Recently, LENOVO and MTV came together on CO:LAB, an integrated social platform that enables the most progressive DJs, Vocalists/Instrumentalists, Film Makers or Motion Graphic Artists to share stories about their communities through music. The project paired the industry’s movers and shakers with up-and-coming talents from the regional for an exclusive mentoring experience. The first Asian participant in the Red Bull Music Academy in Seattle in 2005, DJ Debbie Chia has played in venues such as Zouk, Home Club and The Vault, the co-founder of a record label an annual female DJ school.…

Known for their audiovisual performances, the German electronic music pioneers will be taking our local Esplanade Theatre by storm this April. Adding 3-D image elements to their concert, this first of its kind concert will be a multi-sensory performance of sight and sound that'll blow your minds away. Backed by Fred Perry as the Official Supporter of the Kraftwerk 3-D show happening on Thursday, 25 April, this is an event you don't want to miss. What's more, limited edition 3-D Posters by a collaboration between Fred Perry and PHUNK will…

While we love the boom boom boom of nightclubs and the energy that bounces off the walls, it can get a little deafening for the people who are not into the beat. That's why when we learned that Sony organised a silent party in Argentina, we were stoked. Still employing the skills of DJs, guests were asked to put on a pair of Sony headphones, tune in to a particular frequency and voila! Shake your booty to the same music, without the noise pollution. Gotta love technology. Check out the…

Rap, of course, has seen its evolution from a period of authoritarian dissent (Public Enemy) to gangland dissing (N.W.A.) to British middle-class disenchantment (Roll Deep). If rap is an unpolished jewel, then the shine of the genre is in its many facets. Odd Future, though, is a bit of an anomaly. They are clearly rap/hip-hop and yet their mindset is punk. It it through this special amalgamation (and plenty of youthful chutzpah) that generated a special kind of music – one that is clearly a well-aimed bullet into the head…

Months after the release of their second album Ceremonials, we still can't get enough of Florence + The Machine. Thanks to Universal Music, we've two Florence + The Machine prize packages up for grabs. Each of the package consists of a small-sized classic bird t-shirt, a black Ceremonials tote bag, a Ceremonials (2CD Deluxe Edition), a Ceremonials LP and a Florence + The Machine MTV Unplugged (Deluxe CD/DVD). To win them, all you have to do is tell us... Florence Welch's original hair colour. E-mail your address, full name and…

Don't you wish you had this to listen to in a barber shop other than the snipping of scissors? Filmed in a barber shop in Siglap, local band, MONSTER CAT and Malaysian indie singer, Liyana Fizi, performed Jatuh, the single from Fizi's debut album, Between the Lines. Behind the camera is Tha Artist, who wanted a quaint atmosphere to highlight the "gentle nuances" of the music. After watching the video, we full-heartedly concur.

“Quirky” comes to mind when you talk to Amanda Tee. Zooey Deschanel too, but that quickly fades, when you realise that Tee is in a league of her own. Having performed at the Esplanade Concourse and released her album, Take It Or Leave It, Tee spoke of many things that we were more than happy to take in. First thing’s first, what’s your music background like? I did 8th grade in piano, violin, and the flute, and sometimes play the harp... kidding! The guitar is the only instrument I can really…

Last year's torrential rain did not seem to dampened concert goers from attending this year's St. Jerome's Laneway Festival. With a new line-up and public pressure to impress, was Laneway Fest a success? The implementation of having two stages made the show run smoothly. The stages were mounted side-by-side; a band would play on one stage, then when their set was over, the next band can start to play on the other stage, thus eliminating time spent on setting up equipment.

