Joshua Taylor
21 March, 11.30pm. Siloso Beach smelt of smoke, sand and sea breeze. A huge flow of youths poured into Siloso beach as the Finnish duo Super8 & Tab commanded the dance floor with their euphoric trance music. The place was quite sparse before but it steadily transformed into a field of exuberance. Our night was just getting started.
The Vibe Beach Sports & Music Festival was the first of its kind in Singapore. An extensive programme of sports competitions, a mass dance session and an epic night music party, it combined beach, sports and music into one big event that lasted from 10am to 3am. It aimed to introduce a wholesome and youthful twist to the lifestyle beach festival experience and it looked like they had succeeded. “It’s quite fun and badass,” praised participant Nicholas Boay.
Midnight passed by fast and a hammered 1am crowd surrounded us. They didn’t know it then but a new level of high was about to hit them. Irish trance artiste John O’Callaghan took the stage and started off with his iconic “’Subculture’ trance sound, the crowd rocked their bodies and shuffled their feet against the sand.
We caught John scanning the arena as he prepared to turn the dance floor wild. The tune took a dip and progressed into what seemed like the long-awaited climax. And as if the crowd could read John’s mind, they lifted their hands in unison, signaling John to throw a flurry of beats that sent the whole dance floor into frenzy. They were in a trance; the kind where all they expressed was absolute freedom and joy.
After John’s set ended, The UrbanWire waited patiently in the guest room while he wrapped up his meet and greet session with his fans. It was John’s fourth time on our island. Describing the Vibe crowd as friendly and energetic, he told us that he was glad to see the growth in the number of trance fans and support for “real” music. “Not big (commercial) tracks, just really good music,” he added.
‘Commercial’ – an interesting way to describe music. We probed deeper. Having spent a decade in his profession, he lamented about the state of the industry: “In the last 3 years, dance music has been heavily focused on commercial gain. How do I get bigger, how do I make more money, how do we sell more tickets… In that whole process, the music got forgotten.”
Individuality and uniqueness are the core concerns for this rooted and unwavering artiste because “music is for the soul, and not for the cash register.” He ended off on an inspiring note, urging aspiring DJs to make music not based on what’s out there, but what’s inside of them.
The special touch that John pushed for also mirrored what we experienced at Vibe. Beyond the sexy female freestylers on stage and sunburnt sports studs that surrounded us, Vibe felt like they were fighting for something deeper.
We saw sports competitions earlier in the day where beach volleyball and beach soccer teams battled it out. We saw Singapore’s sports societies and clubs coming together to shake hands.
We cheered along to young adults attempting to break the Singapore’s Zumba record for the most number of participants dancing in unison. The fact that they were gamely dancing despite the evening drizzle impressed us.
Before the day ended, we caught the last glimpses of the night party, absorbing vibrations sent by DJ Solarstone and the crowd’s shouts. We also caught glimpses of youths dancing to a different sound; the kind of sound that Singaporean teenagers won’t normally hear at our local commercial clubs. And it’s unique. It’s a new experience, a new beat to dance to and a new way to party. Essentially, it’s a new vibe.
(Photo courtesy of: Klix Photography)