Actress-singer Annette Lee takes you Behind The Music, which brings you the stories and messages of encouragement in her music. From Song For The Underdog, featured on local popular media platform SGAG, to Gold, which has gone viral on TikTok, this special performance done backstage at the Esplanade Concert Hall will truly take you Behind The Music. Also look out for her single Spring Will Always Come, an encouraging piece written about the Covid-19 pandemic. Premiered on 21 Aug 2020, Fri, 8pm.

About the artist

Annette Lee (李安) is a Singapore filmmaker, actor and singer-songwriter. She is best known for her comedic roles on the Singapore media outlet SGAG, earning fame among netizens through SGAG videos that garner more than a million views. A storyteller at heart, Lee sees her work in film, comedy and music as ways of telling tales that can touch lives. She finds her musical influences in both electronic pop and indie-rock, releasing her debut five-song EP All Our Achilles Heels in September 2017, produced by Grammy Award-winning producers Scott Cash and Ed Cash.

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Known for their dreamy washed out guitar tones and hard hitting drumbeats, Eugene and Ernest of Bakers In Space put their electric guitars and effects aside to strip down old tunes like Autumn and Mute, while also including newer songs like Citrus and Mindfield. Premiered on 21 Aug 2020, Fri, 9pm.

About the artist

Bakers in Space is an indie rock band from Singapore that was formed in 2013. Because of their love for a plethora of genres such as indie-rock, punk, reggae and post-rock, the band’s compositions comprise a mixture of chorused-out and distorted guitars layered on hard-hitting drumbeats, packaged alongside euphonious vocals from frontman Eugene Soh. In 2022, the band released their sophomore EP titled MAGMA, which explored a darker, grittier musical tone with lyrical themes of clearing a ledger of wrongdoings and bad habits, and exploring the reconstruction of a person’s moral values.

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Bennett Bay and PIBLOKTO (Alexius Cai) return with an unplugged collaboration atop the Esplanade Roof Terrace. The pair are already familiar with each other's sonic tendences, having worked together back in 2017 for Esplanade’s A.I.R.T.I.M.E. This time, the duo perform three songs specially re-crafted for two acoustic guitars and the oboe; a re-imagining of PIBLOKTO’s Tidal Pools, a rearrangement of Bay’s guitar duet Windy, as well as a special song that both worked on together Premiered 23 Aug 2020, Sun, 9pm.

About the artists

PIBLOKTO is the moniker of Singapore musician Alexius Cai. The project started in 2012 with the premise of exploring guitar textures and ambient sounds. With the help of fellow collaborators and good friends like Victor Low, Evan Tan, Leslie Low, Sean Lam, Andrew Lim, Joan Chew and Andy Chia, PIBLOKTO has released two albums Colourless Fields and Imperfection were released.

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Bennett Bay is a musician from Singapore. Pastoral imagery and everyday experiences provide the bulk of his inspiration. Using a combination of flourishes of strings and horns atop his acoustic guitar, Bay explores sonic palettes that are easily digestible in order to evoke the images he sees in his mind’s eye. To date he has released two full-length albums, Compass and In Memory Of, as well as a three-song EP Little Old Town. Bay is currently working on his third full-length album, which will comprise songs written for a solo acoustic guitar.

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Charlie Lim will play stripped back, acoustic renditions of three of his originals, one from each record. Premiered 22 Aug 2020, Sat, 10.15pm.

• Least of You from his latest album CHECK-HOOK, which reached #1 on the iTunes music chart
• Choices from his critically acclaimed TIME/SPACE double EP
• Pedestal from his very first EP, released 10 years ago

About the artist

Charlie Lim is a singer-songwriter/producer based in Singapore who has become one of Southeast Asia’s most unique voices in pop music. His award-winning music has been delivered across the region’s live stages such as at Summer Sonic (Tokyo), Clockenflap (Hong Kong), Java Jazz Festival (Indonesia), Singapore International Jazz Festival, Urbanscapes (Kuala Lumpur), Brisbane Festival, Jarasum Jazz Festival (Seoul), OzAsia (Adelaide) and Bigsound (Brisbane). Following two landmark, sold-out shows at Mosaic Music Festival, Lim premiered his critically acclaimed EP TIME/SPACE at the 1,600-seat Esplanade Concert Hall.

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Dreebsby returns to Baybeats with a stripped-down twist. Get in the mood to slow-jam to acoustic versions of the latest singles off his debut EP 2AM – Last Night and Out Of Juice, as well as crowd favourites Bouquet and Cigarettes With Wine. Premiered 22 Aug 2020, Sat, 9pm.

About the artist

Toeing the line between indie pop and pop rock with infectious charm and energy, Dreebsby is the alias of singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Sam P. The Singapore-based artist adopted the moniker from a mispronunciation of his surname, and the adopted identity plays a large role in his signature sound as he tells stories of love, romance, intoxication and loneliness. From getting his start playing in tiny bars across London to headlining festivals in Singapore in just under two years, the songsmith's dangerously catchy music that will get you drunk dancing with a sad smile.

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Experience a different side of Forests, featuring stripped-down and sloppy versions of songs like Kawaii Hawaii, Tamago, Tater Tots and Who Cares Really?. Rawk on! (acoustically). Premiered 23 Aug 2020, Sun, 10.15pm.

About the band

Since forming in mid-2014, Forests (identifying as a set of three-piece chicken nuggets) have gained a cult following of listeners through their EP and LP releases. Their reputation for riotous, frantic and fun live performances has led the band from performing in intimate club shows in Singapore to legendary venues abroad in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Malaysia. Blending 1990s-influenced emo with math-pop perfection, the Forests sound is a familiar yet excitingly fresh breath of rock that continues to win over audiences across the globe.

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While this period has been a good opportunity for reconnection, LEW has also been cornered into revisiting past memories, experiencing nostalgia of his past relationships. This set is a reconciliation of these emotions. Wasted is a song about gratitude, but almost to the extent of feeling unworthy of the last relationship, acknowledging that his ex-partner had given LEW more than LEW gave him. Matter of Fact is the understanding that they chose to get into a relationship that they knew wouldn’t last. Do they then deserve to feel so deeply pained by the heartbreak? Robots is a reflection on the pressures we all feel as adults, to avoid pursuing the directions of our inner compass, and instead, follow what other people perceive as ”essential”. Premiered 23 Aug 2020, Sun, 8pm.

About the artist

LEW is a Singapore singer-songwriter who translates intangible emotion into an embrace that is rough but real. His voice is a melodic silky sound that hugs you like a friend, before taking you home. LEW has proven himself as a prolific songwriter, releasing an album and three EPs that have clocked a total of 11 million streams on Spotify and Apple Music. He is currently completing his studies in Boston at Berklee College of Music. LEW’s songwriting focuses on the human connection and the healing of trauma from his audience’s past experiences.

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To conquer their fears of dark and warm areas, the Mannequins will brave the unknown depths of the Esplanade's loading bay, which will bestow upon them the legendary sounds of acoustic yore. Premiered 22 Aug 2020, Sat, 8pm.

About the band

A four-piece rock band that derived its name from the diversity in styles and genres that influences their craft. With great inspiration came great curiosity, and they hope their tunes will help make your day a little brighter.

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