Avelyn NgMediaCorp host Dasmond Koh, local singers Inch Chua and Jill-Marie Thomas came together to celebrate the green movement in song with the finalists of last year’s Eco Music Challenge (EMC) Season 1 at Timbre.
The 2-hour long Eco Music Showcase jointly organised by National Environmental Agency (NEA) andTimbreon Jun 1 saw five performances to spread awareness for World Environment Day and drum up participation for the current challenge which closing date is on Jun 20. The album “Eco Music Challenge Season 1”, which comprises of the self-composed eco songs by the finalists, was also up for sale at The Substation that day.
Senior executive of NEA corporate communications department Marilyn Tan told Urbanwire, “This is the first time we are collaborating with Timbre to hold such an event. EMC last year was more of a test-bed for us. This year, we hope to ride on its success and earn up to $10,000 from the sale of the albums. It’s for a good cause; all proceeds will be donated to Nature Society Singapore.”
The showcase began with a soothing solo ‘Heaven and Earth’ by Haramain Osman but Kaye Chia changed the entire mood with his powerful rock song ‘点亮梦(Light of Dream)’ which sent reverberating beats to the listeners’ feet. After each performance, Dasmond found out how these young musicians keep green and their inspiration. The estimated crowd of 300, meanwhile, was kept entertained constantly by the amusing interaction between the host and the performers. Duo Daniel Teng and his guitarist, who sang ‘The Earth is a Friend of Mine’, broke into knowing laughter when Dasmond asked Daniel, how well the latter sings.
“We should really open up our eyes, look at what is really going around and what we are guilty of,” was his guitarist’s advice for preserving the environment.
Besides Kaye, Lim Yin Liang also performed a Mandarin song named ‘我的世界(My World)’. As melodious the tune was, the lyrics were muffled and delivered hurriedly, making it hard for listeners to catch the meaningful words in them.
Holding this event at Timbre, rather than at a concert venue made it possible for the buffet of finger food and dessert, comprising dishes such as spinach egg tarts, hash brown balls, grilled chicken chunks to be served during the performances.
As the saying goes that one should always save the best for the last; Jill-Marie Thomas serenaded everyone with her acoustic version of the ’Heaven on Earth’, the top song of EMC 1 as well as theme song of Clean & Green Singapore 2011. Her voice was crisp and clear, weaving naturally around the edges of the song with varying pitches. The event hit a high note when she did a rendition of Katy Perry’s popular single ‘Fireworks’. In the midst, when the microphone stand started to slide downwards, she jested, “I got to push up the mike first” without missing a beat, earning cheers and laughter from the audience.
Since being interviewed by UrbanWire for emerging as the winner of One Moment of Glory, she has matured in her confidence on stage. She told the host she had only 1 word to describe what she’s been through – “xiong” (which translates to tough in Hokkien). She confided that many people were unaware that she was working during the day throughout the whole competition period and it was very tiring for her to juggle both. With her mum’s retirement, she was forced to do so.
She’s not going to let the load stop her from aiming for her next goal to go on an international tour. She also revealed that her upcoming album will most likely include a song, ‘Let It Ride’, which she composed for her friend who is dejected by the stifling pressure at work.
Having only received notice only “15 minutes ago”, Inch Chua, the first Singaporean singer to be invited to a popular music festival in Texas, USA, spontaneously borrowed Jill’s guitar and made a last minute appearance. Challenging herself by playing with her voice and sharp shifts in pitches during ‘Mount Epiphany’,Inch calls to mind the chorus of Taylor Swift’s ‘Haunted’.
People in the house that night could also tweet about the event by using the “#ecomusic” hashtag or composing two lines of eco lyrics to win Timbre vouchers and Poh Heng pendants.
“I felt that the whole concept of this event is refreshing,” Claressa Sim, an Omy.sg blogger remarked, “By using music as a medium, people will pay attention to the lyrics and the message within it. Instead, if they were to preach about environmental awareness, nobody will listen to it.”
Photos courtesy of: Avelyn Ng