If you are an avid fan of independent music in Singapore, chances are you would be familiar with these names: *SCAPE Music Day Out! and David Siow.

Returning for its fourth edition this December, the highly anticipated Music Day Out! (MDO) festival is presented by *SCAPE and organised by David Siow of Steady State Records. 

As the bassist of the indie band M1LDL1FE, David is no stranger to the Singapore indie music scene, and that has aided him in making the upcoming MDO a memorable event that celebrates the growing independent music culture in the city-state.

“There are a lot of artists like us working in this industry. It’s very clear to me what artists need and want. I guess that mindset and thinking, understanding what artists need and want and how they get frustrated, helps to mitigate and predict what they will say before they say it,” shares David.

In an interview with Bandwagon, David talks about the prominence of Music Day Out! 2022, his experiences with organising and curating the artist lineup for the festival, and the indie music scene in Singapore.

Watch the interview here: 

Hi, David! Tell us what Music Day Out! is all about. 

Music Day Out! is a festival and it’s also a conference. What we're trying to do is to help the independent scene and there are two ways we're trying to do that. One is to showcase some of the bands and their independence and also to provide industry support in terms of conferences and workshops. Helping them in their own personal, and professional development and showcasing them. 

Describe Music Day Out! in three words.

I decided to choose three Singaporean slangs. The first is shiok. You know that feeling where after COVID, we didn't have any live shows? In the first show you go to, there’s live music and speakers hitting you. That kind of shiokness. Because some of the bands that are playing, they're quite hard-hitting and in that kind of overwhelming zone. Well, it'll be shiok. 

Another word I have is kaypoh. As for me, I like to be kaypoh about bands. It’s that spirit of discovery, going to see a band but actually finding out that the rest aren’t bad — that kind of spirit. I like to have a bit of that. 

The third word I have is chope. Because for the 23rd, which is the *SCAPE The Ground Theatre show, we actually have limited tickets. So you have to chope the tickets quickly. 

What makes Music Day Out! different from other local music festivals? 

Other festivals like IGNITE! and Baybeats are in open-air spaces like a waterfront stage or other massive areas. But MDO has always been here at *SCAPE because it’s *SCAPE Music Day Out! The Ground Theatre is a unique space that we can elevate, and especially for this year, we're trying to do different things with set design. With The Ground Theatre being a very dark space, we're building some structures here and there. I cannot reveal too much, but basically, it will look a bit different from your typical show. That's what we're trying to do for this year and maybe build on that for next year as well. I wouldn’t say the objectives of the festivals are too different, but at least MDO will look a bit different this year compared to the other music festivals here.

What’s it like organising music festivals? Could you tell us about your best festival experiences and did you face any challenges?

Well, I haven't organised many music festivals. I've done some curation programming. But I have my festivals, like ASEAN Music Showcase Festival (AMS). The highlight for me with organising festivals is seeing the people. I remember one moment during AMS when the Thai, Cambodian, Laos, and Myanmar guys came together and hugged on stage. We didn't know how it happened, but they were just like kumbaya and hugging. That was kind of beautiful. Just watching that moment felt nice. It is the human element of festivals, I feel, which is most rewarding for organisers like myself.

There were plenty of challenges. In Singapore, although it's fairly easy and a very predictable space to be in compared to other countries in the region, I feel the bureaucracy makes things a bit hard to move sometimes. It blocks creativity so if you want to fly a blimp over this base, for instance, it can’t be done. Creativity has limits set by our environment. But that's fine. It puts you in a more conducive space for what's realistic and what’s not.

A challenge that I faced during AMS was when we had three Taiwanese bands come in. One of them had an unrecognisable vaccine record. We had never heard of it before and the certificate was handwritten on a piece of paper. We were wondering how it would be accepted; true enough, Singapore authorities didn't accept it. We had two weeks and needed to get this guy a new vaccine. We take it for granted sometimes how Singapore is so organised and we have the right vaccines, you know. Sometimes you just forget about that, but it can be solved, it just takes up your hustle.

Besides running Steady State Records, you make music as part of M1LDL1FE. How did your experiences of being an artist aid you in putting together this festival?

There are a lot of artists like us working in this industry. It’s very clear to me what artists need and want. I guess that mindset and thinking, understanding what artists need and want and how they get frustrated, helps to mitigate and predict what they will say before they say it. I know what you want, so let me help you and make things as easy for you as possible to come on board and believe in the same kind of vision. It has helped to be an artist first. But as artists, there's the dreamer part of you and sometimes that doesn't help when there’s too much creativity. It is always a double-edged sword. 

How did you curate the artist lineup for Music Day Out!? What were some considerations that you had in mind?

The thought process for my team and I was that I wanted to book independent bands that were not too overexposed and had a niche. If I listen to this band, I know what kind of music they will present. That’s part of pushing the agenda for independent music. Usually, it's a bit less generic and more focused. 

Of course, we had to have some kind of diversity, so we wanted to have certain bands that have the full spectrum of soft to hard. 0215 is the acoustic stage. Hence, we have bands that present themselves in a soft and chill manner all the way to the hard hitters and everything in between, with some that even fall outside the box. We wanted to be more diverse and at the same time, the main thing was to have independent bands that needed to be put on stage. The commonality is [that] they all have great music. We also have partners like Singapore Polytechnic, so we have a couple of bands from there and *SCAPE also brought bands to us. Some of their stuff is really good.

Consultation sessions and workshops are also included in Music Day Out! What do you hope attendees will take away from these offerings?

We have workshops and consultation sessions by industry experts either in Singapore or around the region. For myself, when I attend these kinds of workshops, panel discussions are a bit strange because they can go anywhere. But for workshops, things are more structured. What I like to do personally is to latch on to one concept. So if it’s a workshop on touring, I’ll latch on to the lessons they are teaching me, and from there, I’ll work on it for the rest of the year. Next year, there will be a workshop again, so there are new things to work on. It’s for my professional development, so I try to focus on one concept and fully explore it. 

The most important lesson I foresee attendees will take away is the reality that there’s no one size fits all model. There are so many paths in Singapore you can take and there's no clear-cut way to becoming an indie pop star. There are always new ways to innovate, new platforms to hit, and new audiences to reach in different exciting manners. For artists, it’s always coming to the realisation that it takes time. You’re trying to emulate the previous generation, stars, and successful models, but if you're replicating the model five years later, it doesn't make as much sense. It’s about finding your own path and coming to a realisation that you have choices. 

What advice would you give to budding indie artists in Singapore?

My own philosophy is that independent artists tend to have a more defined, niche-sounding, and genre-specific sound. So it could be a post-hardcore band, a pop act with a more defined sound like grunge pop that’s also independent. If you're choosing to be independent, there are a lot of different paths that are presented to you. But the main thing is if you're serious about it, it's going to be a long game like with any career. It’s going to be a 30, 40-year career. There is no real rush and you shouldn’t expect success straight away. If it comes, it comes. You might have a successful year, but your next era might not be as successful. It’s a whole journey that you have to understand. If you want to commit, it will be a long game but a very rewarding one.

Music Day Out! is slated to take place from 21 to 23 December at *SCAPE. Consultation sessions and workshops are free and tickets to the showcase are on a pay-as-you-want basis.

Listen to M1LDL1FE on Bandwagon Sessions x EBX Live! here: