Porcelain Shield, Paper Sword Album Launch

"[Mary Sue]’s lo-fi hip-hop, heavy on noise-flecked loops and light on conventional song structures, is a far cry from the glossily produced trap- and R&B-influenced sounds many rappers in the city-state gravitate to. If they’re emulating Drake and Travis Scott, Mary Sue’s heroes are MF DOOM and Earl Sweatshirt; if they’re aiming for Spotify playlist placements, Mary Sue celebrates a spot on Bandcamp’s front page."

– Karen Gwee

 "As a rapper and producer, Mary Sue—generally called Sue by listeners—proved himself as one of the most promising voices of the current underground hip-hop scene with his 2022 debut album Kisses of Life, inspired by the death of one of his heroes, MF DOOM. Woozy, crunchy samples, inward-looking, self-reflective lyricism, and lavish, stylish production drove that album."

– Reece Beckett

Gamelan phrases melt into smoky brass, spectral melodies unravel over off-kilter drums: Porcelain Shield and Paper Sword, the latest record by Mary Sue and the Clementi Sound Appreciation Club, is both a reckoning and a dream.

Known for his left-of-centre sound and charismatic flows drawn from a deep appreciation and understanding of the hip hop genre, Singaporean rapper-producer Mary Sue presents a one-night-only performance to celebrate this album with his five-piece live band, the Clementi Sound Appreciation Club. You’re invited to join them on an abstract hip hop journey where tradition and modernity blur, fusing Southeast Asian texture with live jazz, blues and soul across hypnotic instrumentation, fractured beats and shifting rhythms. At the album’s core is the tale of a time-traveling oracle, lost in the contradictions of the present—where meaning dilutes, spirituality performs, and the past collides with an uncertain future.

Supporting the night are local indie mainstays sub:shaman and Malaysian boombap rapper Glazed Baguette with his crew, Blanco Music.