As part of I Was Here, I Am Here – SWANSONGS: A Finale Rave for Runme Shaw CFA Studios

SWANSONGS: A Finale Rave for Runme Shaw CFA Studios by NUS Electronic Music Lab

❝ 𝗦𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗚
/ˈswɒn.sɒŋ/
𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯

𝘼 𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙝𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩, 𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙝𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝. ❞

NUS Electronic Music Lab (EML) is proud to present SWANSONGS: A Finale Rave for Runme Shaw CFA Studios. Celebrate the building's 39 years of legacy with us one last time as we close the night for CFA Block Party, held in commemoration of this historical student's arts space before its demolition by the end of 2024. With an array of high-energy original music made by students and alumni of NUS EML, SWANSONGS is sure to bid Runme Shaw CFA Studios farewell with the rave of its lifetime.

An interactive archive of EML's music since 1989 will be open from 4PM at the Runme Shaw CFA Studios main foyer. Enter the Auditorium from 6PM to experience the SWANSONGS Synth Museum, where you can witness and interact with vintage digital synthesiser equipment used by NUS EML ever since the early days of the building's inception. Rave starts at 8PM.

This event is part of I Was Here, I Am Here: A Runme Shaw CFA Studios Block Party. View the full programme for the Block Party and RSVP your attendance here

Genres:
Trance, House, Hyperpop, Drum N’ Bass, Synth Metal

Lineup:
༺ r̴͠o̷͗r̵̓u̸̅r̵͛u̷͘ ༻
༺ Bokeh Fields ༻
༺ Mitch Advent ༻
༺ Abyss Simian ༻
༺ deførmed ༻
༺ vylt (ft. Three Ear Rabbit) ༻
༺ Falling Islands ༻

Abyss Simian / Ben Ang (Class of 1993)

Abyss Simian is the solo electronic improvisation project of Ben Ang, Principal Tutor of NUS EML, half of synthpop duo Cosmic Armchair, and Ableton Certified Trainer. Ben never left EML after graduating so for years he has continued making music with EML and helping generations of new EML members to make their own music too.

Mitch Advent / Mitch Goh (Class of 2020)   

Mitch Advent strives to weave a multitude of electronic music genre together in his shows to tell a story which is significantly his. The music he performs has been characterized as being atmospheric, cinematic, lush, high energy and larger than life with emotion-fueled chord progression that is bundled with relentless thumping bass put together through squeaky-clean production.

 

r̴͠o̷͗r̵̓u̸̅r̵͛u̷͘ / Tan Jun Lin (Class of 2024)

༒︎r̵̤̊ǫ̷͗r̴̘̀ú̵̮ṛ̶̛u̶͔͐ ̴̹̕ creates songs that end up in cyber cemeteries༒︎

 

Bokeh Fields / Shawn Ng (Class of 2023)

Bokeh Fields is the experimental ambient / dance music project of Singaporean music producer Shawn Ng. He has a penchant for immersive atmospheres and left-field production techniques. Notable recordings present in his works include modular synths, piano on microcassette, ice cubes, and playing the guitar wrongly.

 

deførmed / Abdul Hakiim (Class of 2024)

deførmed (Abdul Hakiim) is an experimental, exploratory high-energy electronic based music producer. He enjoys playing with many foreign ideas, combining it with other ideas unlikely to end up sounding conventionally pleasing to the ear. Described as “refreshing, wild, raw and highly imaginative”, he desires to bring forward a new identity of music in Singapore. His musical influences range from many styles such as electronic, traditional malay, experimental, video game music, and anisong.

 

vylt / Violet Yang (Class of 2026) 

A cauldron-brewed concoction of witchcraft, Halloween, synthesizers and the colour purple, VYLT summons her occult tastes to life through the medium of music. Her primary genres are darksynth, horrorsynth and synth metal, conjuring tracks with a signature melodic high-energy style inspired by darksynth legends such as Perturbator, Carpenter Brut and Dance With The Dead. Rich, powerful melodies mixed with gritty basses, dark guitar riffs and spooky synths will be sure to leave you spellbound, terrified and raving in the grave.

