Thanks so much to Wahidah, Daniel, Jared, Spencer and Lucas for the interview. Also thanks to Raphael Ong from Middle Class Cigars Records (their label) for making this interview happen. I discovered the band last year and enjoyed their latest release, “Nature of Things“, quite a bit. Then I started to check out their previous releases and found quite a nice variety of pop sounds in them. Also enjoying their latest forays in the digital world, as their appearance on Audiotree. As I am not that familiar with the current Singaporean scene and didn’t know much about the band, I thought it was a great opportunity to hear from them!
++ Hi guys! Thanks so much for being up for this interview! How are you? You just released a wonderful album called “Nature of Things” which was quite a surprise to me. But I want to go in order, from the band’s early days to today. So let’s go back in time. What are your first music memories? Do you remember what was your first instrument? How did you learn to play it? What sort of music did you listen to at home while growing up?
Wahidah (vocals): My mom used to play cassette tapes of 80s-00s contemporary hits in the kitchen while she cooks, so I grew up listening to that. Eventually, I became angsty and listened to Avril Lavigne and Green Day when I entered elementary school. I first learned to play classical guitar through the internet.
Daniel (guitar): When I was a kid, I was given a cheap mp3 player that already had some songs, and that was the first time I ever heard Blink182. Blew my mind, and started my whole interest in music. I just listened to a lot of pop-punk growing up. It made me want to learn electric guitar, so I just learned from Youtube.
Jared (guitar): My dad used to play the acoustic guitar and sing BeeGees songs to us. I first learned drums through Rock Band 2 on PS3, which I got one Christmas, and I got really good at it. Growing up, I listened to whatever my dad played and unfortunately a lot of mid 2000s Weezer.
Spencer (bass): I come from a musical family; my mom loves to sing and my dad loves to play guitar, so a lot of family memories around music. I first learned drums through music school and unfortunately from church. Unfortunately, I also listened to a lot Christian rock and hymns growing up…
Lucas (drums): My first musical memory is seeing a band play at church when my parents took us there. I first learned violin through classes in elementary school. Growing up, I just listened to whatever was on the radio and then eventually I got angsty in my teens and listened to a lot of post-hardcore and emo stuff.
++ Had you been in other bands before Subsonic Eye? If so, how did all of these bands sound? Are there any recordings?
Right before Subsonic Eye, Daniel, Wahidah and Spencer had a band with a couple of their classmates for a short while, and released one song.
https://soundcloud.com/officialnjce/unlisted-teens-demo
++ I guess with Covid-19 this is a strange question, but prior to it, how was the Singapore scene? Are there any bands that you like? Any good record stores? Or what about the pubs or venues to go check out up and coming bands?
The Singapore scene is pretty vibrant. There’s a wide variety of bands that can suit every taste. There’s many we love but just to name a few; Forests, Sobs, Saints Amongst Sinners, Cosmic Child, and Coming Up Roses,
++ When and how did the band start? How did you all meet? How was the recruiting process?
It started in 2016. Daniel, Wahidah and Spencer were classmates, and we met Jared and Lucas through mutual friends. It started when Daniel shared demos with Wahidah, where she sang over them, and eventually they had a bunch of songs that needed a full band. Recruiting process was just whoever could play the instrument and that we could get along.
++ How is the creative process for you? Where do you usually practice?
Daniel: I’ll just play around with my guitar until I get a nice string of riffs or chord progressions, then I’ll record that and put some MIDI drums over it. I’ll send it to Wahidah and she’ll record vocals over it. We go back and forth until we’re happy with the demos, then we show them to the band and work on them together. There’s no fixed place we practice at, we just go to whichever jamming studio has available slots.
++ What’s the story behind the band’s name?
Wahidah and Daniel were looking through the Wikipedia page of ‘outer space’ and came across the word ‘Subsonic’. They thought it was cool, but was already taken by another band. So we just added in the word ‘eye’ because illuminati.
++ Who would you say were influences in the sound of the band?
Daniel: Starting out, we were really influenced by bands like Beach Fossils, DIIV, Makthaverskan. But with our new record and sound, a lot of influence from Sonic Youth, Pavement, and Life Without Buildings.
++ I am not that familiar with Singapore indiepop, I know a few bands and that’s it. I was wondering if you would recommend a few bands or songs that you really like.
For indiepop specifically, you can check out our friends Sobs, Saints Amongst Sinners, and this really new young band called Moon Pool.
++ Your first release was the album “Strawberry Feels” which came out on CD and cassette thanks to the label Middle Class Cigars. Who are Middle Class Cigars? How did you end up working with them? How do you like the relationship with the label?
Daniel: There’s a collective called Symmetry Entertainment that brings in bands we love like Slowdive, The Drums, Beach Fossils. I messaged them on Facebook asking if we could open up for the bands they bring in. One of the guys, named Nigel Lopez, got back to me saying he’s actually planning on starting a label called ‘Middle Class Cigars’ and it just took off from there.
++ This first release has a kid on the front cover, a photo. I was wondering who he is? Is it any of you?
It’s a childhood pic of our vocalist Wahidah’s ex-boyfriend.
++ Your second release was another album, and this time only available on tape. It came out in 2018, just a year after the first release. How did you record and write so many songs this quick?
