One of the most common criticisms levelled at
Singapore's English bands is weak vocals. A glance at the Chinese music industry
gives an indication of why - that's where most of our best singers are.
You can hardly blame them. If you've got
vocal chops, you exponentially increase your chances of success if you sing in
Mandarin and appeal to the huge Chinese-speaking markets in Malaysia, Taiwan and
mainland China.
Derrick Hoh is the latest to try his luck. He
was a contestant in the first season of local Mandarin TV talent show Project
SuperStar back in 2005, and while he didn't win the competition, he did get
noticed by fans and the music industry.
Three years later he has finally released his
Mandarin debut album, Unclassified. It sold 2,000 copies on its launch day in
July alone, with total sales of 5,000 to date. That's pretty decent considering
Hoh isn't a household name and lacks the cachet of foreign imports.
Unclassified is a mix of ballads and upbeat
boy-band-type fare. The latter isn't particularly interesting, but the former is
where Hoh shines. Anti Clockwise, My Story and After Today are some of the
standout tracks, and demonstrate good expression and taste.
However, the gritty huskiness of Hoh's
Project SuperStar performances is missing, leaving the tracks a bit too smooth.
That's a pity, because gritty delivery is
where Hoh could carve a niche for himself in a sea of sound-alikes.
Going the route of smoothness also pits him
toe-to-toe against Singapore's best male Mandarin vocalist, JJ Lin. Lin has all
the songwriting talent of Taiwanese singer Jay Chou, but a much better voice
that has catapulted him into international stardom.
Perhaps Hoh could take a page from Taiwanese
rock band F.I.R.'s book and go the route of powerful rock ballads. F.I.R. just
toured here last month, courtesy of Unusual Productions.
The trio's latest album, Love.Diva, released
at the end of last year, is actually a lot lighter and more pop-oriented than
the band's previous three releases.
But F.I.R. has continued to exploit its niche
and push creative boundaries, showing that pop music doesn't necessarily have to
be unimaginative or unchallenging. Love.Diva's 10th track, Loved, illustrates
this point perfectly.
On the surface it's just a ballad, but
actually has the most challenging vocal demands of any F.I.R. song. Lead singer
Faye Zhan unveils her true range, which extends beyond falsetto to the so-called
flageolet voice register. We also hear Faye demonstrate her ability to handle
all-English songs in her composition Blue Doors Ahead, which is a tasty jazz
ballad. Hoh needs to figure out how to be similarly unique without sacrificing
accessibility.
Japanese group Superfly is another example of
how to stand out from the crowd. Although its self-titled debut album has been
just released, the band was formed back in 2004 and has been steadily releasing
singles since then.
These days, Superfly is a solo act fronted by
vocalist Ochi Shiho after guitarist Tabo Koichi quit, although Koichi wrote most
of the songs on the album and handled some of the guitar work.
Shiho's raunchy voice has a strong midrange,
which stands out from run-of-the-mill J-pop vocalists, and will appeal to you if
you like k.d.lang and Sheryl Crow.
All the album's songs are in Japanese, with
the exception of i spy i spy, which is an all-English duet with Australian band
JET.
Superfly has a classic-rock sensibility that
is a refreshingly groovy alternative to the electronica-laced majority of most
J-pop, while avoiding the melodrama typical of Japanese heavy metal.
This week's trio of albums clearly
illustrates the benefits of experience, with the relatively more mature F.I.R.
coming out on top.
At the same time, it also gives an indication
of what we can look forward to as Hoh develops.
If a Singaporean artist like JJ Lin can be
mentioned in the same breath as any Taiwanese act, there's no reason why Hoh
can't cultivate a strong international profile.
Kudos to major label Warner Music for
investing in this interesting crop of Asian acts. The indie Chinese music scene
is vibrant, but you don't necessarily have to look in that direction to find
something with character. - 2008
September 5 BUSINESS
TIMES
