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Singaporean band The Observatory see Hong Kong premiere of their video documentary

By on June 9, 2016

the observatory

Photo: Philipp Aldrup Photography

Singaporean band The Observatory have released a documentary feature and the feature is going to see a special screening this Saturday June 11 here in Hong Kong.

Here’s a synopsis of the story behind the documentary:

“Hailed as the most important independent music band in Singapore, The Observatory—or The Obs to their fans—is a low-key purveyor of high craft. Through their fourteen years and seven increasingly dark albums, The Observatory has ventured into the hallowed recesses of music (with their long-time producer Jørgen Træen (Jaga Jazzist)), art (Andy Yang, Philipp Aldrup, Justin Bartlett) and design (Keith Utech)—all the while remaining completely understated. A veritable supergroup, the band and its members reach back into Singapore’s musical history.

Tracing the footsteps of one of Singapore’s longest-surviving outfits from Bali to Bergen, the experimental music documentary The Obs: A Singapore Story looks back in time to understand the creative process of the band and its core members. Through archival footage, photographs and exclusive interviews with the band, fans, influential music critic David Toop and collaborators X’Ho (Zircon Lounge) and Mark Dolmont (Magus), The Obs explores the relationships and processes behind the group’s brooding, brilliant, and confounding body of work, set against the context of Singapore’s problematic music history, which has weathered governmental clampdowns and wavering public support.

Directed by Yeo Siew Hua (In the House of Straw), The Obs highlights the constant struggle between artistic vision and pragmatic realities, and the tension between an unwavering commitment to evolution and a society that unforgivingly favours the mainstream. More than a music documentary, The Obs is a tale of uncompromising passion, the power of companionship, and the costs—and invaluable rewards—of being creative in Singapore and beyond.”

Here’s more info from the band:

“(the band) reveal how the city’s changing physical landscape—the lonely elderly in Tanglin Halt, witnessing the “neighbourhoods that you grew up in getting paved over and buildings brought up for the interest of industry” (Mark Dolmont)—influenced the music’s increasingly darker emotional soundscapes, alongside deeply relatable personal experiences ranging from a regimented childhood, the desire to migrate and the eventual decision to stay, to the challenges of touring after starting a family.”

Info of the Hong Kong screening can be found at this link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1175425525843293 The screening will be followed up by a show featuring bands .gif and Lantern Festival.

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