OfficeofStudentandGraduateAffairsJun2015

KPopNightOutatMusicMatters
Live2015

AMomentousMaturity
forMomentum
MusiccomesaLive!
Congratulationsto
RPsHSBC/NYAA
YouthEnvironmental
Awardees
Onthe2nd ofApril
IGNITE!Music
Festivalisback!
IGNITE!The
Compassion
Frombarsto
UniversalMusic
Singapore
GlenCheckwowed
crowdatMusic
MattersLive2015
KPopNightOutat
MusicMattersLive
2015

ANEWEXPERIECEFORSONAMOO:ItwasKPopgirlgroupsfirsteveroverseasmusicfestival,
andthegirlswastednoopportunitytointeractwiththeirfans.
PHOTO:BenjaminNgWeiJie

As the Thursday night progressed into near midnight, the crowd at the
fountainstagewasvisibly denser than before. Anticipation and excitement
wereevidentintheairaseveryonestrainedtheirneckstolookoutforthe
last KPop Night Out act. Preparing just backstage, the sevenmember K
Popgirlgrouphadalreadyclaimedtheirpresenceonstage.Withoutdoubt,
whentheperformancetotheirdebuttrackDjVucommenced,afeeling
of Dj Vu washed over the audience despite their rookie status,
SONAMOO had already owned the stage with their unconventional girl
group power packed choreography and beat seemingly following in the
footstepsoftheirlabelmateB.A.P.

KPopNightOutwith
atwist
TakenbyTakeTwo
TheNewBeachBoys
Raw,funkyand
definitely,Wicked
TheBSideofPinas
LaptopAssistance

Weareveryhonouredtobehere.ThankyouforMusicMattersandthank
you for coming here. And yes, we had chili crab tonight and we loved it,"
gushedthegirls,whotooksometimeoutbetween songs to converse with
thecrowd.

MinistryofEducation
(MOE)'sSpecial
EducationalNeeds
(SEN)

Bringingalittletwisttotheirset,thegirlscoveredvarioussongs,including
their own choreographed dance version of Want U Back by Cher Lloyd as
well as Destiny Childs Stand Up For Love, ending off their set with their
secondreleasedsongJustGothatbroughtoutthegirlysideofthem.
SinceitsfirsteverappearanceatMusicMattersLive2012KPopNightOut,
theeventactsasaplatformforinteractionsbetweenKPopandtheglobal
music network. It has been a part of the music festival for 4 consecutive
years, this time round having featured acts SONAMOO, Kingston Rudieska,
GlenCheckandIdiotapeon21MayattheClarkeQuayFountainStage.
The first KPop act to kick off the night was ninemember ska band
Kingston Rudieska. The highlight of the night was when the stage and
music blacked out all of a sudden while the group belted out Give Me
Some Love. Without skipping a beat, the group maintained their
professionalismastheyregainedtheirmomentumtothebeatofthesong,

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followed by the undefeated crowd who spontaneously sang the song as

one.ThebandwasheavilyinfluencedbyfirstwaveJamaicanska,skajazz
and other Caribbean genres such as reggae and calypso music. The whole
idea of bringing KPop to the global music network was indeed achieved
people of all ages and races were feeling the beat in their bones as they
grooved to the sound of trumpets and flutes creating an infectious and
funkyatmosphere.
Thetwonextsimilaractscheckedoffthelistweresynthrockandelectro
pop indie duo Glen Check, who is part of the Basement Resistance crew
based back in Seoul, followed by electronic shoegazing trio Idiotape. Both
bands were high on eyecatching backdrops and visuals and incorporated
the elements of synthesizers, drums and/or guitars into their sets. The
crowd certainly knew who they were, escalating into screams before they
evenkickedofftheirsets.Evenforthosewhodidnt,itwashardtoignore
theinfectiousandcatchybeatscoursingthroughonesbones,whichgotthe
crowd clapping their hands together synonymously. Some of the songs
GlenCheckplayedwerePaintItGoldandPacific,whileIdiotapejammed
outtoMelodieandmore.DespiteGlenCheckbeingaSouthKoreanband,
the group actually produced songs in English due to both members
influenceofgrowingupoutsideofKorea.
With this years acts providing the audience with a fresh perspective on
Koreanbands,we could definitely expect the next one to kick it one notch
up.

ArticlebyCarlissiaKew

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