Still as eclectic as ever

ONE of Singapore's oldest and longest running music festivals, Baybeats, returns next month.

A total of 28 bands will play over three days (July 14-16), and as always, the line-up features an eclectic line-up of both homegrown and regional indie musicians.

Six will come from the festival's mentorship programme where over a 100 budding acts applied before 27 were short-listed for closed-door auditions.

From there, seven made the final cut though one band, Morning Martians, will not be playing as a member's National Service enlistment clashes with the festival dates.

Nonetheless, all of them got a chance to hone their skills through workshops conducted by industry veterans and professionals including drummer Adam Shah and vocalist Vanessa Fernandez, and the six performing next month are melodic post-rockers Decipher, modern metalheads Every Rage I Seek, alternative rock quartet Faux Pas, progressive indie outfit FXTRT, dream pop band Subsonic Eye and hardcore act Tides.

Other more familiar homegrown acts on this year's bill include instrumental post-rockers Amateur Takes Control, shoegazers Astreal, power-pop five-piece Obedient Wives Club, groove makers sub:shaman and singer-songwriter-bassist Tim De Cotta.

As a special treat for fans, both Amateur Takes Control and Obedient Wives Club will be playing rare acoustic sets, in addition to electric ones.

The latter is also releasing its new album Cinematica on July 14, which coincides with one of the two Baybeats shows it is performing.

Regional bands sharing the stage for Baybeats' 16th edition are Indonesian psychedelic folk-rockers Barasuara, Filipino indie act Greyhoundz, Japanese instrumental rock band Qu, Australian punk-rockers Rag n' Bone, and Indian alt-poppers The F16s.

A roving team of writers and photographers from the Baybeats Budding Editorial programme will also be covering the festival on-site, and the Esplanade's new Annexe Studio has been added as one of the four venues where the bands will be playing.