Artist Spotlight: Local Musicians Falling Feathers, Disco Hue and Jasmine Sokko Talk About Their 2017 and Hopes For 2018!

Local music has been absolutely thriving in 2017. Countless new bands have emerged, new singles and EPs were released, and plenty of exciting collaborations between local acts have been crafted, and our Spotify playlists have been highlighting plenty of them (and on repeat too). So to get a chance to catch six acts for completely free at the Prudential Marina Bay Carnival at tomorrow on New Year’s Eve is an absolute treat, with some of the fastest rising stars taking to the stage and performing the best new songs of 2017 from 7.30pm all the way till 1.30am.

We spoke to Falling Feathers, Jasmine Sokko and Disco Hue about their year in music, life and their hopes and dreams for 2018. Read the interviews in full below!

Falling Feathers (8.30pm – 9.30pm)

Falling Feathers is one of the newest pop acts to make his impact this year, with catchy tunes and irresistible choruses in singles like ‘HUSH’. Associated with vibrant, bubblegum hues and songs that permeate with their celebration of the day-to-day, there’s nothing but joy to be had when listening to his music, and an almost assured smile on any listener’s face.

Bakchormeeboy: You used your real initials as the name of your former band JJ and the Paperplanes. How did the name Falling Feathers come about, and why use a stage name instead of your real one?

Falling Feathers: I decided to use a stage name because JJ is a very common combination of initials and it’s been taken by our favourite JJ Lin haha! You know how birds shed feathers from time to time to grow new and stronger ones? Falling Feathers represent the process of growth, just like what I wish to do with my music. Always learning, always growing and enjoying the processes at the same time!

Bakchormeeboy: You’ve recently concluded your National Service stint earlier this year and ORD-ed at last! How did you juggle making music with the massive time commitment given to the army?

Falling Feathers: YES! ORD LOH! It definitely wasn’t easy for sure. But I always believe that if one has passion for what he/she does, we will always find a way to make it work somehow!

Bakchormeeboy:  It’s been a pretty busy 2017 for you, having done quite a number of gigs and even doing a secret show in Melbourne, Australia less than 2 weeks ago. What is your idea of ‘success’ and are there enough platforms currently available to support local artists in achieving that?

Falling Feathers: Since the day I started Falling Feathers, my goal had always been to be self sufficient. As difficult and impossible as it may sound, success to me is to be able to gain enough support for Falling Feathers to make it a full time gig!

I strongly believe that platforms and opportunities are created by the people who seek them. No one will ever be as vested in your craft as yourself. If there aren’t enough platforms, it’s up to people like us who seek these platforms to create them or work together to create more opportunities for each other.

Bakchormeeboy: What was your most memorable moment of 2017?

 

Falling Feathers: Definitely my trip to Korea to perform around October. I played 3 shows and did a music video shoot while I was there. Most of the venues were small and the crowd was small too. But they were a few of the most heart-warming shows I’ve ever played as Falling Feathers. Saying that the crowd was supportive is definitely an understatement. I was short handed while shooting my music video in Korea and strangers I met at my accommodation offered to help me with the shoot by carrying my gear, following us all the way to the outskirts of Seoul and even stayed with us till the shoot was over! How’s that for faith in humanity?

Bakchormeeboy: What is your new year resolution, or your hope for 2018?

Falling Feathers: My new year resolution for Falling Feathers will always be the same! HAHA! To keep working hard, creating and pushing my music till I can say I am doing Falling Feathers full-time! I also strongly hope for more creative and artists to work together to lift the entire community up together. Because no one can do it by themselves, we will always be better off navigating uncharted waters together.

Lastly, I hope Bakchormeeboy soars to greater heights in 2018! Thank you for believing in Singapore’s arts scene! Artists and people you guys interview may not say it often but we really appreciate the media support platforms like Bakchormeeboy.com provides. Like I said, the only way forward, it together! Here’s to a great 2018!

Jasmine Sokko (9.30pm – 10.30pm)

Jasmine Sokko is one of our personal favourite local electronic musicians, falling in love with her music from the moment we heard ‘1057’, which became the number 1 song on Spotify Singapore’s Top 50 viral chart with over 430,000 streams. We’re not alone, and her music’s even been picked up by big international acts from the likes of The Chainsmokers and Grimes. Her face a mystery and a lover of the dark and dystopian, the 21-year old has since gone on to release an EP and has even opened for MØ when she played at Zouk.

Bakchormeeboy: From your humble beginnings in piano, how and why did you eventual decide to create electronic music?

Jasmine:  I used to hop between a couple of bands, playing different instruments and singing prior to electronic production. It reached a point where I frustrate over sticking with one instrument as it feels kind of restrictive so I turned to electronic production where I can create all sorts of sound through different waveforms. The combination of different layers of sound is just so infinite and fascinating as you’ll never know what kind of track you could be creating next. I think this uncertainty in music production kind of draws me in and before I know it, I’m infusing my vocals (and every possible sound, really) in it.

