RCGNTN: make local your focal

Kudos to the guys for coming up with this bloody awesome video, the first ever to marry both extreme sports- drifting by the 9tro drifters and breaking by the Radikal Forze bboys. Doing what they do best in one video, you can say that this is definitely uniquely Singapore and out of this world!

On a side note, the Radikal Forze boys will be opening their dance studio in June this year,so show your support in raising funds for this by purchasing tickets to watch their b-boy jam which will involve over 200 b-boys & b-girls from all around the world. For more info, visit their website at www.radikalforzecrew.com/jaminfo2010/

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Floor the Love is a street dance competition that has been going on yearly since ‘08, an initiative by the Korea-Singapore Dance Project and Eurhythmix. Held recently at SMU on the 20th of February much to the anticipation of danceheads alike, the competition saw some of the lion city’s finest dancers from different schools, crews and independents stepping up to the plate and throwing up their passion on the floor. Covering the different areas such as hiphop, locking and popping, this year’s competition saw the exclusion of bboying (or breakdancing) and the introduction of house into the competition, a dance that originated in the clubs of Chicago consisting of mad footwork.

Check out the videos below and see for yourself!

Videos

If there’s one bboy competition that you shouldn’t miss, it’s the Radikal Forze B-Boy 12th Year Anniversary Jam. An annual International break-dancing competition that is held in collaboration with the anniversary of Singapore’s pioneer b-boy crew, Radikal Forze. Past years have seen participation from regional and international b-boys and b-girls from all over the world, such as Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, the USA and more.

(footage from the ‘09 jam at Zouk, taken from bigtoecrew)

So what can you expect from the jam? Tons of goosebump-inducing performances, awesome music, crazy cyphers and a stellar lineup of breakers from all over the world- all here in Singapore!

Check out more info from the official event page.

The Korea Singapore Dance Project (KSDP) is back with their next installment of Floor The Love, one of Singapore’s most talked-about dance competitions. Those familiar with it will know that the competition plays host to some of the most intense battles among our local crews, spanning across popular forms of streetdance from old school locking and popping to hiphop.

And this isn’t one of those run-of-the-mill competitions. Forget the showcases, the costumes, makeup and crowd response. Freestyling with rhythm and timing is the name of the game where true passion is tested, for dancing from the heart is what counts. So grab your tickets and head down to the Singapore Management University (SMU) on the 20th of Feb and see for yourself. If that’s not enough, this year’s guest judges and DJ line-up are a stellar cast of talented individuals from around the world such as the very popular aka RA, MC Chris Crown as well as the much anticipated DJ Mulder!

Check out the promo right after this.

The Triqnaqi is a specially crafted and designed outreach programme to introduce the youth of Singapore to Hip Hop culture, and what better way to get them jump started than to inspire them with amazing top-notch performers representing the various elements, namely breakin’, graffiti writing, emcee-ing and DJing.

Featuring respected personalities such as Godfather of Hiphop Sheikh Haikel, DJ Rattle, One Crew, Radikal Forze, Scope One and Defianto, it too proves that Hiphop in Singapore is no poorer than that of other countries and it is here to stay.

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Those who have been following us before our unfortunate mishap may remember that we’ve done a feature on Singapore’s pioneer bboys Radikal Forze Crew and their showcase at the recent R16 Incheon 2009 Finals. Courtesy of Korea-Singapore Dance Project (KSDP), check out their battle against TOP 9 at the competition. We at RCGNTN salute the boys for their originality and solid foundation. RESPECT!

When RCGNTN first heard of Project Sexycats, we thought we were dreaming. As we were swishing around the idea in our heads, someone beat us to it. There was no envy, in fact we were intrigued and so we sat down with Xiao’an, from the band The Sexies who provides the funk music, to learn more about Project Sexycats. We also got to know Xiao’an a little better (his views on local musicians and his desire to become a professional musician) and because he is exceptionally opinionated, the conversation never grew stale.

How did it all begin?
It all began when Wei Jie basically informed Ian that he had friends who played funk music and because Ian and Wei Jie are funk style dancers, they thought it’ll be a good idea to create a video that combines the talents of the musicians and the dance team. We weren’t exactly sure what we wanted to do, but after awhile we decided that we wanted to do a music video and post outtakes of the music video and extra tidbits for everyone to see on our blog.

Why make a video instead of holding an event?
Events cost money. A music video is not expensive to produce when you’ve got great sponsors like Wormwood Studio and OSchool also lets us use their camera which is great because now we have broadcast quality footage without having to pay for anything. The only thing we actually had to pay for so far was the recording which is unavoidable because we really wanted to get a good recording but our friend Roland charged a very preferential rate which I will not reveal to protect his business.

