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PopLore #7: The future of Singapore pop

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PopLore #6: New wave, new sounds

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PopLore #5: "Barbarous music of this kind"

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PopLore #4: Singapore Indian pop transcends the music of Indian cinema

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PopLore #3: Threads that tie Singapore Malay pop

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PopLore #2: Chinese pop in Singapore and abroad

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PopLore #1: Origin stories

Published: 29 Apr 2022
Updated: 27 Nov 2025
Time taken: >15mins

PopLore: Stories of Singapore Pop

PopLore #6: New wave, new sounds

How Singapore pop came alive again

Music
29 Apr 2022
27 Nov 2025
>15mins

Download the full transcript here

PopLore #6 - Full transcript

PDF • 178.00 KB

PopLore #6: New wave, new sounds

PopLore #6: New wave, new sounds

If the 1970s was the decade that saw music-makers here grappling with the impact of cultural policies and social shifts that constrained the development of original homegrown music, then perhaps the 1980s was when things started to change.

That was the decade of the very first National Day songs, and Dick Lee’s breakthrough album, The Mad Chinaman. In this episode hosted by Esplanade programmer Sai Akilesh, find out why Dick thinks his landmark album would not have been possible without those National Day songs.

The 1980s also saw the first stirrings of an indie music ecosystem. BigO, Singapore’s first independent music magazine, launched, and started to release compilations and organise gigs that featured local indie bands. Musician, DJ and writer Chris Ho also inspired many future music icons to create original music. 

The momentum for the alternative scene grew steadily, gig by gig, and track by track. By the time the 1990s arrived, complete with a brand new performance venue in the form of The Substation, conditions were ripe for an indie explosion.

Hear musicians Joe Ng and Patrick Chng share more about what it was like to build a community from the ground up during those pre-Internet years, perhaps our last age of innocence. Producer Leonard Soosay and the band members of Electrico also talk about how the 1990s scene influenced them and planted the seeds for their creative output in the 2000s.

This episode also features singer-songwriter Art Fazil, multi-hyphenate Ginette Chittick, and the late Chris Ho. The latter two’s soundbites are from So Happy: 50 Years of Singapore Rock, a 2015 project by creative agency fFurious, and you can check out its full array of interviews here.

Thank you to fFurious for granting permission to use excerpts from their project. 

PopLore: Stories of Singapore Pop, produced by Hong Xinyi and Dorothy Ding, is commissioned by Esplanade as part of PopLore: A Year of Singapore Popular Music in celebration of its 20th anniversary in 2022. 

Catch Art Fazil live at Esplanade Recital Studio on 27 May 2022.

Watch Dick Lee live in concert with Omnitones at Esplanade Concert Hall on 18 & 19 Jun 2022.

Further explore

Further explore

Read more about Dick Lee’s musical journey

Find out more about the 1990s indie scene

Listen to Lion City Rock, a podcast about Singapore pop hosted by Chris Toh and Kevin Mathews.

Learn more about the legacy of Chris Ho through this tribute issue of s/pores journal

Song credits

So Happy
Artist: The Oddfellows
Composer and Lyricist: Patrick Chng
Usage of the song is courtesy of The Oddfellows.

Radio Station
Artist: The Padres
Music and Words: Joe Ng
Usage of the song is courtesy of Joe Ng.

Runaway
Artist: Electrico
Composers: Goh Soon Chuan, William Lim Jr, Daniel Bernard Sassoon, David Tan Teck Jin
Publisher: 19Sixtyfive Pte Ltd (Warner Chappell Music Singapore Pte Ltd)
Usage of the song is courtesy of Warner Chappell Music Singapore Pte Ltd and 19Sixtyfive Pte Ltd.

 

About the narrator and artists

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PopLore #6: New wave, new sounds | Offstage | Artist interviews,Indie / Alternative music,Pop / Rock music,Singapore composers,Singapore musicians | PopLore | PopLore: Stories of Singapore Pop
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