Popping and locking seems easy until you try it. But Nakada Hiroyuki a.k.a. Fishboy makes it look… sublime. Apart from his accolades and numerous dance awards, he's  also the host of the wildly popular Japanese TV show Dance @ TV. A judge at the upcoming Gatsby Dance Competition to be held in Singapore, we fielded some questions at the dance savant and this is what he threw back. First off, how did you come up with the name “Fishboy”? When I was first given the chance to become a dancer,…

The death of a band can be pretty hard to take but with every ending, there’s a new beginning. Such is with The Lost Souls Club that traded the pop-ish tunes of their previous band, Plastic Toys, for a more rock-heavy sound and attitude. The remaining members, Jon Tufnell and Simon Jackson, roped in James Freemantle and Jon Lamont and played throughout Asia. To tackle this mire of the band's history, Jackson acted as our personal Virgil as we trace the band’s transition and rise from the music ashes… From…

Chalked it up to a chance encounter in a Phnom Penh bar. When Julien Poulson, an Australian, met the local songstress, Srey Thy, in a karaoke bar, their meeting would lead to The Cambodian Space Project (CSP); a band that covers, preserves and create their own brand of Khmer rock. Two years later, after a world tour and finding their footing among the debris of Cambodia’s war-torn past, the CSP’s popularity continues skywards. How apt that the band will touch down at Singapore’s own Up To The Sky Festival. Okay,…

There are two kinds of Karl Makas. There is Karl Maka, veteran Hong Kong actor and The Karl Maka, electro pop band that consists of Jonathan Fong and Ken Hayashida. This is an interview involving the latter. We uncover facts about their music, friendship and a meeting with the actor, Karl Maka himself. What’s the story about the band name? Jonathan: We initially wanted to call ourselves the Hui Brothers (famous Hong Kong movie siblings) but it sounded similar to the Dust Brothers or The Chemical Brothers. We went with…

We're still stoked about the release of the Laneway Festival lineup, so much so that we're starting the week with a music video from The Horrors! The band started out in the Goth-punk scene and debut their single, Sheena Is A Parasite, which attracted attention from the press and public. The music video of the single also grabbed attention. Directed by Chris Cunningham and starring Samantha Morton, this visual feast is one part strobe lights, one part Cthulhu Mythos and all catchy tunes and disturbing imagery. Consider this an early…

The lineup for St. Jerome's Laneway Fest 2012 was released today. Artists includes Feist; The Horrors; Laura Marling; Toro Y Moi; Cults and returning act, The Drums. Woohoo! Priority booking for Visa cardholders commences 14 November. Public sales commence 28 November. Price $135 (*plus $3 Sistic booking fee). Visit Sistic for all your ticket needs.   For more info, visit the Laneway Festival website.  

Taking their name after Charles Baudelaire's La Fanfarlo, the London-based band has just finished their untitled sophomore album and are currently touring. So, until they decided to release it, we'll have to be satisfied with their new black-and-white music video that's heavily influenced by the work of François Truffaut. Enjoy Deconstructed directed by Alex Southam.

After an 11-year music career, the Pierces (Allison and Catherine) return with a fourth album called You & I. CATALOG talked with Catherine about their album, thoughts on the music industry, their fanbase in the U.K. and their funny connection with ABBA. First off, congrats on You & I. It seems that recognition came to you slower than expected. Do you harbour any grudges with the music industry for that? Um, we don’t resent the music industry even though it can be frustrating at times. We probably weren’t ready for it…

Amanda Ling is the ex-keyboardist of Electrico, who went on to carve a name for herself in the male-dominated music scene. Ling played at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, manned the decks as DJ Doopz and, as a member of In Each Hand A Cutlass, played to a sold-out show at the Esplanade. Ling managed to squeeze a meet-up with CATALOG into her busy schedule. This is belated but congratulations on In Each Hand A Cutlass at the Esplanade; what was your assessment of the events leading up…

Choice tunes, cherry-picked by JNR especially for CATALOG's “Play” issue. Barry White – Playing Your Game, Baby

Meet JNR,  Zouk's latest resident DJ who (luckily for us) decided to set up shop right here on our blessed shores! As a good old boy from Toronto, the statuesque producer plays music that takes its listeners on a magic carpet ride. CATALOG hopped on board and took the spin-master on a brief detour. How did your DJ name come about? Junior is a nickname some friends call me by... so it kinda stuck and somewhere over the last six years I dropped all the vowels. How did you come…