Neon Lights Festival 2016 Recap: The Good, The Bad & The Muddy
PUBLISHED November 30th, 2016 08:58 am
We’re back from Neon Lights, and what a crazy weekend it was! We’re bummed that it’s all over, but if there’s one thing to be happy about, it’s that we finally get to take a good cold shower and wash the mud off our boots. Come relive the last two nights with us as we recap the best moments of Neon Lights 2016.
A record-breaking turnout
The two-day music festival saw 15,000 people descending upon Fort Canning Park, putting it in front of even St Jerome’s Laneway Festival Singapore in January this year. Thanks to excellent planning by the organisers and a perpetually impressive lineup, Neon Lights is quickly becoming one of our favourite music events in Singapore.
Muddy Glastonbury feels
We all know it’s been raining non-stop the last week or so, but Saturday saw it especially bad with heavy downpour from noon till the evening. Still, many fans braved it out to support acts like English singer-songwriter Lucy Rose, American hip-hop veterans The Sugarhill Gang (best known for the 1979 hit Rapper’s Delight), and Brooklyn-based synthpop duo Chairlift. Needless to say, the ground turned soggy fast and became a full-fledged mud fondue. Not quite Glastonbury 2016 deep, but enough to wreck any white shoes around.
Foals steals the first night
Saturday’s headline act saw British indie rock band Foals, and as proven by their epic Wembley Arena show earlier this year, they can do a pretty mean live show. Going through the setlist of their recent What Went Down album, Foals showed the audience their heavy side, rocking Fort Canning out before closing up with a fun footloose encore of Two Steps, Twice.
BADBADNOTGOOD returns to Singapore
After a show at SingJazz 2016, BADBADNOTGOOD (BBNG) came back to Singapore for an afternoon billing on Sunday. One of the most progressive jazz and hip-hop groups out of Toronto, they’ve since opened for Roy Ayers before going on to release two live albums. It’s difficult to put BBNG in a category since they’re constantly experimenting with new styles, and Sunday saw an intense freestyle and rhythm session – impulsive, uncontrolled, and plenty of groove.
Blood Orange takes the most electrifying set
In a 45-minute set that was far from enough, we learnt two things: Blood Orange has a huge stockpile of soul; and second, English lead Dev Hynes could very well be the next Prince, channelling the purple-clad pop genius and quite a bit of Gene Kelly with disco dance moves as he sings to tracks from his 17-track album Freetown Sound. Hynes is without a doubt a man of talent; he lets the music speak for him, effortlessly getting the crowd moving with limber footwork and mindblowing guitar licks in songs like You’re Not Good Enough and Augustine – so much that we literally saw people in the audience crying to the music. Yes, it was that amazing.
Yuna masquerades as a mere mortal
Ah, Yuna, you magical creature. The Malaysian R&B singer is one of those rare people who sounds better live than recorded, which is not to say her albums aren’t worth a serious listen. It’s just that Yuna has that ability to instantly captivate an audience, stealing their sunken spirits and leaving behind a serene aura, all peaceful and calm. Taking the audience on a laidback ride with her older songs such as Live Your Life and also a Malay tune Terukir Di Bintang, it didn’t feel like long before she announced, “This will be the last song of the night… just kidding”. Phew, because you can’t possibly go to a Yuna gig without listening to Crush.
More local acts this year
There’s more spotlight being shone on Singaporean musicians this time round, which is great. Saturday saw DJs Shellsuit, RAH, and Senja on the decks at Easy Street (an offshoot stage), as well as rock n’ roll group Cashew Chemists (Over You)and eclectic electronic pop group Disco Hue. A shame that most of the sets were messed up by the rain, but these guys took it like champs and played on. On the second day, electronic duo .gif (Godspeed) took the main stage before passing on the time to indie upstart Linying, the first Singaporean female artist to sign with Universal Music Singapore.
Sigur Rós silences the festival grounds
The music of Sigur Rós is much like an enveloping cloud of grey haziness; a blanket of sereneness that stops all chatter, inciting the audience to slow their heart rates and just listen. Shedding the backing orchestra of strings they previously brought with them in 2012, the experimental rock group from Iceland now tours as a trio comprising bassist Georg Hólm, drummer Orri Páll Dýrason, and the voice behind it all – Jónsi Birgisson. Sigur Rós played a darn long 100-minute set (including popular tracks such as Samskeyti and Starálfur), but we’re not complaining. After all, we were strolling past the breathtaking glaciers and geysers of Iceland while admiring the Northen Lights – a fitting culmination to the two-day extravaganza. As Birgisson ends the final note in the festival, our hearts were content.
Neon Lights Festival 2016 took place on 26 & 27 November 2016 at Fort Canning Park.
