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2002-07-22
13:54:15
SINGAPORE
(Reuters) - Recession-hit Singapore has been
singing the blues, seeking to ease the pain of
its worst economic slump in 37 years with plenty
of cold beer and an outdoor air-conditioning
system.
Some
3,000 Singaporeans -- best known for strict
discipline and a now-flagging computer chip
industry -- sat under the stars on the site of a
British colonial-era fort earlier this month to
hear music rooted in the pain of another former
British
colony.
"Asia has
lots of blues in its history, from colonisation
to independence, kind of similar to the black
American experience," said Danny Loong, lead
organiser of Singapore's first blues
music festival, UBlues Fest 2002, which cost
some $200,000 ($114,600) to stage.
The Singapore skyline shimmers
at sunset in a 2001 file photo. REUTERS/Adrees
Latif
Over
the course of two nights of wailing harmonica
music and barbecued ribs, the audience was kept
from swooning in the high Singapore humidity by
cold air blowers donated by a
sponsor.
Many
participants were born long after the British
left Singapore during the sixties. And many did
not realise they had heard the blues on their
parents' Elvis Presley records, or in Eric
Clapton videos on
MTV.
Many had
never seen blues performed
live.
So the
growling singing of Singapore's Universal Blues
Band came as some surprise when it belted from
the rail-thin 22-year-old body of lead guitarist
Trevor Jalla, who spoke into the microphone with
a Southeast Asian
lilt.
"This is a
song for Singaporeans who need to take time out
from the hustle and bustle," Jalla said, to
introduce his version of "City Boy", a song by
contemporary bluesman Keb' Mo', who grew up in
impoverished South Central Los
Angeles.
To
Singaporeans facing job cuts, higher taxes and
rising public transport costs, the words might
just have a familiar
ring.
"Too many
people, too many cars, take me to Memphis,
Mercury or Mars. I don't want to be a prisoner
or a slave, I just want to go where my soul can
run free," Jalla
sang.
BUSINESS
BLUES
The
government, including festival sponsor the
Singapore Tourism Board, is touting the opening
of a new arts centre this autumn as part of a
recent campaign to encourage creativity and
freedom of
expression.
But
some artists are doubtful that the government
fully understands the importance of artistic
expression.
"If
Singapore wants to be an international arts
community, we need to do more to perceive value
in the arts themselves and not see the arts as a
functional part of society," Loong
said.
"People
need to express themselves, listen and be
inspired."
One
young Punjabi man of Sikh descent seemed open to
inspiration. Wearing a T-shirt from Tipitina's,
the landmark New Orleans blues club, Dinesh
Dhillon said it was time for Singapore to take
to the
blues.
"Everybody
has the blues. It's not wordy and it's a release
of pain that comes from the gut. It makes you
happy," said Dhillon, who discovered the blues
through gospel music after he converted to
Christianity.
"If
Singaporeans bother to listen, they will
relate."
DEEP
YEARNING
Loong
and others at Fort Canning Park -- also the seat
of a 14th century Malay kingdom and Singapore's
first Christian cemetery -- agreed that the
blues speak to universal suffering, not just the
history of blacks in
America.
"There's
not just an economic depression on, there's a
racial depression, too," said Loong, an ethnic
Chinese and a
Christian.
"We're
a harmonious country, but we should do more
through music. You hear the blues and before you
know it you're dancing with the person next to
you."
Racial
tension flared in Singapore in January when the
government barred Malay Muslim schoolgirls from
school for breaking rules barring headscarves in
class.
"The
blues is about deep yearning for something you
want and it doesn't have to be boxed up in
Christianity like gospel music," said Loong,
rhythm guitarist with the UBlues Band. "There
are Malays and Hindus here who will appreciate
that."
The UBlues
Band, along with Smokey Ng from Singapore, Farid
Ali from Malaysia, Blues Shaddy and Rick Steele
from Australia and the Holmes Brothers from the
United States -- got the diverse
audience, including expatriates, on
its feet to
dance.
"Promoting
the blues is a full-time job," said Loong, who
plans to teach a course on creative thinking and
music at Singapore Management
University.
"Sure,
we want to make money, and this year's just the
start," said Loong. "But what we're really
interested in is encouraging Asian artists to
come out of their comfort zones and say 'Wow,
I've got something to say'."
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