Indie Artists on the Rise
By Nishant Store, photos by TAB
Eager to check out some of the best indie-acoustic acts around town? Head down to TAB on any given Wednesday or Saturday evening and sing along to some laid back tunes belted out on the acoustic guitar while you make the most of TAB’s Happy Hour deals.
Catch Gemma Min, a poly-lingual musician, every Wednesday between 7.30 and 9.30pm. Singing in English, Mandarin and Korean, she taps into a pool of diverse genres while writing songs and playing covers. Min’s favorite Western singers include Adele, Pixie Lott, Duffy and Alicia Keys, which explains why she likes adding an R&B vibe to famous pop songs like ‘Pumped Up Kicks’, ‘Rolling in the Deep’ and ‘Genie in a Bottle’. She even manages to make ‘Baby’ sound appealing when she sings it stripped down, in mellow, soulful tones.
Gemma believes that a song is similar to a movie, only a musician’s job is harder than an actor’s- today, a musician has to put the listener through an entire spectrum of emotions in three minutes and a few seconds! When she’s not listening to or writing new music, Gemma works in apparel, and hopes to someday merge her fashion passion with a career in music.
If you also happen to be meandering around Orchard Road on a Saturday evening, walk into TAB and rock out to some sweet sounds with Tirumisu, a four-piece alternative rock band named after its founding members- Tim Koh (guitar, vocals) and Iru Suratman (bass). Koh picked up the guitar a mere two years ago after listening to Jason Mraz but now he’s all set to launch his first album at TAB, titled Yours Sincerely.
Though Tim listens to pop-rock bands and Iru is a grunge fan, they do not limit their covers to a single genre. For those of you who like Bon Jovi, Bryan Adams, Kings of Leon, Foster the People, Incubus and U2, Tirumisu’s experimental acoustic renditions of some of the bands’ greatest hits will keep you on the edge of your seat! Stay tuned for Tim Koh’s album launch later this month…
