Local indie rock in Singapore first emerged in the 1990s as a form of rebellion among youth. However, it was largely shunned by society and performances saw poor turnouts. In the late 1990s, more youth began listening to local indie rock bands, which helped the scene grow. As perceptions changed, local bands began getting opportunities to perform at schools, churches, and community events. The opening of venues like The Substation helped expose more people to local indie rock bands, growing crowds and the number of bands monthly. While the internet helped promote local bands online, piracy made it difficult for bands to profit from music sales, requiring band members to hold down full-time jobs in addition to performing. Overall support for local indie

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Local Indie Rock
Music
2010-09-06
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written by Joshua Su
Local Indie Rock
When indie rock in Singapore was first formed, it was seen as a channel of rebellion and a channel
for youths to vent their rage and anger against. Thus, back in the 1990s, when the first local rock
band was formed. The public met it with much distaste.
It was a part of society, which was shunned, gigs were seldom held, even if they were held the
turnouts were pathetic, it was always the usual faces and it seemed more of a fad. As sub-
genres of rock began to infiltrate the airwaves, different bands were forming, from metal
bands such as “Absence of the Sacred” to punk bands such as ‘Rancor’. At that point in time it
seemed like there were many different rock bands but just a lack of audience for every band.
Things started to pick up in the late 90s. More youths started to open up and started to listen to
local rock music, bands such as “Force Vomit”, “The Observatory” and ‘Electrico’. Many of these
youths were also forming their own bands; the demand for more local bands saw a rise in jamming
studios.
As perceptions changed, society began to open up. Schools allowed their students to play rock
music at school events, churches started to invite bands to play Christian rock songs at their
sessions. Community events hired bands to entertain the crowd.
When the Substation opened its doors to local rock bands the turnout was amazing. Their theatre
was filled with local and foreigners alike. Month after month, the crowds grew and so did the
bands. Following suit, many local establishments like dance club Zouk, pubs such as Crazy elephant
began to hire local bands to play original songs.
Enter the online revolution, the internet seemed to have assisted the local rock
scene in more ways then one. For starters, gigs were posted via video online,
local music could be bought online, and with websites like www.soft.com.sg and audioreload it
seems that bands could be formed easily. Places to jam and second hand instruments could also be
bought and sold online. However, with piracy rampant with the internet, it made it very difficult for
bands to actually make a living off selling records. Thus, many band members held full time jobs
and were unable to concentrate on mastering their craft and honing their skills. And with the
general population of Singapore still ‘tuned’ to the American and Pop frequency, it seemed almost
impossible to break into the local market and the hearts and minds of the general population. The
point that the audience has taken is one of support, but not fully.
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