ublues network is a music and events company focused on promoting music and creative expression.

What we do :

1. Music, events and marketing management and consultation
2. Songwriting, composition, performance and studio work
3. Music and creative thinking education, focusing on ear training.

1. Early days

"I remember waiting for 6 hours to meet BB King before his performance here in Singapore in '92, I just had to meet him!", says Danny Loong, CEO and founder of ublues network.

"I was at the Orchard Meridian, walking around all the floors, asking staff and guests if they knew where BB was, just hoping to bump into him on the off chance. I was determined to meet my hero! One of the Malay staff noticed me with a guitar case, and asked if he could help. I told him why I was there, and I didn't know why but he told me to hang around. After a while he frantically waved at me to come over, and to my surprise, he introduced me to BB King's manager, Sidney Seidenberg! I told Mr Seidenberg I had to meet the King of the Blues, to thank him for his music and inspiration. To my utter delight he promised me an audience with him when BB woke up. He was resting in his hotel room, and I too fell asleep on a lobby couch after waiting a few hours" he reminisces.

"But after a while, I woke up suddenly as I realised I didn't bring a marker pen for him to sign my guitar (laughs) so I had to rush out and get one. That almost turned into a disaster but armed with a marker and a disposable camera, it turned to be the most amazing experience meeting my hero face to face. I thanked him and he shook my hand and thanked me for appreciating him, he was such a wonderful person. That experience coupled with actually seeing and hearing him perform live changed my life completely, and I felt a stronger bond to the blues than ever before. This jumpstarted me on a journey exploring the blues and African American culture"

"Oh... before I forget, I'd like to thank the Malay staff member at Orchard Meridien who helped me out. I am indebted to him and did not get a chance to know his name and thank him. What he did showed me that there are people out there who care to help."

Nice story, but what makes this story any different from the thousands of fans that have met the King of the Blues? For starters, not many have gone on to develop their own music company based on his or her inspiration from BB King's music and philosophy about the universality of the blues.

Much less a young Asian man, whose encounters with BB King (he met him again in '94) inspired him in his writing of a university thesis on blues history and experiences of racial prejudice, through to forming an internationally recognised blues band which is at the core of his music company.

The idea that the blues is universal has been expressed by many blues legends, and Loong sees that there needs to be an Asian representation of the music. "I strongly believe that Asians have the blues, a collective feeling of loss due to the history of colonisation and lack of representation in the global field of the arts. We need to show the world that we can produce a band that is of international standards and there needs to be a Asian voice, through which the feeling, stories and opinions of Asia is expressed. I believe it's best to do so with music, and in our case the blues, as it's the most honest expression of human emotions and feelings. The blues gave African Americans a voice, and more importantly, paved the way for America to become a dominant and "universal" force in global arts. The blues, however, is purely an African American cultural product created within the black experience in America."

This is a story of how one person's inspired vision and passion has led to his embarking on a journey, one that aims to evangalise the blues and roots of contemporary music to a region that has yet to received this wonderful music, not solely as an American music form, but a soulful universal feeling transportable across culture. These words spoken by BB King have kept him inspired along the way -

"I've watched the blues travel from the rural roads of Mississippi to practically every point on the planet. When I play in Sydney or Oslo or Osaka, I get the same feeling I used to get in Osceola, Arkansas; people are grooving on the blues because the blues is universal. The rockers and rappers and soul-singing children all come out of the blues. The blues is the grandfather watching over his children." 1

 

2. Universal Blues - Film and Thesis

The definitive turning point in Loong's understanding of the blues arose out of his experiences of racial prejudice, which allowed him to understand what it felt to be treated differently on the basis of race and culture. "The blues suddenly all made sense" he says. "I'd always loved the blues and enjoyed listening and playing, but I never quite knew why." One particular incident of abuse left a noticeable mark on Loong. "I was physically shaking after the incident, and an emotional wreck on the inside. I remember playing my guitar later that night, and this time it was different, I understood something about the blues that was far deeper than I could ever have imagined. I was allowed a glimpse into the very heart of the blues - the feeling of being a slave, being discriminated against based on skin colour. I wrote a song, 'Cross-cultural Blues' to express my feelings, and this experience really pushed me on to search even further."

Loong wrote, produced, directed, edited. acted in and composed music for "Universal Blues - film, racism and the blues", his honours dissertation for Media Studies at Murdoch Univesity, Western Australia in 1998. The 15-minute short film was also accompanied by a 130-page written thesis. The film documents Loong's experiences and offers blues music as a means of cross-cultural exchange, communication and understanding. The written component of his thesis explores the history of the blues as well as a study on racism and African-American slave history. The film and thesis is at the root of the objectives at ublues network - to promote the blues as a true form of cross-cultural expression and to introduce this music to the Asian region. It is a product of a 3-year research into race relations in Australia, and African-American culture and cultural products. For more information on this, click here.

3. Blues at Bridgetown 1998 - Loong meets Jalla

While promoting his film, Loong met Trevor Jalla (lead vocals/guitar) at the 1998 Blues at Bridgetown Festival, Western Australia, being introduced by Perth Blues Club President, Rick Steele. Joining Jalla onstage for a jam, the two found a synergistic chemistry - Loong's passion, vision and dream and Jalla, his voice and talent being a realisation of the fact that Asians do have soul, and can sing the blues. "I heard Jalla play for the first time at Bridgetown, and immediately I knew I had to jam with him. I saw Trevor up there, belting out some serious blues tunes, and being watched by an almost disbelieving, mostly Caucasian audience. I could tell they were having difficulty reconciling the music and voice they were hearing, with the sight of a young Asian holding a guitar." he observes.

"Something just clicked onstage as soon as we started jamming," says Jalla. "We were feeding off each other's energy as if we'd been playing together for years. Later offstage, a member of the audience remarked to me "I've heard most of the other bands playing here, and this is the music I came here for." I knew we had touched the audience, and showed them something about the blues that they hadn't seen before." Loong and Jalla went on to form the Universal Blues Band and soon after, ublues network was born.

Loong and Jalla have relocated in 2001 to Singapore where they have strong cultural roots to further their objectives, while continuing to develop and foster artistic ties between Asia and Australia. "We always remember the support we have received in Australia," say Loong. "It is where we began our journey, and we are very greatful to Rick Steele, Barbara Hansen and Blues at Bridgetown for helping us along the way, and for their belief in our concept. We believe that by introducing the blues to a wider Asian audience, revealing the relevance of the blues in Asia and that a new artistic revival could happen in Asia, while at the same time encourage relations between Asians and Australians, and on a larger scale between East and West, with ublues as a common platform."

Loong and Jalla hope to make ublues network a bridge for cross-cultural exchange between East and West. ublues - a new voice in Asia, the world is listening.