What are the roles of everyone in the group?
Well, it’s all on the website. Ian is the creative director, the ideas man and he is also involved in the creative input. The three members of the band were all involved in the song. I sometimes help Ian in voice-overs and some creative direction in the shoots but other than that, we all contribute during the shoot. It’s mainly Ian’s baby and now that we’ve come to the video part of the project, it’s all Ian.

How has the whole experience been?
It’s fun, can be daunting. Have you seen the recent photos of Melvin standing naked at Dhoby Ghaut? You should go to the Facebook group, the one that says ‘Craziest shoot ever’. Go take a look at it. That was one of the most memorable moments. Generally the shoot is fun throughout unless it’s raining or a lot of people come late, like WJ. (Make sure you put that into writing!)

What other crazy things have you guys done for the video?
There will be a future entry on a locking lesson and even to me, it’s an extremely funny piece of footage. That’s something to look out for. There’s also some stuff in orchard road, a lot of stop motion, and time lapses. Ian has done also some people lapses where you stand there and people rush around you. I don’t want to spoil the surprise. These will come out in the future outtakes but it’s really crazy and there’s a lot of footage. In fact, there is enough footage now to make a video but Ian, being an asshole, wants some more footage. So we’ll just keep shooting and shooting until we die. And last week I smashed a guitar. It was an acoustic guitar, it was Melvin’s old guitar and the neck was already broken in half. We taped it together and smashed it until it basically exploded and that’s the shot that we used.

How many days of shooting has there been?
Many, many days. Last week, we had shooting for 3 days straight. On Saturday, we were at Melvin’s house doing the placards which are on the Facebook group. Then on Sunday was Melvin’s naked shoot at Dhoby Ghaut and Monday we went to interview the producer who recorded our song to see what he’s done.  It’ll be in one of the future entries.

What is the intention behind doing Project Sexycats?
We don’t really have a goal but our goal for the process is to raise awareness uncommon types of music and dance in Singapore while spending no money doing it. By filming around Singapore in our boxers and other ridiculous outfits, we also hope to, not really provoke public reaction, but we’re also curious to see how people will react to something unusual because Singapore is not known for being a very crazy society. Usually when something unusual goes on, the people in Singapore have very mixed reactions; there are some creative people in this country who have come up to us and told us that they liked what we did and there are other people who just think we’re crazy. We hope to desensitize them because if you see more crazy things, you’ll be more creative because things don’t seem so crazy anymore.

The soundtrack The Sexies did for the video is all self-composed. How was the creative process like?
We came up with the song after the project was presented to us. Ian and WJ, the dancers, I’m sure had a part to play in the song; they would send me ideas and what themes they would like appear in the song. I would then send them short demos of programmed material to show them what music we would play for this section of the song and see we can include what they like in the music. After about a month of working back and forth, we wrote the song and got it. It was quite a short process actually and it was quite efficient.

How long has the band been together?
Two years plus, but I’ve been playing with the drummer since I was 15 years old so that was about 6 year. I have been playing with the bassist for about 4 years or so. We know our styles quite well. It’s a lot faster when you don’t have a lot of people with different creative directions having an equal say. I was giving the main direction for the song, I would write most of it, bring it to a jam session once or twice and we’ll see what works and doesn’t and refine it.

When and how did The Sexies decide to play funk music?
We never really settled down on funk in my opinion because our music has a lot of rock elements as well. The song we wrote for this video is the funkiest song we’ve ever written because we tried very hard to make it sound as funky as possible but there are still rock influences there, which I am not very happy about, but we work within our limitations. Actually there isn’t much to say about The Sexies because I am leaving already in two days. This was to be our last project.

A lot of people would agree that the concept of Project Sexycats is very interesting. Do you think this would mark the start of similar concepts in Singapore?
I don’t think our plan is for lot of bands to get with lots of dancers and do similar things. This is more to raise awareness for non dancers and musicians because there is plenty of awareness in the dance and music scene about local dance. There isn’t a need for awareness to be raised there. So we’re trying to bring it to the general public which is why our explanations of dance and music are put in layman terms and we try to be simple in our approach. We just want to have a good time. Our music video actually is not going to be a bunch of shredding for all you guitarists and a bunch of tutting for all you poppers. The dance part is not going to be very strong because that is not the main idea of the video; it’s not to show how technical the dancers can be even though they are very good dancers. It is more of an idea of how music and dance should be part of everyone’s lives. It should be an everyday thing. I may get shot for saying this but music and dance is not special, it belongs to everyone. A lot of people have this mindset that ‘Oh I’m not talented, I can’t dance. I’m not talented, I can’t play music.’ which is bullshit because I think everyone can do it.

