NUS Arts Fest 2016: Dondang Sayang goes digital

SINGAPORE — Here’s something most would not associate Dondang Sayang with: Electronic pop and new-wave music.

But local electronic-pop duo Cosmic Armchair is doing just that — combining the modern sounds of electronic pop and new-wave music with traditional Peranakan Dondang Sayang pantuns. Specifically, the pantuns (poems written in the Baba Malay language) written by Ang Kay Teong, the great-grandfather of Cosmic Armchair’s producer, Benjamin Ang, during the early years of the 20th century.

“When I was a little boy, my grandfather gave me a folder of his father’s handwritten poems and told me that they could be sung as Dondang Sayang, even though they had never been performed. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to hear what they would sound like in action,” said Ang, who added that there were more than 500 handwritten poems in the folder.

When Ang was invited by the NUS Centre for the Arts to perform, he jumped at the opportunity to invite Peranakan social club Gunong Sayang Association to perform the poems, and thus create Digital Dondang Sayang.

Ang, who is in his 40s, said that Digital Dondang sayang will begin with a classic Dondang Sayang rendition of the poems by the association, followed by Cosmic Armchair’s electronic pop interpretation and original new songs inspired by the poems. These will then be concluded with new experimental electronic works created and performed by the NUS Electronic Music Lab.

Set up like a Peranakan house party from the 1920s — and in trying to keep things authentic — the event will be held at the courtyard of NUS Baba House — a restored Peranakan family home that was built around the time the poems were written. And yes, this party will also have refreshments.

“Everyone can enjoy Peranakan kueh and longan tea, which are a must at any Peranakan house party,” said Ang.

Digital Dondang Sayang is not only a platform for Ang to showcase his music, but also allows him to explore his musical roots.

“One of the biggest challenges was trying to understand the poet, Ang Kay Teong. Even though he was my great grandfather, few photos remain of him, and little is known about him except that he was a very strict patriarch,” said Ang.

“We have no clues as to what inspired him to write more than 500 pantuns, and we don’t know why they were never published or performed.”

This search for history also inspired two of the songs that Cosmic Armchair will perform during the event.

Ang also added that Digital Dondang is only the beginning for him and he hopes to create more opportunities and collaborate with other artists in the future.

“I’m also sharing the poems with local and regional ethnomusicologists so that we can understand more about what life was like when these pantuns were written. And hopefully, in the process, to understand more about what life was like for my great grandfather,” he said.

Digital Dondang Sayang will be held today and tomorrow, 8pm, at the NUS Baba House. For tickets and more details, visit http://www.nusartsfestival.com/