Singapore's rave scene provides freedom in an otherwise conservative city

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Singapore's rave scene provides freedom in an otherwise conservative city

frendi 2023. 2. 26. 20:34

A 23-year-old dancer named Aloysius spends his days in Singapore serving his required military service.

Thus, "Loy," as he refers to himself, goes crazy at night on the weekends. He is shedding a skin while searching for relief under the lights and in the heat.

We first connected in November at a party at Haw Par Villa, a western city amusement park with a hell-themed motif and statues of Chinese mythological characters like topless mermaids, battle-ready demons, and wise old men like Confucius.

Loy and his buddies were startled by a pounding bass that was wafting up from a spot below as it was getting dark.

Crowds were dancing in the "Cultural Courtyard" to a gritty funk track that transitioned into revved-up disco and then deep house.

Swirls crawled across a loop of a Chinese palace drama projected behind the DJ. A moving mass hoisted wet faces to the screen in front of the decks.

It was like stepping into a garden to enter that crowd. A reminder of why most Singaporeans prefer air conditioning was the sea of bum bags, bucket hats, and sunglasses that surrounded everyone on the dance floor in the intense heat.

However, the area was lively.

Everyone is having retaliation parties now, Loy said. The Covid policies in this place were really ridiculous.

Singapore implemented a "no parties, no nightclubs" policy for two years, reopening live music establishments in April 2022.

At 22:30, bars could no longer sell alcohol, and groups could only consist of six persons. Police officers wearing "Red Shirts" searched the streets for contraventions. In a hawker center or movie theater, every other seat was marked off due to social distance.

Since then, the party scene has surged back to life, and the underground scene has witnessed a growth in particular. New collectives and specialized groupings have grown out of lockdown.

Twelve collectives will congregate at the Golden Mile skyscraper complex in central Singapore the next weekend to perform a farewell set for the brutalist structure from the 1970s. Over the years, it has been the location of mom-and-pop stores, karaoke bars, and dingy movie theaters. Most recently, it served as the center of the city's Thai community.

Yet, in typical Singaporean form, a developer sale means it will likely be demolished later this year. In many ways, the tower's final celebration is the ideal location for a city rave.

Finding a place is frequently the biggest problem, according to party planners, due to Singapore's exorbitant rents and zoning rules.

Hence, the settings are constantly transient. Basements and independent film theaters have both hosted raves. There is a Japanese izakaya on the river quays where a regular techno event takes place. In a recreation of the movie set from Wong Kar-In wai's The Mood for Love, one Afrobeat band performed.

migrant workers and cryptobros
Singapore's alternative community congregates in the rave scene. A dark dance floor that serves as the ideal juxtaposition to skyscrapers and sterile malls is even seen by some as a form of revolt against the city's commercial core.

On his website Living in Arpeggio, music journalist Kevin Ho has chronicled the city's music scene for years.

According to him, people have an impression of Singapore as "a wealthy nation with many regulations, and that the party scene would revolve entirely around the business world."

Nonetheless, he contends that on the dance floor, Singapore's true character as a "crossroads of Asia" emerges.

There, as described by DJ Dean Chew, "you witness the melting pot of countries, cultures, and classes"—a diversity that includes everyone from migrant labourers to cryptobros.

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According to Chew, proprietor of the music club Offtrack and a 15-year veteran of the rave scene with his Darker than Wax collective, at first it may appear to be a "clash in culture."

But, a dance floor is a fantastic connector. "Everyone just starts dancing and having a good time while the music plays. Then you start to notice these beautiful compositions."

Many people are drawn to the scene by that first taste of independence. In the line for the restroom at Haw Par Villa, I came across two young women who were just getting started. Although the other wore cargo trousers and a crop top, the first was sporting a red Make Panda Mate Again cap.

After attending university in Melbourne, Australia, where they first met rave culture, both had returned to Singapore during the pandemic.

They used to frequent Singapore's megaclubs, which include enormous multi-level venues that play commercial dance music. These places frequently include floor cheerleaders, champagne bottles that flash in the dark, and other hilarious gimmicks like a ferris wheel within a bar.

Yet, they claim that the beer is costly and the music is poor. One of the ladies, Eugenia, adds, "It's more of a status thing, like it's not really satisfying." She doesn't deign to dance at those clubs - she believes that venues are more about being seen.

"But the real reason I come here is to listen to the music. I really want to dance, though!"

where diversity is valued
Later on in the evening, I once more saw Loy and his pals in the crush. They were dancing wildly as they were bathed in crimson light, their faces shiny with perspiration.

He had before described how the rave atmosphere felt more liberated and open than other clubs in the city.

Cost is one thing to consider. Raves in Singapore often cost a third of what clubs do, which can cost up to SGD$60 (£37; $45) at the entrance.

"There is still something akin to capitalism at play with the nightclubs and beach clubs, where you can acquire a better place by spending more money. Similar like paying extra at a club to enter a higher level, "said Loy.

"But, at a rave, everyone is playing fairly. Everyone is basically just there to dance, which is my favorite part of it."

In Singapore's conservative society, individualism is frequently repressed, while rave culture celebrates it.

Gay activist Loy claims that this safe haven is still available in the underground scene.

The queer scene is becoming more active, we're opening up more, and everything is occurring, he claims.

"Yet, you will still encounter obstacles because Singapore is a conservative country. As long as I'm living, I believe it will be conservative."

In Singapore, same-sex couples may feel comfortable holding hands as they stroll down the street, but the city continues to forbid same-sex marriage and restricts the portrayal of gay relationships in the media.

For many more years than their heterosexual counterparts, gay persons are denied entry to the property market. And only last year did the nation overturn a legislation that made sex between men illegal.

Even the word "rave," according to Ho, "has contradictory connotations with a place like Singapore."

"I believe that the majority of people associate raves with illicit, drug-filled parties held in a warehouse or other secluded area."

Yet, Singapore, where security cameras are placed at every street corner and etiquette fine notices are painted on public transportation, has minimal crime.

The majority of people in the city-state support the severe prohibition of recreational drugs and the application of the death penalty for drug trafficking. Despite requests for mercy due to his intellectual disability, a man who trafficked a tablespoon of heroin from Malaysia was hanged last year.

"Because to our severe, excessive position on drugs, you won't find what you would find in a party anyplace else around the world," claims Kevin.

The rave culture in the city is continually developing. There aren't really any unlicensed parties because every dance floor needs government approval, and organizers complain that there is a ton of paperwork.

More than a dozen government entities had to approve applications before the Haw Par Villa rave could take place.

"It's very challenging to work here. It's certainly one of the hardest locations to work artistically "affirms DJ Chew.

"But if you can, something like a flower coming up from a crack in the concrete comes out of it, something beautiful and powerful."

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