How can a musician make a living in Singapore?
In Singapore you’re going to have to make certain sacrifices if you want to make a living out of playing music. The fun of any job is to do something that people cannot do that they are willing to pay you to do for them and if you’re lucky and you like that thing, it can become your livelihood. But in music sometimes you don’t always play the music that you like. So if you have a very selfish attitude and only want to play and compose the music that you like then you’re going to have no food to eat. Overseas, it is more possible to do things that you like and still make money out of it but in Singapore it’s a small growing industry. You are going to have to be multi-faceted, versatile and willing to compromise. In the Singapore music scene you cannot afford to be idealistic.

On your part, how are you going against the norm by making money doing music?
By doing the degree I am going to do, I’m already going against the mindset. It is a professional degree. I will be trained in certain skills, like lawyers are trained in certain skills. Musicians are problem solvers; someone comes to me if they want music for an event, if they are able to pay for musicians to play it I can find musicians and write the music for them. If they are unable to pay for musicians I can program music for the event, computer generated music which is not that nice but it’s a good alternative for budget music. These are the problems people would pay me to solve. There is also always a market for teaching especially if you are reputable. Reputation is something you build, you can’t come back with a degree and expect people to respect you because you’ve to work around and get credentials, work with the important people. It’s the same as any other job. A lot of musicians in Singapore say, ‘you can’t make a living out of playing music’. Of course, you can’t make a living playing your music. Even elsewhere in the world, even if you play completely original music that is not world class.

So do you achieve to attain a higher standard than what it is now?
I do not aim to play original music for a living. I don’t even intend to play music for a living. I’ll be working in music but I won’t be playing. I’m saying that if anyone wants to use only original music to make a living, be a big rockstar, there are two ways you could go – wake up or get really, really good and maybe someone will give you a break. There are plenty of excellent musicians out there, and plenty of people in New York on the streets who are more talented than anything I’ve seen in Singapore but do not have a record deal and are performing on the road.

Check out more of Project Sexycats at http://projectsexycats.blogspot.com

Bboy Larry is no stranger to the local dance scene. After 10 years of footwork, crazy dives, injuries, competitions and showcases, he has carved his niche as one of Singapore’s most respected bboys. Larry has perfected his skill to the next level, matching every step to the beat on point with proper techniques, discipline, and passion- all that with a humble smile on his face. Now a co-director of Natasha Studio, Larry talks to RCGNTN about how it all began.

Introduce yourself.
Name’s Larry Liu, also known as Bboy Larry. Husband to Michelle Natasha, am currently 28 years of age.

When did you start breaking, and what got you into it?
Been breaking since late ‘99, started when I saw some animated gif picture file of someone doing swipes, and this crazy Japanese dude who danced and tricked on the then-popular Dance Dance Revolution machine. That got my attention and I started to try backspinning on my own as well.

What crews were you in and currently in?
Was in a good number of crews back in the days. Real crews I was in were Blood Brothers Breakers, Cosmopolitian Kru, and FUYO. BBB were the peeps who really got me improving to a whole new level, while CK and FUYO made me realise what a crew is all about. Currently in Natasha Studio Crew, Style Groovaz Crew and Zephyrs.

Who were the better known breakers then? What made them known?
We had Abang Hatta, considered to be one of the oldest and most influential Bboy at our time. Along with him we had Bboy Yoshi from Japan who frequented Singapore. Together with Nic from New Zealand’s FlyRice crew, these helped to popularise Bboying.

Tell us about one memorable battle/ session/ move.
I was previously known as the Suicide Kid. Did tons of crazy suicides (tricks that look extremely painful but are not) and had a few crazy dives. Had a battle once and literally dived forward in the air towards a wall, like how the Street Fighter game’s E-Honda would fly horizontally. That made the crowd go wild and it’s one of the craziest moves that people remember now.

That sounds crazy! Alright to cap it off, any shoutouts?
I wanna give big shout out to the love of my life Michelle Natasha, my boys from FUYO, the fabulous team of Natasha Studio Crew, Style Groovaz Crew, local Bboys and crews like Radikal Forze, Floor Technique Crew, Enemy Ground and finally to the production crew of RCGNTN.

Larry is now currently teaching bboying at NatashaStudio. For more information, head to www.natashastudio.com.