Bakchormeeboy: You’ve been taken notice of by international musicians like Grimes and The Chainsmokers. Is there a dream collaboration you have in mind one day?

Jasmine: I like so many musicians it is almost hard to pinpoint who I want to work with specifically. But really, I just enjoy creating with people who wants to push the boundaries and make something eccentric together even if it’s not within the musical realm.

Bakchormeeboy: One of the most iconic aspects about your public image is your air of secrecy surrounding your face and identity. Do you feel that revealing these eventually would alienate your existing listeners, or compromise on the fandom of your music, or would it simply be a step towards the next stage of your art? 

Jasmine: The main intent of being behind a mask is to open myself up in my creative expression. Keeping a low profile allows me to experience life without concerning a lot about what people think. I also get to focus on the songs instead of the more periphery things that come with being a musician. If anything, Jasmine Sokko is not a model – she’s a music machine. So I don’t see how taking off the mask would deter people from experiencing the sound.

Bakchormeeboy: What was your most memorable moment of 2017?

Jasmine: Everything was iconic considering I went through a monotonous school system for majority of my life so breaking out of that because of music is totally new for me. I think my highest high came from getting a shout out from Grimes (I literally woke the entire neighbourhood up at 8am screaming) and my lowest point was having to create a new song from scratch within a week (I think I cried a river just dealing with the pressure).

Bakchormeeboy: What is your new year resolution, or your hope for 2018?

Jasmine: Nothing very fancy or new in particular – I would like to just focus on making music and finding little joys in the routine of doing so. And yes if you haven’t noticed by now, I’m quite robotic.

Disco Hue (10.30pm – 11.30pm)

Disco Hue was formed in 2012, and the four piece electronic pop group’s music takes us back to the vintage years, with some absolutely stunning bass lines topped with lush vocals that bring you straight to a dreamworld. Dubbed as Singapore’s answer to CHVRCHES, Disco Hue have really carved a niche for themselves, and brim with emotion and infectious beats in every song with their stellar team of Sherlyn (Vocals/Synths), Zie (Samples/Synths), Billy (Drums/Beats) and Rush (Guitars).

Bakchormeeboy: We love the personas you guys adopted in the music video for I’ll Be Waiting. If you had to choose, what pre-existing fictional character would you be?  

Rush: I would love to be Peter Parker/Spiderman. He was my favourite superhero when i was growing up. And i would defintely love to be able to swing around the city with my webshooters!

Bakchormeeboy: When and what was the first music gig you attended as an audience member, and did you ever imagine you’d one day be playing gigs of your own?  

Billy: The first most memorable gig as an audience member that I attended was Paramore’s in the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The band’s stage presence was just amazing and really blew my 15 year old mind. It sort of inspired me to do music, but never would I have imagined to have gone so far in my musical career.

Bakchormeeboy: Considering the old school, arcade visuals your aesthetic employs, what are each of your favourite old school video games, arcade or otherwise?  

Billy: I really loved Daytona Racing, as well as the Time Crisis series!

Rush: For me, it’ll be Mortal Kombat and Super Mario Bros! I played it all the time when i was a kid with my old gameboy and Playstation2!

Zie: I use to spend every last penny on this Star Wars Arcade machine at TimeZone, and believe it or not I was the only one on that machine (cause I’m a nerd like that)

Sherlyn:  Truthfully, I played the basketball game more than any other at the arcade. But I also loved Daytona and Crazy Taxi!

Bakchormeeboy: What was your most memorable moment of 2017? 

Zie: The band went to Chiang Mai to shoot our first overseas music video. Rush also lost his wallet the day before the shoot. (Which was miraculously returned by a non local, whom strangely f=Facebook messaged our band page) Woah.  

Bakchormeeboy: What are your new year resolutions, or your hope for 2018?

Sherlyn: To stay humble, push boundaries and keep hustling. We would love to be able to keep growing, both locally and overseas. Hopefully, we’d be able to tour and play at overseas festivals too!

 

Together with THELIONCITYBOY, DJ Myrne and Tech 1′ and Friends, Jasmine Sokko, Falling Feathers and Disco Hue will all be performing tomorrow, 31st December to end off 2017 on a high note. If you’re already a fan, then we know you’ll be down there, and if you’re not, well, you’ll definitely be one by time the clock strikes 12.

For the full line-up and schedule of performances on New Year’s Eve, visit the Facebook page here

The Prudential Marina Bay Carnival runs till 1st April 2018 at Marina Bay Promontory and Bayfront Event Space. Admission is free and the carnival will be open daily from 4pm-11pm, except Christmas and New Year’s Eve, where it will open from 3pm. A free shuttle bus service is also available between the carnival and Suntec City, at scheduled times. For more information and to purchase credits for rides and games online , visit their website here