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Singapore bands to ‘invade’ Japan this summer

SINGAPORE — It may not be quite the big deal these days as it used to be seven or eight years ago, but it is still a feather in the cap for Singapore indie bands to play at renowned music festivals such as America’s SXSW (South By Southwest), Taiwan’s Spring Scream or the Canadian Music Week. Already, the likes of Inch Chua, The Sam Willows, DEON, Pleasantry, The Pinholes and others have made the journeys to expand their spheres of influence.

SINGAPORE — It may not be quite the big deal these days as it used to be seven or eight years ago, but it is still a feather in the cap for Singapore indie bands to play at renowned music festivals such as America’s SXSW (South By Southwest), Taiwan’s Spring Scream or the Canadian Music Week. Already, the likes of Inch Chua, The Sam Willows, DEON, Pleasantry, The Pinholes and others have made the journeys to expand their spheres of influence.

However, this year, two bands — rock purveyors Caracal and jazz outfit The Steve McQueens — will have set a new precedent by playing at one of Japan’s most prestigious rock festivals, Summer Sonic. Next to the Fuji Rock Festival, punters say this is “the only other music festival that matters for Japan every summer”. Held over two days (Aug 15 and 16) in Tokyo, this year’s line-up includes names such as Pharrell Williams, Imagine Dragons, The Chemical Brothers, The Manic Street Preachers, Marilyn Manson, Olly Murs and Ariana Grande. Caracal and The Steve McQueens will be performing at the Island Stage, which they will share with other acts from Asia, such as Malaysia’s Bunkface, China’s Mosaic and Indonesia’s The Changcuters.

Just how did this gig happen? Caracal’s Martin Kong said it was a case of meeting the right people at the right time. “We have (had) a rather close relationship with (Japanese musician) Masashi Kimura and his band, Nothing To Declare, for several years now,” he said. The band had also performed a show with them on their previous trip to Japan. “Masashi approached us at the beginning of this year with his idea of an Asian stage at Summer Sonic and he felt that we were best prepared to take on this premier festival in Japan”.

Kevin Foo, manager of The Steve McQueens, shared a similar experience. The band had a secret showcase at Rdio HQ in Singapore  just before the band flew out to London to perform at the O2 in support of jazz band Incognito. “We (invited) regional and international industry personnel ... (and) one of the agents for creativeman productions (the organisers of Summer Sonic) was present and loved the band,” said Foo.

Caracal frontman KC Meals is certainly relishing a return to the land of the rising sun.

“We’re trying to remember all the cool Japanese phrases we learnt the last time we were there,” he quipped. “Seriously though, we’ve been putting time into rehearsals and getting our set right.”

“We want to really expand our Japanese fanbase,” said Jase Sng of The Steve McQueens. “We have had many positive reviews from the Japanese audience who have picked up the albums or engaged with the band on social media and our dream is to have more Japanese fans (because) that will mean we can visit Japan more often!”

Both bands aren’t just relying on their performance to make an impact there. “We’re working with our management, KittyWu Records ... to distribute our album in Japanese record shops and working with our digital distributors, Believe Asia, to get some online features and press on Japan-specific platforms,” said Kong.

For The Steve McQueens, some interesting plans have been taking shape. “We are in the midst of working with renowned local artist Jahan Loh to design and produce some amazing limited edition merchandise which we will debut at Summer Sonic,” the band said, adding that the band’s promotional efforts will be strengthened by their Japanese label P-Vine’s knowledge of the musical landscape as well.

But at the end of the day, both bands said the experience of being at Summer Sonic is important too. Kong said: “We do hope to get our foot in Japan’s door and leave with new found friends and contacts. This obviously won’t be the last time we’ll tour Japan, so it’s going to be a continuous cycle of developing the market, now that we’ve got a bit of buzz going.”

 

Caracal and The Steve McQueens will play at the Summer Sonic Festival, Island Stage on Aug 16. For more details, visit http://www.caracalnoise.com/ and http://thestevemcqueens.wordpress.com/

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