Supersonic

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got into sound engineering.
My family put music as an important extracurricular activity, which pointed me into audio production because I wasn’t particularly good in my studies, but also because I didn’t like to study (laughs).

Because of this, if you ask me, sound is the one career I wouldn’t mind pursuing long-term. I was very lucky that I ended up here in PK Records—it’s a really good space where I can do a lot of awesome things lah. We get to collaborate with awesome international bands like Bandung-based Dongker, and obviously our local bands are great as well.

Apart from sound engineering, I’m also in a band of my own called Vegtable.

Cool! How did you find your way to PK records?
It was through the band Bellied Star. They were one of the very first bands I watched live, after which we became friends as a few of the members happened to be in the same school as me. I would see them often at the smoking corner, so we naturally became closer.

One day, a friend of mine was working on a Subsonic Eye show here at PK, so I went to check it out. The owner happened to be there and asked if I wanted to intern. That was two years ago, and now, I work here.

How serendipitous! What’s the best experience you’ve had at PK Records so far?
On a personal level, many of us were once part of a collective called New Mongrels, and we all went to Kuala Lumpur together once. It basically turned into a three-day hangout, which was really awesome. I didn’t perform, but I got to do sound for a bunch of people!

But the best working experience would probably be recording for Dongker. Or most recently, I worked on the recording for this new band called Inkblot, and I think that it’s the best recording I’ve done yet, which is awesome because it’s for a friend.

Nice! So how do you see the local music scene growing?
These days, since I work a lot, I don’t really get to attend local gigs as often. But I’ve been hearing great things about the up and coming bands, especially about how young and talented they are. It’s awesome to see young people getting into music and really enjoying themselves.

But in general, I think the music scene in Singapore is doing well. People still want to create, and some aren’t just making music—they’re making it interesting. The scene isn’t that deep or complicated; just enjoy yourself and make music.

Your top 3 songs on repeat right now are:
I’m not into shoegaze, but there’s this one shoegaze song that’s really good called Mandy by she’s green. Then All They Wanted by Panchiko and Bagel Breath by Horse Jumper of Love.

Adding these to our playlist right now! Going back to live gigs, what’s one band, local or international, that you would love to see live? And what’s the best gig you’ve seen to date?
I would love to see Car Seat Headrest, dude! If they ever come to Singapore, I’m selling my soul to see them (laughs).

Best gig was the CURB album launch last year. It was amazing seeing them play, and it was so awesome having the fans all there for this milestone as well.

One last question: what are some goals you’d like to achieve by the end of the year?
I’m working on a new album with my band, Vegtable, and also working on some solo stuff lah. I hope the band stuff comes out by the end of this year. The solo stuff can come out whenever lah since I’ve got the freedom to do whatever I want—perks of working at PK Records! I don’t even have to pay anyone to do it because I’m the one doing all the recordings myself (laughs).