Senses reIGNITE!d

by Nicole Ho

Hitting the right note: Radiant Archery used only their instruments to impress the audience. PHOTO: NICOLE HO

With IGNITE! Music Festival 2015 just shy of a week away, fringe events have been popping up prior to the main show. Last Friday, students were streaming out of Republic Polytechnic after classes ended, anticipating the joy of going home to catch up on their beauty sleep. What they didn’t know was that as they were walking past the commotion at the entrance, they were missing out on something even more exciting than napping on a Friday evening.

IGNITE! Your Senses is a platform for budding artists to showcase their work. Bands such as OrangeCove, Arson and Take Two have been featured at this fringe event in previous years, before moving on to larger stages and playing for more events. This year, we had the pleasure of hosting 4 relatively new local bands – Singapore Association of Mental Health (SAMH)’s Rubber Band, Radiant Archery, Heir of Hounds and Vessel.

Representing SAMH, Rubber Band opened the set with harmonious covers of Flashlight and Price Tag by Jessie J. They brought forth well-played renditions of these chart toppers, and with 1 vocalist and 6 musicians. It was also a heartwarming sight to see the smiles on their faces when they received a round of loud cheers and applause from the crowd after their performance.

Following that was Heir of Hounds – a 3-piece alternative, post hardcore band, who get inspiration for their lyrics largely from personal experiences, and are influenced by American bands like Emarosa and Hands Like Houses. Very aptly, their song titled, ‘Beginnings’, was the first song they opened with. The band also did a cover of Bring Me The Horizon’s ‘Drown’ for their last song, which got the audience was tapping their feet to the beat and singing along.

Post metal quartet Radiant Archery was up next, stunning the crowd with their instrumental talent. Don’t let the absence of lyrics dissuade you from their music though, as it somehow managed to capture a heavy sound as well as the distinct melody of each of their songs – a combination that can very rarely be pulled off, but they made it work perfectly.

Afterwards, Vessel took the stage as the finale for the event. “We are very surprised that RP students are so receptive towards our sound, and we’re very flattered, almost at a loss for words,” said the band’s guitarist, Nabeel Harith. The crowd cheered endlessly for them and were relentlessly moving to the beat of each song being played, they ended their set with a track titled ‘Obsessed’.

Not to mention, they also released their debut EP, Depths, on the following day. It seems like they are actively moving onto greater things, and if you’re as obsessed with them as we are (pun intended), then do catch them on the second day of the IGNITE! Music Festival where they will be playing, as the runner-up of the IGNITE! Band Auditions, first up for the day at 5PM!