A question: What comes to mind when a foreigner asks you to tell them more about "Singaporean Music"? Do we label ourselves as a culture that churns out patriotic songs only during National Day? Or is there truly a Singaporean identity - elusive though it may be?
For sharing: Our very first patriotric songs, Stand Up for Singapore, Count on me Singapore, We are Singapore, were outsourced and composed by a Canadian jazz pianist, Hugh Harrison, who was... See More
For sharing: Our very first patriotric songs, Stand Up for Singapore, Count on me Singapore, We are Singapore, were outsourced and composed by a Canadian jazz pianist, Hugh Harrison, who was working for McCann-Erickson, a global advertising company then. It was only later on that we got Singaporeans contributing. With people like Dick Lee and Jeremy Monteiro composing Home and One People, One Nation, One Singapore respectively. So, are our National Songs representative of Singaporean music?
http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/INFOPEDIA/articles/SIP_2015-03-11_165927.html
Viewpoints are subjective, and are thus never about whether it is valid. Meaning while it can be valid for me, it isn't valid to you.
But still worth sharing? ?
Maybe I'll just touch on the tip of the ice-berg: Some mention that Xinyao (新遥) is one pivotal genre that represents "Singaporean Music". On the premise that even if we agree with this, what... See More
Maybe I'll just touch on the tip of the ice-berg: Some mention that Xinyao (新遥) is one pivotal genre that represents "Singaporean Music". On the premise that even if we agree with this, what defines Xinyao? Translated literally into English, it means "Singaporean Folk Music". Eric Moo is supposedly one of the most "central figures" in Xinyao. But he is a Malaysian. So does that count? But about English songs composed by Singaporeans (another can of worms)? In fact there are deeper sociopolitical forces at play that can be traced back to the saga of Nanyang University (not NTU).
More importantly (and musically), how should the style of Xinyao be like? If we look at the most stereotypical Xinyao piece 邂逅 (see following link):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3tG-1yONdU
It has a very "pure" and "simple" melody line, very "campus-like" and accompaniment is on solo guitar. And indeed many other pieces in the Xinyao genre that came later are also possessing these similar features / characteristics.
But some have "evolved" or "expanded" to possessing the style of Hard Rock, Hip-Hop and Dance. Do we still call this Xinyao?
So if one really would like to explore the "Singaporean Identity in Music" - it is worth not just a journal article, but perhaps an entire book.