 

Falling Islands / Tan E-Reng (Class of 2023)

FALLING ISLANDS is a Singapore-based electronic musician, performer, DJ, synthesist, educator, and the Resident DJ of Singapore-based cybergoth rave collective, Blacklight Tribe. They also currently serve as the Assistant Tutor to the NUS Electronic Music Lab. Scintillating journeys through the darkest and brightest, and the gentlest and wildest extremities of electronic music are what you can always expect at their shows. Hold on tight.

Full Setlist & Details

1) r̴͠o̷͗r̵̓u̸̅r̵͛u̷͘ - scent of your cigarettes
genre/vibes: hyperpop, oriental tribal psychedelic
"scent of your cigarettes" was conceptualised for CFA's collaboration with La Salle Dance Company from De La Salle University, where the first iteration of the song was used for choreographies

2) r̴͠o̷͗r̵̓u̸̅r̵͛u̷͘ - all songs are sad songs
genre/vibes: cinematic, orchestral, deep house, mid tempo, glitch
the first iteration of "all songs are sad songs" was composed for the first season of "To the Beat", a YouTube series pairing NUS dancers with NUS student musicians that premiered in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

3) r̴͠o̷͗r̵̓u̸̅r̵͛u̷͘ - curry
hyperpop, house, breakbeat, jersey club, mid tempo, future bass "curry" was produced for EML's fifth instalment of the OMNIVERSE series — omniVerse: the loVers. the song was produced with the theme of infatuation in mind

4) r̴͠o̷͗r̵̓u̸̅r̵͛u̷͘ - tofu
genre/vibes: lofi, house, future bass, sample
"tofu" was produced in 2023 as part of NUS Arts Festival and EML's fourth installment of its annual showcase concert — OMNIVERSE: THE FOURTH DIMENSION

1) Bokeh Fields - You're on Speed Dial
Genres/vibes: Ambient, Nostalgia
"You're on Speed Dial" is the opening track of Bokeh Fields' "See You Soon" (2020) – an ambient concept album about growing old with your partner. As a brief intro piece about an attempted phone call, it hints at the theme of human connection and sets the tone for the record's hazy, lofi aesthetic.

2) Bokeh Fields - BAD SIGNAL [Bokeh Fields - No Signal x Falling Islands - BAD CHIP (Bokeh Fields Remix)]
Genres/vibes: Techno, Electro House, Glitch
Thematically tying in to the intro, "BAD SIGNAL" is a mix of Bokeh Fields' "No Signal" – the main event of his glitchy, melancholic 2023 EP, "Riding Out the Doldrums" – and his remix of "BAD CHIP" by former EML president (AY 20/21) and now current Assistant Tutor, Falling Islands, which appears on the latter's 2024 technological dystopian remix EP, "NETWLKR REWiRED".

3) Bokeh Fields - Ephemera
Genres/vibes: Progressive House, Glitch
Released in 2024 but produced in 2018, "Ephemera" is a dizzying, technicolour progressive house track born from Bokeh Fields' dance music phase. Its flurry of rhythmic and percussive elements were molded from unlikely source material, including recordings of creaking chairs and jangling keys.

4) Bokeh Fields - Memory Leak
Genres/vibes: Ambient, Glitch
"Memory Leak" is the ambient closer of "Riding Out the Doldrums", built from granulated elements of the EP's opener, "Crusht". The track is a testament to inspiration being able to strike at any time or place, as it was conceived, and its core structure fleshed out, at a random table in the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, with nothing but a laptop and bluetooth earphones (just imagine the latency), while waiting for class to start one fine morning.

5) Bokeh Fields - Crusht
Genres/vibes: Electronic, Glitch
The distorted, blown-out opening track to "Riding Out the Doldrums", "Crusht" marked a significant shift in style in the Bokeh Fields catalogue, embracing distortion in a far more overt fashion than before. An earlier version of the track was originally performed live for the first time at the NUS Student Life Fair (SLF) 2022 as part of EML's showcase, its crunched-up instruments sonically fitting that year's festival's theme of videogames.

