Music Matters Live 2014: Studio Crew Talks About Their Experience

By Nurul Jannah Bte Ismail

Wardah Irfatt, 18, Judith Ann Kumar, 20, and Cherylynn Poh, 20, from Republic Polytechnic share their moments and experience of being in the studio.

Working Together: Studio crew for Music Matters Live 2014 PHOTO CREDITS: NADIA AL-INSYIRAAH BTE ISMAIL

Music Matters Live 2014 kicked off to a good start with bands from all over the world performing in Singapore, for music festival goers over the course of four days. With over 60 bands rocking out on stage and in bars all around Clarke Quay, the event was a great feat in itself, which could not possibly have been accomplished without the commitment and help of Republic Polytechnic’s student volunteers.

The studio was where all the magic took place. All the bands and musicians were scheduled to be interviewed there, for their individual segments to be projected on the main stage during their performances.

Cherylynn Poh, 20, Year 3 student from Diploma in Pharmaceutical Sciences, stated, “I am the studio producer so I need to know and coordinate everything that is happening in here. Basically, I have to make things run, and, not just that, but I need to take care of my crew as well; for everything, you need someone to point you in the right direction or you will feel very lost and wonder what is going on.”

Not only did students get to be on the frontline, they also had the chance to brush shoulders with different bands and musicians ranging from the likes of South Korea’s Sultan of The Disco, to Tully on Tully from Australia.

Most of the studio crew’s members had to learn to operate the camera and it was definitely an eye-opening experience for them.

Judith Ann Kumar, 20, Year 3 student from Diploma in Pharmaceutical Sciences expressed, “It is my first time operating a huge camera, and it’s live. The first time, we were terrified. We were really lucky to have our mentor, Chris, guiding us along so we could grasp everything quickly.”

Behind the Scenes: Judith Ann Kumar, 20, operating the camera and interviewing one of the bands in the studio. PHOTO CREDITS: ARIANI BTE ADAM

However, they did not only face technical problems, but also language barriers when interviews had to be conducted.
Cherylynn particularly expressed her regret with not being able to have held a more casual interview with The Oral Cigarettes due to her lacking in Japanese, which resulted in the crew having to require a the assistance of a translator.

In overcoming the obstacles, the crew got to know more about all the different bands present and also bond with them.

A bright-eyed Judith commented that there were a lot of bands which the crew had never heard of. Hence, being able to receive some of their CDs as gifts naturally fired up their excitement.

Not only did the students get to learn more about the musicians’ personalities, but they also managed to forge relationships, albeit brief, with them too.

For Wardah Irfatt, 18, Year 2 student from Diploma in Interactivity Design, one memorable experience was when Mark Hogan, one of the members of Hogan, promised to return and gift the crew with CDs. “He waited for us outside the studio because we were busy shooting, and he brought a whole stack of CDs for the five of us. It was very sweet of him!”

Without a doubt, it has been a great opportunity for the students of the studio crew to be involved in Music Matters Live 2014.

To Judith, Music Matters Live was “really interesting” and enabled her to discover new bands.

“It’s really amazing! I would love to be part of it again.”