Live music is finally returning to the city-state of Singapore after two long, silent years. As stages light up again and the concert calendar refills, NME Asia and SG MUSO invite artists to take the pulse of Singapore’s music scene and talk candidly about the damage done and the problems that still lie ahead.
For this series “Live music is finally back in Singapore. Now what?”, we spotlight Dean Chew (FUNK BSTRD), a veteran DJ who is the co-founder of the record label Darker Than Wax and the listening bar and restaurant Offtrack, which opened during the pandemic. Dean shares his thoughts on how Singapore can harness the “raw energy” that courses through every society to get live music back up and thriving in the city again.
This series is a partnership between NME Asia and SGMUSO, a charity that envisions a vibrant and viable Singapore music ecosystem where our music people can improve the lives of Singapore communities. In 2021, SGMUSO began funds to support music people affected by the pandemic to pay off bills and costs of daily living, and to support musicians who lost gig opportunities due to COVID-19. With this series, SGMUSO renews its commitment to sparking conversation and building community among music people.