6) Bokeh Fields - Splinter In Time [Bokeh Fields - Splinter x Bokeh Fields - Splinter (Kios Nil Remix) x Bokeh Fields - In Time's Ocean]
Genres/vibes: Progressive House, Ambient
"Splinter In Time" is a reimagining of Bokeh Fields' 2020 single, "Splinter", blended with elements of his 2021 ambient dance odyssey, "In Time's Ocean", as well as featuring warped samples of the "Splinter" remix by former EML president (AY 19/20) Kios Nil. Before its December release, "Splinter" was debuted in September that same year, performed on an ironing board as part of EML's filmed-at-home, virtual concert, OMNIVERSE: Cyberpunk (2020) that premiered on YouTube during the pandemic. "In Time's Ocean" premiered at the following hybrid-production virtual instalment, OMNIVERSE: REG3NESIS (2022), this time not on an ironing board (we had a bigger budget). In this manner, "Splinter In Time" encapsulates a moment in EML's history where live music had to be radically rethought in the face of pandemic restrictions, and this is how we overcame.

1. Abyss Simian x Don Shiau - Instant Love (The EML 1989 - 2019 Megamix)
When Don Shiau composed and performed this infectious high energy dance track in 2004, for the EML 2004 concert 'Journeys', Instant Love was an Instant Hit. Twenty years later, the beat still kicks, and is the perfect foundation for Abyss Simian's new mashup of various EML tracks from 1989 to 2009. This 20 year span includes samples of typing (Electronic Mail), the classic messaging platform ICQ, late Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, whale song, excerpts from the epic works of Dr Joseph Peters 'Kent Ridge Fantasia' and 'Merlion Odyssey', and an extended mashup with In The Rite by Persuasian.

2. Abyss Simian - Spare The Innocent
After the US invaded Iraq in 2002, US President George Bush announced that US forces would take measures to spare innocent civilians -- but the reality on the ground was very different. This breakbeat track was performed at the EML 2002 concert World In Our Minds as an ensemble electronic work of 6 keyboardists, bassist, and saxophonist. The track juxtaposes samples of the US President against recordings of civilians and medical staff who witnessed the attacks.

3. Marching of the Days (cover of Cosmic Armchair)
Jane and Ben, the members of Cosmic Armchair, synthpop duo from Singapore, first met at EML. For their debut EP, which they launched with a live show at NUS Arts Festival 2008, they wanted to simulate radio announcements in different languages. Where else to find a diverse group of Thai, Tamil, Japanese, Vietnamese, and even Lithuanian speakers, but NUS Electronic Music Lab? This instrumental trance remix of Cosmic Armchair's song Marching of the Days focuses on those samples.

4. Frontiers (cover of Cosmic Armchair)
Before Jane and Ben formed Cosmic Armchair, they performed as 'Terabyte" at EML shows including a special EML show at Zouk Club in 1997, then at its legendary Jiak Kim Street location. Frontiers was the opening instrumental breakbeat trance track that started that show, and this melodic techno / progressive trance version brings it into the current day.

1) Mitch Advent - Frappe - On & Off Album (2017)
Written for the 2016 edition of Singapore Coffee Festival along side Riot !n Magenta, Joshua Simon and Fauxe who were tasked to record and transform live sounds from a McCafe into music.

2) Mitch Advent - Man Made Sky - Single (2016)
Written for the 2016 edition of Baybeats Festival for SG50.

3) Mitch Advent - Heavy Cream - 80s Magic (2019)
Written for EML's 2018 Madhouse.

4) Mitch Advent - Euphobia
Machine Album (2020)

5) Mitch Advent - Baptism
Machine Album (2020)

6) Mitch Advent - Meta
Machine Album (2020)

Tracks from Machine Album (2020) were written in conjunction with Block Catching Advance (BCA) a 1st person exploration game created by Mitch Advent.

