On The Move

Introduce yourself!
Hello, I’m Syahid, sometimes known as Sol. I’m 22 and working in a sales and marketing role in my day job, but on my days off, you best believe I’m the hardest player!

What do I mean by that? Well, I love listening to hardcore music, playing Beyblades, and the list goes on and on. I also love the great outdoors, and if there’s one thing I’m great at, it’s finding something to fill my time with. Even on days when there’s seemingly nothing to do, I guarantee you by midday, I would’ve found something to do—no ifs, buts, or maybes. It could be attending a Beyblade tournament, or simply going outdoors for a hike, no matter the weather because I’ve always got my trusty weatherproof jacket on.

At night, I love a good DJ set. I lean more towards the harder styles like 90s hardcore or happy hardcore. I also love me a good terror set!

Sounds like there’s never a dull moment with you! We take it you disagree when people say that Singapore’s a boring place to be, right?
Well, to be fair, the outlook of Singapore is quite boring, especially if you’re in the country all the time. The posters you see outside are always for the same few things, same few events.

So my recommendation for all you Singaporeans out there is to dive into the underground scene. Plunge into it. Or, if you don’t want to go all in just yet, just put your feet into the water a bit lah. There’s a lot to explore, a lot to see, and incredible people to meet with incredible backgrounds. Obviously there are rotten apples within the scene, but the same can be said for any industry, whether in your workplace or in your hobbies, so just find the grit of it and enjoy it! Because if not now, then when?

Tell us more about some of your favourite bands/artists.
I’m personally involved in the music scene myself, but I’ll answer this by giving a shoutout to my friends Aggressive Raisin Cat and Fern—I love them to bits, really! And to Jensen, my business husband, this one’s for you: I miss you.

Apart from that, I’ve been listening to a lot of DJ Paul Elstak. He’s a big, bold fella, and quite the icon in the hardcore scene.

How did you first get into the local music scene?
It’s funny because I started off as a vintage clothes seller post O-levels in 2018. I was selling hand-me-downs, then secondhand stuff from bundle stores in Malaysia, and eventually I got a good pile of clothes to sell at one of those weekend flea markets. I did that regularly till I got the opportunity to open up a pop-up space at Scape Underground in 2021, then I moved to Tekka Place for a year and sold some of the best clothes in the country!

I’m not glazing myself for the sake of it—I’m just really proud to be able to say that we housed over 30 local independent creators who curate and make clothes, and had something for everyone, regardless of gender or size. Now, we’ve just moved into ROOM 526 and are still in the process of figuring out how we can make full use of the space for both our retail arm and music (and maybe even for a big Beyblade tournament? (laughs)), but rest assured, I am cooking.

Anyway, long story short, I befriended people like Jensen who are in local bands, which is how I first got immersed in the scene. I also started going to raves and kind of wanted to see what it would be like to be on the decks, which is then how I began DJing myself, or as I like to call myself, a fellow with a thumb drive and a dream.

Fun fact: I don’t have a deck of my own—I’ve been going to my friends’ houses and using theirs. I hope it doesn’t sound bad, but I just don’t have the budget or the space to get one for myself.

How are you hoping to end off 2024?
Right, let’s end the year strong! In terms of work, I really hope to be able to hit personal records that I have yet to achieve. In terms of Beyblade, I hope to attend more of these little tournaments soon.

I’m really busy working on myself, so my time is a lot more limited than it was a few weeks ago, but all in all, I’d like to end the year financially stable.