say that your sound is like “golden beavers chomping trees”. Please explain.
Well, have you ever heard or seen a golden beaver chomping a tree? It looks awesome and it sounds crazy.

[Laughing] Of course! You guys are pretty new, yet have already performed for the Youth Olympic Games, Gap and KFC. What do you think has helped you secure such high profile gigs?
Hmmm….unique music! And having the right contacts helps as well.

Well, we’re thrilled you’re giving your time to sing at Celebrate. What made you decide to support AWARE?
Basically, myself and the other Like A Band members feel we’ve been really fortunate. So if we have a way to give back to the society why not use it? Plus, we get to earn some karma points right?

Giving back to society is definitely great karma. So what does AWARE mean to you?
Honestly?

Yes!
Well, I believe AWARE is a place for women to gather together to share and discuss how to make the women of tomorrow face fewer problems than they face today. The rights and voices of today’s women will affect the women of tomorrow. I think that is a very noble cause.

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves, Siraj. Lastly, tell us, what can the crowd expect from your performance at Celebrate?
Be prepared to hear some familiar tunes and a few of our original tracks from Like A Band. Clap your hands, tap your feet, singalong and just have fun.

Read other interviews with Lunarin, Baracuda Batucada, MICappella and Aarthi Sankar.

MICapella is one of six acts performing at Celebrate! AWARE’s 25th Birthday Party. Founder and vocal percussionist Peter Huang speaks to AWARE’s Debbie Sim about rocking the a capella genre and singing in seven (soon-to-be eight) languages.

You claim not to be an a capella group but a “vocal rock band”. What’s the difference?
We’re a vocal rock band as opposed to the traditional barbershop doowop idea of a cappella. We try to take a cappella to the next level and to make it more listenable to mainstream audiences. This has been at the back of my mind ever since I first heard an American group called M-Pact more than 10 years ago. After a few years of living, studying and working as a producer overseas, I came back and found like-minded a cappella lovers who share this vision of rocking out, a cappella style.

You have Mandarin, Hokkien and English songs in your repertoire. Any other languages we should know about?
We actually sing in a wide variety of languages such as Malay (all-time favourite Bengawan Solo). We’ve also done Japanese, Spanish, Cantonese and hopefully Korean soon!

What makes you want to support AWARE? Any particular cause you’re passionate about?
One of AWARE’s roles is to be an avenue for victims of rape and spousal abuse to know their rights and how they can and should stand up against their perpetrators. This is so important in a society that is somewhat prideful. So many times, the trauma goes unnoticed because the first reaction is to cover up the pain. In supporting AWARE, we hope to encourage people to be more conscious and attentive to their surroundings and how they can prevent it from happening to loved ones or even themselves.

What does AWARE mean to you?
Empowerment and protection for women and children to be able to make a stand and live for themselves in the already high living standards and pressures in Singapore. The most important thing is that people are made aware of their rights so that they, or should I say, we, can fight for what is right.

What can the crowd expect from your performance at Celebrate?
The crowd can expect to hear the human voice in an unexpected way.
We hope what you’ll take away from our performance is this: that when it comes to your voice, the possibilities are limitless.

Read other interviews with Lunarin, Baracuda Batucada, Like A Band and Aarthi Sankar.

Lunarin is one of six acts set to rock the stage at Celebrate AWARE’s 25th Birthday Party. Vocalist and bass player (and full-time family lawyer) Linda Ong tells Debbie Sim why AWARE’s work is so important and gives sage advice to budding musicians.

I understand that the song Coralline is about a girl who was never born. What made you choose this track to be a free download on UNIFEM’s anti-sex trafficking website, Sound Out Singapore?
Coralline is a song about the loss of a human life and the pain of a mother coping with that loss. I thought it was suitable for the UNIFEM cause because I believed it was important to bear in mind that every victim of sex trafficking is someone’s child, sibling, friend. We leapt at the opportunity to be able to have our music be put to good use and it was an honour for us to be able to contribute to the Sound Out cause.

We’re so glad you’re giving your time to sing for us. What makes you want to support AWARE?
I am a family lawyer and have done my fair share of taking out applications for personal protection orders and maintenance summonses for clients. I wish more could be done, especially to help women from low-income backgrounds to understand their rights better and have more access to help. As a band, we all feel strongly about discrimination against groups of people based on gender and sexual orientation.

What does AWARE mean to you?
AWARE has always been at the forefront of pushing for gender equality. It may be viewed as a tad too progressive or controversial by some right-wing traditionalists but my personal take is you need a group like AWARE to constantly push the envelope in order for change to take place.

We completely agree! What can the crowd expect from your performance at Celebrate?
Our drummer can’t make it for the show, so we have no choice but to play a quiet acoustic set. We will be playing some B-sides off our new album Duae and will be assisted by our friend Natalie Soh on violins and my brother Victor on cello.

Wow, violins and cello? How did an alt rock band incorporate strings?
Natalie is a violin player for local band called Serenaide and played in two songs on our first album. We’ve known her for years and thought it would be a fun addition. She has done a wonderful job so far, so we can’t wait to let you guys hear them.
My brother Victor recently picked up the cello. I sent him a rough MP3 recording of a new song we wrote and he immediately starting playing along to it on his cello. We thought we’d get him in to try and work out some cello parts for us, given his interest. To our surprise he was able to accompany almost all of our acoustic songs. The cello has certainly added a new dimension to the music.

Last question: If I want to start a new band, what advice would you give me?
You need to really love music and be prepared to continue playing even if no one is listening. Playing original english music is tough in Singapore because mainstream media is not receptive to it. You have to know the true reasons why you play music otherwise you will get easily discouraged and disband. The three of us have been playing together for almost 16 years now. The reason why we still keep doing this is because we love playing music and creating music together. We know that we will continue playing music together for as long as we can even if no one buys our music.

Read other interviews with Baracuda Batucada, MICappella, Like A Band and Aarthi Sankar.