Australian Artists In Focus / Sunda Festival (Singapore)
Two months after my return from Indonesia, where I wrote about Australian & Australian-based artists at NTS and Boiler Room at Potato Head in Bali, I made my return to Southeast Asia. This time to Singapore, for a festival called Sunda.
Named after the tectonic plate which resides underneath Southeast Asia and parts of the Asian mainland, Sunda Festival was brought together by two groups - Singapore-based Ice Cream Sundays and Hong Kong-based FuFu Creative. The idea was to unite dance-lovers under the stars with a tantalising mix of the region’s best DJs, live bands and electronic acts.
Located at Sarimbun Scout Camp, three Australian acts were performing at Singapore’s debut camping festival - Wax’o Paradiso (composed of Simon TK & Edd Fisher), Merve - who’s now relocated to Berlin ,and Toni Yotzi - who unfortunately could not make the festival in the end due to injury.
Merve’s set took place on the first night, nestled between Dean Chew x Kaye and DJ Masda— the former Singapore legends who played at the country’s inaugural Boiler Room earlier this year, and the latter, the founder of Cabaret Recordings from Japan.
The last time I vividly recall experiencing a Merve set was at Strawberry Fields in NSW back in 2019, coincidentally sharing the bill with Wax’o Paradiso. She was deeply immersed in disco, often hauling a hefty bag of records, yet her selections remained multifaceted, traversing from vocal house to percussive beats, Arabic sounds, trance, techno, and beyond.
That set stuck in my memory, and at Sunda Festival her selections brimmed with the same infectious enthusiasm behind the decks. Amidst the bodies, synths in her set glided like sirens, before transitioning into jazzy techno that ignited the dance-floor - arms pumping and voices wailing in unison. When Merve dropped ‘Systems Pumping’ by The Chupher, the cheering grew, with the vocals “Can You Feel It” inducing euphoric movements across the dance-floor.
Stepping outside The Pavillion, I noticed that the structure was adorned with projections that shifted between swirling paintings and vibrant lights, casting its supporting stumps in various hues. Despite Merve’s current base in Berlin, as I danced on the distant grass, I sensed that her sets still echoed the essence of the Australian bush. Dancing under the moonlight amid the sweet sweat of the humid forest, her blends of acid-bus-techno momentarily transported me back home. Simultaneously, the projections morphed into pulsating dot paintings, an evocative reminder of the Australian landscape.
Wax’o Paradiso was slated to close out the same stage, The Pavilion, on the festival's second and final night. However, as the moment approached, a decision was made to shift to the Nomad stage—an outdoor amphitheatre nestled within the rhythmic embrace of the forest.
Following one of the festival's crews, Ice Cream Sundays, the energy at the Nomad stage was already high-spirited and electrifying, in knowledge that the final set of the festival was approaching. With a modest sound system whose output exceeded expectation, Wax’o Paradiso’s selections were immediately entrancing, beginning with left-field house and electro perfectly suited to the forest.
Over an impressive three-hour set, the duo effortlessly navigated through diverse genres and styles. Tracks like local NZ artist Eden Burns’ “Free Your Mind” and Mr. Ho’s “Angel Number 909” reverberated throughout the amphitheatre, injecting new energy to the dancers who had been there all day, through the heat and now cooling breeze.
As the set carried on they transitioned from light percussion and bush techno reminiscent of Merve’s previous night’s performance to darker beats, interspersed with classic house tracks like D:Ream’s “U R The Best Thing” dub that propelled jazz-synth chords rhythmically through the dance-floor. I was excited to hear the set progress into UKG territories, a personal highlight when “Girls Like Us” by B-15 hit the system, a 2000 song as captivating now as I’m sure it was then. At some point, Dita joined the mix - a DJ based in Bali who had earlier graced the same Nomad stage that day. A perfect way to end the festival: light-hearted DJs, drinks flowing, hugs from new and old friends alike, the weaning heat and, of course: the best of tunes.
In the end, I was thoroughly impressed by Singapore’s inaugural camping festival. Sunda had a distinct musical style, clearly influenced by the tropical setting. Light-hearted music with a prevailing atmosphere of up-beat energy, never swayed by anything too dark or serious.
Highlights from artists local to Singapore/Southeast Asia that played at Sunda:
Bottlesmoker - Up-beat live production duo from Bandung, Indonesia. Uplifting, had even mapped music to pineapples to play on stage.
Helios XL - Singapore DJ playing the sounds of UKG, jungle, bass +
Fraktal - Live electronic hardware trio based in Bali, Indonesia. Left-field techno, house, more…
Kuniyuki - Not Southeast Asian but Japanese producer/DJ. Plays live improvised including sampling on the spot. Infectious…
Article by Margarita Bassova
Photography by Hei Studio
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