1) PISS PEEPEEPOOPOO
millenial humor funny words. lyrics actually dont make sense (except the malay part)

2) she probably hates me
me when i write song to cope with the stresses of having a crush

3) WHITE TSUNAMI
uhh

4) I AM NOT A UNIVERSITY STUDENT
i graduaded

1) vylt - &nVY
Genres/vibes: Glitchcore, industrial, chiptune horror
"&nVY" was produced in 2023 as part of NUS Arts Festival and EML's fourth installment of its annual showcase concert — OMNIVERSE: THE FOURTH DIMENSION. The NUS Arts Festival theme at that time was “Between Spaces”, thus “&nVY” was made with liminality in mind, with references to retro dial-up internet and liminal spaces that take inspiration from the ENA web series and the Backrooms respectively. The namesake is a pun on “envy” and the ampersand symbol.

2) vylt, Three Ear Rabbit - heaVY heart
Genres/vibes: Drum N’ Bass, Metal
"heaVY heart" was produced in collaboration with fellow EML member Three Ear Rabbit in 2024 for EML's fifth installment of the OMNIVERSE series — omniVerse: the loVers. The event was themed after Valentine's Day and split into four phases: infatuation, passion, heartbreak and acceptance. “heaVY heart” was created to fit the heartbreak phase, intending to encapsulate both the melancholic and violent aspects of the pain of a broken heart.

3) vylt - VYOLATION
Genres/vibes: Darksynth, Industrial, Synth Metal, Cinematic
“VYOLATION” was produced in 2023 for Four Blank Walls: Experiments in Sound — an unorthodox event organized with the help of NUS Arts Production Crew and local electronic sound artist Syafiq Halid. The event was focused on pushing the boundaries of conventional electronic music and experimenting, leading to the namesake of this piece – a violation of conventions. The track spans a lengthy seven minutes, ebbing and flowing across various different atmospheres and intensities and tattered with glitchy electronic sound design.

1) Falling Islands - Mother (Falling Islands 2024 Remembrance Mix)
The original track "Mother" was written and produced as the main theme for NUS Dance Ensemble's 2021 production "Past . Presence . Future ." with its haunting leitmotif ringing throughout the halls of the main character's sundered memories. This 2024 version revisits this memory, and takes it into the stratosphere with high-NRG trance arps and blazing beats, electrified by the fact that Falling Islands is literally Mother right now.

2) Falling Islands - Parabola (Falling Islands 2024 Remix)
The original "Parabola" was written by Falling Islands in 2022, as part of their performance at the HERE! Arts Carnival. This new version wrests the original from its chill-hop roots and injects ferocious new energy into the tune, while still keeping its melodic heart beating and more alive than ever.

3) r̴͠o̷͗r̵̓u̸̅r̵͛u - all songs are sad songs (Falling Islands Remix)
The original track was composed by fellow NUS Electronic Music Lab member r̴͠o̷͗r̵̓u̸̅r̵͛u for the first season of "To the Beat", a YouTube series pairing NUS dancers with NUS student musicians that premiered in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. This version takes the sentimental original and gives it a classic late-1990s, early-2000s euphoric trance flip.

4) Falling Islands - See Me in Starlight
The final track of Falling Islands' set is a melodic Drum & Bass track originally premiered as part of NUS Electronic Music Lab's 2022 production, OMNIVERSE: REG3NESIS. This track is presented in its original form, as a touching finale to a night of good music and memories to last a lifetime.

Organised By

NUS Office of Student Affairs, Centre for the Arts with the NUS Electronic Music Lab

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As part of I Was Here, I Am Here – SWANSONGS: A Finale Rave for Runme Shaw CFA Studios

Venue:

Auditorium, Runme Shaw CFA Studios

Registration Fee:

Free

For any enquiries, feel free to contact us via email at cfaprogrammes@nus.edu.sg

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