The whole process of writing a demo and then working on it with a full band is very addictive, so we just kept writing and jamming. Not to mention, we were students so we had a lot of free time. Daniel, Wahidah and Spencer were in college for ‘Audio Technology’ so they had free access to a recording studio. So we also rushed to quickly make use of the school’s facilities to record drums before we graduated. But for guitars, bass and vocals, we prefer to record it ourselves at home.
++ The art for this release was created by Karen Claire Yu. How did you end up working with her?
Daniel: I knew Karen from high school but I never knew she painted. When I found out and saw some of her work, I immediately knew I wanted to work with her. Really cool stuff.
++ This tape was very limited, just 50 copies, I expect it impossible to find a copy these days. Are there any plans of re-releasing your sold out records?
Unfortunately not at the moment. We always make very few copies because we’re afraid no one buys them.
++ Your latest release is “Nature of Things”. This sounds a bit more varied than your previous releases. What’s the story of this album? From conception to final product, how did the idea of this album evolve?
Daniel: I was getting tired of having to set-up my effects every time I wanted to write a song, so I just started playing my acoustic guitar more. The raw guitar sound became really attractive to me, along with alternative tunings, so I just decided it would be cool to venture into that new sound. Wahidah’s lyrics and vocals naturally became a lot more raw as well, writing and singing in the most honest way she could rather than worrying about whether it was ‘poppy’ or not. The rest of the band resonated with the new sound immediately, and everyone got to express themselves way more compared to our older sound.
++ What differences or similarities do you see to your previous releases?
A big difference would be the lack of a ‘leading’ instrument in most of the songs. It’s like we’re all playing the same part just in different forms. Similarities would be that we still wanted to retain the sense of form and structure to the song (verse-chorus-verse)
++ And why the name “Nature of Things”?
I got into Buddhism some time in 2020 and I read that the nature of all things is impermanence, which is an underlying subconscious theme in most of the songs. And we started to spend a lot of time in nature rather than more urban areas as well, so it all just made sense to go with ‘Nature of Things’
++ Aside from these albums there are some more songs on Bandcamp called the “Bedroom Sessions”. These were recorded during Covid-19 lockdown, right? How has this pandemic affected the band?
Bedroom Sessions was actually recorded in 2016 and released only on tape. We decided to release it in 2020 to raise funds for an organisation, but we also added more instruments to the recordings. The pandemic luckily didn’t affect us that much (other than not being able to play shows) because we finished working on the songs by the time Singapore’s lockdown kicked in. When the lockdown kicked in, we were just left with mixing, and all the album cover design stuff, which we could work on online.
++ And having released records now on CD, tape and vinyl, what would you say is your favourite format and why?
It’s actually just our label Middle Class Cigars that’s really into those formats. Unfortunately us in the band are all victims of the digital age, and we just listen digitally. It’s mostly for economic reasons… we’re broke fresh graduates.
++ Are there compilation appearances by the band?
“HDT”, off our second full-length was released on Middle Class Cigars’ Christmas compilation “A City Without Snow” in 2016, in the form of “Holiday Depression Triggers”, along with a live video of us performing the song. “Cosmic Realignment” was also included in A Lonely Ghost Burning’s “Alternative Melodies Vol. 6”.
++ I think my favourite song of yours might as well be “Come Around”, wondering if you could tell me what inspired this song? What’s the story behind it?
It’s the frustration over trying to fix something that could not be fixed. Just young and dumb 19 year old relationship problems.
++ If you were to choose your favorite Subsonic Eye song, which one would that be and why?
Right now it would probably be Fruitcake. It’s a blast to play for us, and we get pretty tired because it’s pretty fast.
++ What about gigs? Have you played many?
We’ve played a lot of gigs!
++ And what were the best gigs you remember? Any anecdotes you can share?
Some of the best gigs we remember are the ones organised by our friends. The anecdotes are the same for all of the best shows.. It’s when the crowd is just in sync with us and they’re vibing and having a really good time. As a band that feeds off the energy of the crowd, those are the best times.
Definitely. Technical errors and just sometimes a bad show just happens.
++ Was there any interest from radio?
There was a local radio station that played a lot of local music that made us their band of the month a few years ago but unfortunately they’re not around any more. We do get a lot of airplay in the US and the rest of the world though – I know that we’re on rotation on KEXP pretty often.
++ Looking back in retrospective, so far, what would you say has been the biggest highlight for the band?
Biggest highlight is getting to tour all these different countries with our friends’ bands. Surreal experience.
++ And now, in the near future, what are the plans for the band? Are there new songs? New releases?
Definitely another album. The process is very addictive, even if the album doesn’t do well.
++ Aside from music, what other hobbies do you have?
Riding bicycles, fishing, knitting, and watching professional DOTA 2 matches.
++ Never been to Singapore, I do have many friends there and would love to go. But I’d love to hear from a local. What are the sights one shouldn’t miss? Are there any food or drinks one should also try?
Check out our local trails to experience our tropical jungle like Chestnut Nature Park, Macritchie Nature Trail, and the rustic island of Pulau Ubin. For food you definitely have to try ‘Salted Egg Chicken’, and for drinks if you’re a coffee person ‘Kopi’, and if you’re a tea person ‘Teh’.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Listen
Subsonic Eye – Come Around
