No Saints Allowed presented their first music showcase on 7 February 2024 (Wednesday), alongside Indonesia-based record label, After School, at the Swee Lee Flagship Store, Singapore.
It was a mid-week celebration for more than 30 fans at the exclusive showcase.
It definitely felt like an intimate, unplugged, and heartfelt experience by Singapore musicians Rangga Jones and Josh Makazo, as well as rising Indonesian singer-songwriters Nadhif Basalamah and Rafi Sudirman.
The four artistes are known for going viral on TikTok for their songs.
The showcase was only conceptualised a month before, but these young lads performed professionally for each of their 20 minutes set. The first musician to start the ball rolling was:
Rafi Sudirman
Rafi Sudirman may be turning 21 this year, but he already bagged an AMI Awards as a child solo artist back in 2017.
Rafi introduced himself as ‘That Somebody’, a song from his 2020 EP titled Scenery. The song depicts a post breakup situation that hopes to find someone who appreciates the person better.
The song highlighted his smooth vocals, and his expertise as a singer-songwriter-saxophonist and a multi-instrumentalist musician.
Rafi made the song even groovier with a saxophone solo. He shared that his mum made him learn to play this very important instrument. We were super lucky to watch him perform another saxophone solo for his next song, ‘Pengagum’ (Admirer).
Released last year, Pengagum was Rafi’s first Indonesian song. His honey-like vocals captured the essence of a hopeless romantic, with a familiar melody as other Indonesian love songs. So, it was a song that was easy to listen to.
He then turned up with an acoustic guitar to play an unreleased song, ‘Find You’, (psst, a song dedicated to his girlfriend!). He told his first listeners that the song will be released sometime this year.
He ended his set on a high with an acoustic version of ‘Don’t Call My Name’, which expressed the story of the singer-songwriter moving on from an ex-partner. Rafi even got the audience to sing along to the sweet melody.
Rafi’s set was a pleasure to watch and soothing to the ears with his mix of pop and R&B tunes.
While he is based in Jakarta, Indonesia, Rafi is currently on exchange, so you might see him around for a while!
Rangga Jones
Next up to perform an unplugged and acoustic set was 27-year-old pop and R&B artiste, Rangga Jones.
Accompanied by guitarist Weiwen Seah (also known as thecolorfractal and even opened for Coldplay as part of RRILEY’s set in Singapore this year), Rangga Jones started singing with ‘You’. Released as a single in 2023 featuring TENGY, You is an upbeat love song which showcased his talent as a multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter-producer.
Jones then performed another single from last year, ‘On My Own’. It revealed his vulnerability through the sorrowful chords and self-written lyrics about the fear of living alone.
Jones gave the audience a wake-up call next with his most streamed song, ‘Call Me’. The stripped-down version felt strong and soulful, as the audience snapped along to the beat.
This was the first show of 2024 for Rangga Jones, but he also “called” another first by having this song featured on Seollal 2024:BABYMONSTER playlist on Apple Music, recommended by K-pop idol Ruka from BabyMonster. He is definitely repping the Singapore music scene!
The Indonesian-born Singapore-based singer sees himself as a ‘covid artist’ as he wrote a lot of music during the pandemic. He has been steadily building up his presence in the last couple of years, with impressive streaming numbers.
Jones teased the crowd about his upcoming plans of releasing a new sound.
His final song for the evening was the lead single from his latest album, Emotions – ‘not good enough’. Jones explained that the song was about comparing himself to others on social media and felt that it was something that others could relate to.
Thought that this addictive pop song with a cheerful melody and beautiful chords is definitely a paradox to his current achievements.
Was secretly hoping for Jones to perform one of his songs from his duo unit ‘2OFU’, but the setlist had already delivered a confident and comforting atmosphere filled with exquisite melodies and clear vocals.
Nadhif Basalamah
The audience was then introduced to Indonesian sweetheart, 24-year-old Nadhif Basalamah. This was the singer-songwriter’s second time playing in Singapore.
Accompanied by guitarist Marco Hafiedz, Nadhif stood and showed off his falsettos with ‘Eventually’, a song from his 2022 EP, wonder in time.
Nadhif then sang another heart wrenching song he wrote about appreciating a special moment in time and letting go of a former lover called ‘Letting Go’.
He then picked up a guitar to perform his latest single in Indonesian, ‘tiba-tiba jumat lagi’ (Suddenly It’s Friday Again). As someone who uses songwriting as a means to express his experiences growing up, this song holds a special meaning to Nadhif.
While he noted that it has a personal meaning for him, he still released the song for his fans and took it as brave step for him to have listeners have various interpretations of the song.
It was also nice to listen to the sweet melody of two guitar chords playing off each other. During his first radio interview with 89.7fm earlier that day, Nadhif shared that he started playing instruments when he was 12 years old, and eventually became the first in his family to become a singer.
To promote his latest single, Nadhif has been busking with Marco every Friday back home. Fans can look forward to his weekly busking locations on his socials!
It is no wonder Nadhif sees himself as a performer, and even regards ‘Nadhif Basalamah’ as a band – because it is indeed a team effort.
He then performed his EP title, ‘wonder in time’, followed by the viral Indonesian hit song ‘penjaga hati’ (guardian of the heart).
It was a set that makes you reminisce about life through soothing melody and mellow, heartfelt lyrics.
After spending four productive days in Singapore, what’s next for Nadhif Basalamah? He teased the crowd about his first album in July, featuring songs that shares what he had been through the past year.
Fun fact: For this album, he had recorded about 70 songs in total!
Josh Makazo
The final act of the night was undoubtedly the one with the most fans present – home-grown singer, songwriter, and producer Josh Makazo.
Known as one of the most popular artists on TikTok in Singapore last year, 21-year-old Josh Makazo is an alternative R&B artist who has been recognized for his mysterious, chill vibe and reminiscent lyrics.
The crowd was in for a surprise as he tried something new for the showcase and performed an acoustic set, starting with ‘Human Nature’. He had a way of putting all his emotions into his performance, which makes one feel for the song.
Makazo also sang one of his favourite songs from his debut album, Gradient, called ‘miss u’. This was Makazo’s first song that he produced with a guitar initially.
Makazo then performed to crowd favourite, ‘half of my heart’, a song he released while serving national service and went viral on TikTok. It has since gained over 5.3 million views.
He shared it was a first for him to be singing along with the audience. The fans were equally delighted when he decided to do an encore with half of my heart.
What caught the other half of my attention was guitarist Weiwen Seah (yes, this was the same guitarist that performed earlier with Rangga Jones), as he smoothly strummed the guitar and was smiling away as Makazo introduced his songs.
Josh Makazo closed off the night with an exciting announcement – he will be having his first solo concert in the middle of the year at Annexe Studio, Esplanade!
He also gave his fans a special Gradient card to show his appreciation.
The fans had a really great time interacting with these talented and friendly singers. It was a great to have discovered new renditions and listen to unreleased songs.
Thank you to No Saints Allowed and After School for the invitation to this beautiful cross-regional set that goes beyond genre and language!
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