Caleigh Heng is a Baybeats Budding Writer mentored by Ilyas Sholihyn, editor-in-chief of RICE Media and Eddino Abdul Hadi, music correspondent for The Straits Times.

There is something quite poetic about the sight of the shophouse at 32 Haji Lane.

On the first floor, a pastel pink Korean photo studio sits pretty, with groups of young people posing for the camera inside its colourful booths.

To its left is a bench DIY-ed out of four skateboard decks, with stickers almost fully covering its surface. A woman clad in full black with stretched earlobes sits on the bench, taking a drag of her cigarette. She radiates an atmosphere of youth, so much that one might even mistake her as a teenager from afar.

This woman is Tatty Marlina, 49, who owns the store on the second floor of the shophouse. She puts out her cigarette and heads back up to work, through its graffitied stairwell.

Upstairs, her 23-year-old son, Alif Raul, stands in front of a clothes rack, filming himself trying on new products for the store’s social media as loud alternative music blasts through wall-mounted speakers.

Together, Tatty and Raul make the mother-son duo that built Haji Lane’s alternative scene marketplace, In My Head, ground-up.

Risking it for a dream

While other businesses involved in the home-grown music scene, like vinyl record stores Surface Noise and Mosta Records, focus on the music itself, In My Head leverages on their rare asset of having a physical space to bring the alternative community together.

Besides their usual merchandise of band T-shirts, accessories and zines, the store has evolved into a third space for the scene to connect over a wider range of shared interests, including art, design and fashion, while keeping music at the centre.

“Some of our regulars are people from the scene, and they like to drop by and catch up. We talk about gigs, shows, music, and anything else. It kind of developed into a little community hub, for people to see what’s up.” said Raul.

Like many of Singapore’s creatives, the two began their journey as a side hustle in 2023. Raul, then a diploma student at Lasalle College of the Arts, had been working part-time at a thrift store, but felt an itch to do more.

“I was sick of selling certain things,” recalls Raul. “Working in retail, I saw what people wanted and didn’t want. A lot of the thrift stores at that time were doing the same thing, and I felt like I wanted to do something different.”

At the same time, Tatty enjoyed making jewellery and sewing as a hobby outside of her full-time job, sewing items like reworked bags for Raul. He became somewhat of a trendsetter when his friends began to ask him where he got his bags from, and expressed that they too wanted to buy one.

With a new demand for Tatty’s handcrafted pieces, the duo saw an opportunity to join forces and offer something unique. They rented a pop-up booth at the now-shuttered Peace Centre to “just try it out”, and sold reworked garments and handmade accessories under the brand Bloody Valentine, a nod to shoegaze pioneers, My Bloody Valentine.

Just as they were starting out, Singapore’s then-oldest shopping mall met its inevitable end with a demolition order, leaving them no choice but to relocate.

“Being in business is very risky, it’s a lot of responsibility and commitment. So I was a bit hesitant at first, but I thought ‘Okay, let’s try. Maybe we can get a small shop and see if we can manage,” Tatty says.

This led to them renting out their very first space at 43 Haji Lane in April 2024, which marked the birth of In My Head. Being located on the third floor, and at a quieter section of the lane, they expected little foot traffic and attention from curious passersby.

While it had a simple design, the store still looked vastly different from the other calm, cosy, tourist-ready stores surrounding it. Its bold red signages, still up in front of their store today, immediately told of In My Head’s alternative essence. Word of the new kids on the block began to spread, and the people showed up.

said Raul, who is also a vocalist in local bands feelslikeyou and Sicario47.

As business picked up and things got busier around the store, Tatty decided it was time to quit her corporate job of 18 years and run In My Head full-time, thanks to some convincing from Raul.

In My Head subsequently moved two more times within Haji Lane, until finally settling into their current space at 32 Haji Lane in June 2025. Since moving in, they have made the space truly their own. On top of Bloody Valentine, they now offer an expanded selection of local and Southeast Asian band T-shirts, indie zines and local brands, including Reign, Raul’s own self-designed and self-printed clothing brand.

Third space for the scene, information counter for the curious

Actively promoting the local music scene and culture is at the core of In My Head’s purpose. Their “gig calendar” whiteboard, which mimics an old-school bulletin board, and walls plastered with both curated and requested local gig posters from various organisers have made them, as Raul calls it, an “information counter for the scene”.

Tatty and Raul brought up how once in a while, tourists from around the world would head up to the store to ask about local gigs, to which they would give them recommendations based on their preferred genres.

Tatty silently teased Raul, citing a strange incident when a tourist had come all the way from Japan just to talk to him.

“It’s quite weird…we’re also quite confused lah. How do they know that our store is the place to ask about these things?” Raul wondered.

Despite his humble outlook, the content Raul produces for the stores social media pages is the most likely answer to his question. Several of their posts have even gone viral in the online alternative community, with one video that features him moshing to pick up a customer’s coins racking up more than 435,000 views and over 40,000 likes on Instagram.

With so much attention from underground music lovers, they also regularly play local bands’ music in store as a gateway for customers, both familiar and unfamiliar with the scene, to discover new underground music and support bands through purchasing their band T-shirts.

“Tourists, especially in the hardcore community, would try to support and buy anything that’s local. Then we try to introduce them to the music. That's how we try to help local bands to gain more following as well,” Tatty added.

Occasionally, they even welcome touring bands, some of which have been Natural Human Instinct from San Jose, California, and Dongker from Bandung, Indonesia, to their space to catch up and have a taste of the local scene.

Tatty also shared how customers who are new to the scene would approach them for advice.

“We have customers that tell me they want to go [to gigs] but they’re shy. I tell them to just go and enjoy themselves, and support the legacy. It’s not about how you dress or looking cool, it’s just about showing up and supporting them.”

Raul chimed in with a bit of wit: “We provide both the drip and knowledge.” Not only does In My Head offer the apparel to look and feel your most authentic self, but also educates you on the ethics and morals that are the backbone of the alternative scene.

No filters

If you follow In My Head on Instagram, you may notice the occasional all-caps story being posted, chiding unruly customers in their store who may disrespect their space, even unintentionally.

“We’re very blunt. We don’t like to sugarcoat, and we try to be as honest as possible,” said Raul.

“Many stores would probably bitch about customers…but for us, we will really shout at you,” Tatty asserted.

Tatty, who mans the store daily while Raul serves his National Service, lamented that someone would get scolded in the shop almost daily. They are not ones to shy away from this fact, which is even jokingly referenced in some of the social media content Raul makes for the store.

Tatty comments that those videos are why “everyone thinks she is fierce.”

“But you are!” Raul playfully responds, as they both burst into laughter.

While this might be shocking to someone unfamiliar with In My Head, I found their bluntness quite refreshing. It adds another layer to their brand of true authenticity rarely seen in the business world, where they genuinely teach customers the values that have shaped their store and their lives.

Having grown up alternative, both Tatty and Raul have had their fair share of negative experiences with those who could not understand why they live the way they do. Even though “alternative culture” has become more normalised these days thanks to social media and fashion trends, they want to show people what it means to truly be alternative.

Raul shared.

Even though their stated business hours are from 2pm to 9pm daily, Tatty mentioned how they would sometimes close the store early if there is a gig they really want to go to, even if it means their wallets take a hit.

“To me, you can’t claim something you’re not actively involved in,” Raul declared. “If you don’t even show up [to gigs] and nobody knows you, how can you claim you’re alternative? Make sure you live the lifestyle…how it’s intended to be.”

Underneath the tough love, you can tell they truly do care for their customers—and while I have never been on the receiving end of an authentic scolding, I would very much prefer not to find out.

It takes two to make a thing go right

Under the ever-increasing pressures of operating a small business, occasional squabbles about the store are not uncommon between mother and son. Take pricing, for example.

“He will tell me, ‘Ma, we got to keep it cheap.’ [Gen-Zs] are in NS or students, and he wants to ensure that everything is affordable. I understand their pain, but I got to pay rent too, man,” Tatty sighs, as both of them flash each other looks of empathy and understanding.

Tatty has always encouraged Raul to express himself authentically. In fact, she has always been actively involved in Raul’s interests, like how they used to cosplay video game characters together. Running In My Head together is a perfect representation of how their relationship has stayed the same over the years.

In a way, they balance each other out. Tatty is the self-described “discipline master”, instilling responsibility and knowledge on how to sustain the business, while Raul is the “welcoming part of the store” bringing fresh ideas, keeping up with the interests of younger generations, and bringing awareness to In My Head.

“It's a great blend of…how many decades?” Raul asks, a hint of cheekiness in his tone.

“Oh, shut up…” Tatty hits back, catching his little joke immediately.

For the next generation

In Singapore’s less-than-ideal economic environment for small businesses, sky high rental and operational costs keep many players out of the game, or forces existing ones to cater to the masses to survive. Yet, In My Head remains undeterred and unchanged by this gloomy outlook, and Tatty hopes that In My Head will continue to thrive until the next generation.

Raul uses the knowledge he has picked up from both his mother, and his own experience in the scene, to help fulfil this wish.

“I can share all this knowledge with people my age, or younger than me that are keen to do something for the scene or community. Whether it's starting a store, starting a brand or starting a band…I do whatever I can to help.”

Tatty proclaims, a glimmer of hope on her face.

As I ended my interview with them, Tatty stood up from behind the counter, walked over to a wall, and began drilling. I had never seen anyone so casually pick up a power tool during opening hours. It was then I understood the philosophy of do-it-yourself culture. Not waiting around for someone else to do it, but learning on the go and utilising resources that are accessible to you.

Despite the blood, sweat and tears Tatty and Raul faced in building the store, from challenges like finding space to self-financing their business, In My Head still exists today, serving the alternative community and disrupting expectations of what a business should look and sound like.

I walk out of In My Head with a completely new perspective on alternative culture. Within its (fake) bloodied walls lies a space where you can be sure that it is not surface-level aesthetics or trends, but a desire to keep the underground music scene alive for decades to come, that binds its community together.