Goodnight Electric, Mocca; hope to steal Singapore crowds

The Mosaic Music Festival is celebrating its fifth year, and our music ambassadors will be there hoping to steal their place in the limelight.

Once again, Singapore has made us jealous. This island, despite its small size, is hosting a music festival that accommodates a huge variety of musical genres.

This weekend we have the Java Jazz Festival here in Jakarta — arguably the biggest music festival in Southeast Asia, but then that is all about jazz.

When it comes to variety, however, take a look at what is on offer on the Mosaic menu. It is so appealing. Every year they seem to come up with something to tempt people to go visit Singapore.
The 10-day festival will be held in various venues at the Esplanade complex, from March 12 to March 21, 2010.

Name any genre, and it’s there. From breathtaking old-school hero Dinosaur Jr., to popular favorites Kings of Convenience, and even avant garde veterans such as Vashti Bunyan.

Not to be missed also is the reggae and jazz section. If you browse through the festival’s past catalogues, the first was dominated by acts from these two genres.

This year, Mosaic hosts the legendary Kool and the Gang, Steve Lukather from Toto, and Darryl Jones who have been playing on the road with The Rolling Stones for more than a decade.
Oh, and one more interesting fact: This festival is being organized by a government company — The Esplanade Co. Ltd.

For some shows tickets are selling fast. Au Revoir Simone and Kings of Convenience have had to schedule additional shows to satisfy the demand.

Mosaic has also reserved several slots for local artists from across Southeast Asia. The organizers seem to have allocated a big portion of the festival to musicians in this region, of course aiming to provide a stage for local talents.

Indie-pop darlings from Bandung, Mocca, played at this festival a few years ago, and had some memorable experiences there, playing three times.

“There were people who came to every show … all three,” recalls Arina Ephipania, the band’s charming frontwoman, who loved the Singapore crowd.

“Also, there was an autograph session just after we did our last gig. It was fun playing at that festival,” she adds.

Indonesia will again be represented by several interesting artists this year. Jazz band Soulvibe will play twice, as will electronic trio Goodnight Electric and singer Bonita who will play with his support band, The HUSband.

For Goodnight Electric, playing at Mosaic adds another wonderful chapter to their story. This will be their second trip to Singapore. The first was back in 2009 when they played at the electronic music festival Electrolab.

“We will try our best to steal the show,” says Henry Foundation, the band’s charismatic vocalist.
Henry, along with his two comrades, Oomleo and Bondi Goodboy, is widely known in some Southeast Asian countries for his unique personifications.

This group does not play regular electronic music. With gentle yet entertaining gestures, they mix synthesizer with pop music, taking influences from the likes of Depeche Mode.

They’ve played festivals in Malaysia, Thailand and even Germany during these past years. And yet, they still find it hard to conquer Singapore.

“It won’t be easy,” says Henry. “The crowd is a bit static,” he adds.

Henry reckons the market in Singapore is not as big as Thailand, Malaysia and definitely not as big as Indonesia. But still, it’s worth conquering, he says.

Goodnight Electric hopes that playing at this cross-genre festival will be their ticket to bigger opportunities in the region.

“We want to find a label to distribute our music [internationally]… Hopefully by playing this festival, the road to reach that will open up,” Henry says.

Bonita, the other Indonesian act who will be at Mosaic, shared similar thoughts.

“This is a step toward my goal. I want to play at international festivals,” says the super-talented singer who released her second album, Laju, a few months ago.

Bonita will play twice at Mosaic, with one of her sets filled with reinterpretations from soul legends.

“I will play Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding and Curtis Mayfield songs … Oh, and we will play Titiek Puspa’s Bimbi also,” says Bonita, who is known for her strong and unique vocal characteristics.

Bonita also hopes Mosaic will present her with opportunities, and is looking forward to meeting international performers.

“Playing at a festival is something I like. It is where you can make contact with other people from around the world based on what you play on stage.”

Source : http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/03/07/goodnight-electric-mocca-hope-steal-singapore-crowds.html