Sound Port Clarke Quay is the first music series at Clark Quay’s Fountain Square that features some of Singapore’s best electronic artists and DJs, including MYRNE, A/K/A Sounds, brb., Duumu, Shye, YAØ and DJ Jhon Alvarez featuring Bullet, together with emcee Herbert Liu, winner of EdmDroid Asia’s #1 MC in Singapore award.
Sound Port will also showcase hanging neon-lit geometry, an infinity optical-illusion mirror hypercube, holographic photo walls and illuminated multi-layer visuals, so that party-goers can truly immerse in the visually spectacular party environment. Sound Port is on from 14-16 November from 7pm; admission is free.
We spoke to two headliners at Sound Port – MYRNE and Duumu.
MYRNE
Manfred Lim, who goes by his stage name MYRNE (pronounced ‘byrne’), is a full-time producer, writer, and performer of electronic music who’s played hundreds of shows in more than a dozen countries for about 7 years now. He’s recently released “In Search of Solitude”, his first solo project LP.
MYRNE tours the U.S. about 2-3 times a year, and plays regularly around Asia and Singapore. Tours are announced on his Instagram page (@myrnemusic).
How would you describe your style?
It’s very melody oriented – I grew up listening to electronic music on headphones, not at clubs, and that’s given me a lot of perspective to how I view electronic music. I believe that instruments, digital or analog, have the same power to convey emotions inasmuch as a human voice does.
What was your single most favourite achievement?
It was probably playing Tomorrowland in 2018. I grew up watching livestreams of that place. The crowd was inviting, the festival was huge, and I had such a lifechanging experience.
How often do you come up with a new song?
I write music almost every day, and it’s just about putting ideas that aren’t quite there yet into the backburner.
Which song of yours would you pick to represent you?
‘Worlds Away.’ It’s layers and layers of textures and atmospheres – I naturally gravitate to songs like that.
Which other Singaporean act do you think will we have to look out for next?
Sam Rui and Gentle Bones are two of my friends that have been putting their all into their recent work – they’re super inspiring and a pleasure to have in the scene.
Duumu
Best known as a musician under the artist project Duumu – known by his family as Charlie – he is half French, half Japanese, and recently moved to Singapore! Having been producing for almost 8 years, his stage name is an homage to the first genre of music he wanted to make (dubstep) when he started out (Dubstep Music=Du Mu=Duumu).
Having just moved to Singapore from London, you can expect to catch him here a lot more, and probably in Europe and the US in the summer months of 2020.
How would you describe your style?
I’d loosely describe it as my own interpretation of a mix of EDM and Pop!
What was your single most favourite achievement?
My first EP, “Illuminate”, is still one of my proudest achievements. Not only was it my debut EP, but it was signed to Monstercat (a label I had always admired) despite it not being their typical musical style at all.
How often do you come up with a new album?
I’m yet to release a full length LP album as Duumu. Somehow that length has just not fitted with what I was trying to say with the music. But I’d say it would take me about a 12 month process to come up with a full album of songs I’m genuinely proud of.
Which song of yours would you pick to represent you?
‘Talk!’, from my latest EP is one I like a lot, as a representation of where I’m going.
Do you have a favourite performance you’ve done?
This might not be a typical reply – but it was a birthday party for one of my best friends. Sometimes, when you catch just the right mood and energy with the people you love, it’s magical.
Which other Singaporean act do you think will we have to look out for next?
That’s though! One of my LASALLE classmates, Ridz Razali, is easily one of the most talented musicians I’ve met in a long time. He makes a ton of different genres and hasn’t released much stuff yet, but definitely keep an eye out for him because he is always working on incredible music.
