You dream, we make, Panik not

Featuring Chris Sim and Ian Lee

YOOHOO~~ In a shophouse, with co-founder of PK Records Ian Lee who heads up production, we discover something called "Geylang bleed". But also what keeps him going, in an industry where the balance between passion and money is a notoriously unforgiveable struggle—"the sustainability of working solely in music unfeasible". As the heart and soul of PK Records, the label takes on artists with authenticity—I wrote this song because I'm f***ing sad, not because I want 20k streams.

In the same week, we tag along for photographer Chris Sim's photo shoot with ambient musician Kin Leonn to see how Chris works and why he stays invested in the music scene, prioritising what he learns from the people he meets over any material gains. As for how North East Social Club came about (since 2018), co-founder Chris says it stemmed from "a place of annoyance", to do things the way they wanted and to present the bands that they wanted to see live but organisations didn't want to work with for varied reasons.

Behind the art, poster, label, cover...

Featuring Ruz and Natasha Hassan

In the dusty humidity of Sarimbun Scout Camp way up north, we trail behind Natasha Hassan, illustrator, designer and co-founder of North East Social Club, who's setting up for Sunda Festival. This was not organised by her collective but she was engaged to do the art direction for the two-day festival in the jungle—she says this is how local collectives support one another. We find out how Kanye West and Charlie Lim settled her into the scene and on this path, what inspires her—Simpsons, Bojack, little characters with googly eyes—and what else keeps her going.

And in 416, we catch illustrator and gig organiser Ruz who goes by C.I.T.O.C.—watch the video to find out what it stands for and how he went from Pokemon to punk. Inspired by horror movies, metal bands, medieval armour and the packaging of Centipede Cough Pills, the affable Ruz talks a little about the ethos of the punk scene, notoriously mistrustful of outsiders and newcomers, and about how the scenes split by genre are quite disparate—hardcore kids normally don't go to metal shows, there are lots of differences, different opinions too. As someone who plays in a punk band, he says he doesn't aim to make money from shows that he organises, it's more about supporting younger musicians or the bands who are going on tour/launching an album.

This series was commissioned by Esplanade Offstage and produced by MAKO for the 22nd edition of Baybeats 2023, the alternative music festival presented annually by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.