The 2024 edition of Music Matters Live returned with a bang as packed crowds filled up Clarke Quay’s Fountain Square from 8 to 11 May to catch free performances by more than 60 artists from 16 countries!
(Read the 2023 edition here.)
The line-up included home-grown acts such as singer-songwriter Josh Makazo, neighbours from Malaysia and Thailand like Adriel and Lemony, to Australian singers like Adrian Dzvuke and William Singe. They all performed their hearts out on stage, and music lovers were captivated with new sounds across different genres.
Umdotmusic was personally looking forward to PSYCHIC FEVER from EXILE TRIBE. Read till the end to find out more!
Here were some of the lovely performances Umdotmusic enjoyed:
Adriel (MY)
Having performed in Singapore before, Malaysia’s up and coming singer-songwriter Adriel is no stranger to the local music scene. Though this was his first time at Music Matters.
Known for his soulful and indie-pop music, Adriel started the set smoothly with ‘maraschino’, followed by an upbeat melody to ‘rocketship’, a collaboration song with yuji. The strong bass and drums were a great touch to the live performance.
Dressed casually in a white shirt, checkered top and slacks, Adriel slowed it down and grooved to another collab song, ‘potential for love’, from the spice village 2023 EP.
He then showed off his music colour with ‘BLOOM’, which was Adriel’s first 2024 single about love and nature. He shared that the song will be part of an upcoming album, and we do hope the full album will bloom soon!
Adriel, who draws inspiration from R&B/Soul artists like Daniel Caesar and Omar Apollo, aptly performed a cover of ‘Love Affair’ by UMI, showing off his vocal range as he roamed across the stage.
He teased with a then-unreleased song, a rhythmic soulful song titled ‘gochujang’. The 22-year-old shared that he had a lot of fun producing this song, with the keys that accompanied the band as the cherry on top.
Overall, the songs were great, and the stage performance has promising potential.
Dhruv Visvanath (IN)
Do not get confused with Dhruv Visvanath and Dhruv, even though they have similar names and music vibes.
Dhruv Visvanath is a singer, songwriter, producer and acoustic guitarist from New Delhi, who showed off his talent with his hat and acoustic guitar. He performed original songs including ‘Gimme Love’.
He brought a cheery atmosphere for the crowd, and did not let the humid weather bring him down.
Josh Makazo (SG)
Singaporean singer-songwriter and producer, Josh Makazo, was ready to sweep the crowd off their feet with his popular alternative R&B hits.
Josh Makazo started with a dark sultry groove to ‘Empty Seat’. Did you know that he was introduced to music production at the young age of 12?
Fitted in an all-black fit together with his band, Josh Makazo showed off his sleek vocals with ‘Human Nature’ and ‘Come My Way’. For his fans, it was human nature to fall for his emotional performances to his dark, cool, love songs.
He then used a chair as a prop while he belted out the high notes to ‘miss u’ from his GRADIENT album. The band also had the chance to show off their riffs in between.
The atmosphere heated up as he took off his jacket and focused all his attention on “his heart” with a rock rendition of his viral hit song, ‘half of my heart’. He was the second “most-viewed” artist in Singapore in 2023 on TikTok.
Josh Makazo illuminated the stage with his final song, ‘eclipse’. True to his lyrics, he gave the world to his fans. We definitely hope that he give us an insight to his world even more in future!
Oliver Cronin (AU)
Australian pop star Oliver Cronin stood tall on stage and performed a set of earworm hooks, and pop music that you could instantly bop your heads to. He made a name for himself through song covers, remixes, and then his original music.
He showed off his charms and made eye-contact with the audience right from his first song, ‘Exit’, which had a medium-tempo groove.
Then, the 6 feet tall of talent got the crowd waving to his 2023 single, ‘Speed Bump’. With the way he kept showing love to the crowd like a K-pop star, the audience’s hearts may need a speed bump.
He shared that this was his first time in Asia, and he visited Little India to eat the hottest curry on the menu. The stage fired up with one of his recent singles, ‘1,2,3 (With Topic)’.
Oliver Cronin is a classically trained, multi-instrumentalist who, like Josh Makazo, started dabbling into music since he was young. The next song, ‘Hope You’re Doing Well’, was an ode to his past. He had written it for his future self and shared that everything he wished for was coming true. It was apt to see the crowd singing along to the lyrics.
The band members also matched Oliver Cronin’s passion, as the drummer interacted with the crowd and the guitarist playing both electric and acoustic guitars for ‘the way you like it (demo)’.
The 22-year-old producer-vocalist-songwriter proceeded with ‘Burning House’, which he wrote last year. This dark-pop song with an energetic bass undertone will be part of his debut album coming out this year in 2024.
He finished it off with a bittersweet song titled ‘Hello Goodbye’, the first single of his debut album.
William Singe (AU)
Another Australian (& Maori) music sensation that started with viral covers and remixes on YouTube, William Singe is no stranger to the music scene today, having completed multiple sold-out world tours.
His first time in Singapore, you ‘Have To Be’ there to appreciate William Singe’s exceptionally groovy R&B songs that could instantly rizz you up. He then did a smooth guitar-keyboard transition to the next song, ‘Please’. The song was released back during the period where he first rebranded himself as a singer-songwriter in 2018.
The 32-year-old then moved to a lively tempo with ‘Like I Do (with William Singe)’, getting the crowd to sing along to the viral song.
He showed off his velvety voice and groovy moves with ‘Run It Back’ and ran it back further with a mega throwback to ‘Pony’.
This sexy R&B song that was released in 2015 was still as effective as ever in turning up the heat as William Singe showed off his hip thrusts and stripped off his checkered top, revealing a white tank and his tattoos.
The crowd continued to sing along to a slower jam – ‘Fake Love x Broccoli x Caroline Mashup, which was old, but gold. The live band definitely accentuated the vibes.
William Singe continues to be a unique and vital voice in the world of R&B. He performed his new single, ‘Touch’.
He then ended his high energy set with his chart-topping song, ‘Mama’, a song that he collaborated on with Jonas Blue. Over the years, he has had multiple collaborations, even when he placed third on Australia’s X-Factor as a group formed on the show. We look forward to more of such hit songs as well as his solo career. No cap (literally and figuratively by the end of the set).
Adrian Dzvuke (AU)
28-year-old Adrian Dzkuve brings another genre of Australian music to the table for Music Matters 2024 – he is known for tracks that uses R&B, pop and Afrobeats.
His first song already got our feet on ‘FIYAH’, with groovy upbeat tunes accompanied with pop lyrics.
This Zimbabwean-born artist definitely knew how to design an enigmatic live show with the next deeper and afro-heavy tune, ‘NEW LOOK’. It was also a new experience for Adrian Dzvuke himself as this was his first show playing outside Australia.
But he has a wealth of experience under his belt, having done three shows for Coldplay in Australia, and alongside other singers like POND and Tame Impala. It was a pleasure to ‘ENJOY’ his next song – a fun song with a catchy, neat chorus.
Adrian Dzvuke’s soulful vocals shined brilliantly with ‘Better’, accompanied by the sweet guitar-led hooks that filled the audience’s hearts, even if this song was written when he was heartbroken.
He then showed calm hip-swiveling beats with ‘ECSTASY’ and ‘Darling’. Darling was produced when he recorded a demo freestyle take inspired by the word.
WHO SHOT SCOTT (NZ)
WHO SHOT SCOTT who is based in New Zealand played his first show in Asia at Music Matters Live 2024.
Accompanied by a drummer and a hypeman, he rapped his originals with an alternative music sound like ‘ENEMIES’ and ‘BUGGIN’.
The Iraqi-born artist, Zaidoon Nasir, also performed songs about “a sensitive ex” with ‘SENSITIVE AS F*** SO WHAT’, and ‘SHE DON’T WANT NO PUNK’. With songs full of crude and straightforward lyrics with strong beats, WHO SHOT SCOTT is a force to be reckoned with.
LEMONY (TH)
There were local fans waiting specially for LEMONY to perform, an indie/alternative band from Thailand.
The set started with a voiceover prelude to encourage the crowd to feel the meaning of their songs through the music, even if it is sung in Thai. Right on cue, the drummer, Champ, started drumming the calm rock beats to ‘เอายังอะ’ (Okay) from their debut studio album, Why Don’t I…?.
All the members started vibing together with guitars, a bass, and tambourine. As vocalist Team interacted with the crowd and asked them to clap, jump and to make some noise, the band played confidently.
Team continued to use his stable, clear vocals to ramp up the energy with ‘I’m always waiting for you’. The show did not stop even as one of the guitarists faced a hiccup with the equipment.
The alternative genre is also apparent for the next song, ‘Have a good day’.
LEMONY blends emotion with strong, breezy melodies, allowing the crowd to enjoy the music as they continued to play ‘Why Don’t I….?’. It was great seeing the band and the crowd reacting off each other.
Before ending their set, LEMONY announced that they were giving away a t-shirt to a fan who share their LEMONY experience on social media. They did one last hurrah with ‘รู้ตัวได้แล้ว’ (Realisation), as the band showed off their riffs.
Ben Swissa (AU)
Ben Swissa, a musical prodigy, shocked the crowd with his one-man show, in a good way. At only 18 years old, the multi-instrumentalist, producer, singer and songwriter performed passionately on the Music Matters stage with unreleased songs.
He performed his debut single ‘Angel’ (unreleased at that point of time). His songs were upbeat, with a chill pop groove.
The wow point of was the way he played his guitar riffs – he placed his guitar right behind his head and still sounding amazing. As someone who has explored music since he was four and has even earned praise from industry legends before his official debut, Ben Swissa’s talent is undeniable.
PSYCHIC FEVER from EXILE TRIBE (JP)
Japanese boy group PSYCHIC FEVER turned up the heat as the final act of the night, as the emcee and the audience chanted for PSYCHIC FEVER followed by high-pitched cheers even before they went up the stage.
The set opened with a high energy and hard-hitting beat to ‘Up and Down’, as they rapped and sang with fancy footwork. Fans were jumping up and down too.
It was not a fever dream for their fans, ForEVER, who then watched the viral hit song ‘Just Like Dat feat. JP THE WAVY’ live on stage. ForEVERs were having the time of their lives just like that as they gave back the same high energy and danced along with PSYCHIC FEVER.
There was also a warm reception to their next song, ‘BEE-PO’, from their second EP PSYCHIC FILE II. While they visited Singapore last year, this stage was actually their debut music showcase.
They also showed their performance chemistry and music versatility with the ‘Tokyo Spiral-Spread The Wings-Spark It Up’ mash up. We could see on their faces how excited and happy they were to be performing right in the heart of Clarke Quay with their fans.
Jimmy teased that they will definitely be back in Singapore for their Asia Tour.
Ren also showed off his beatbox, showing off their range of talents in that short amount of time.
Their vocals were stable all the way till their final dance break to ‘FIRE feat SPRITE’.
One thing’s for sure – music is a universal language, evidently at Music Matters Live!
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