The team behind online platform Singapore Community Radio (SGCR) might be small but they have big ambitions with the hearts to match. Comprising of creative director Darren Tan, managing editor Daniel Peters and producer Hwee En Tan, the platform was created in 2017 to fill the void left by the defunct alternative music advocate Lush 99.5FM.

SGCR has been putting on DJ sets and curating music programs since its inception but the pandemic gave them more space and time to bring about changes towards Darren’s original vision – a digital homeground where the spotlight is trained on not just the music scene but Singapore-based creatives across different fields and disciplines as well.

“Singapore is small, but we’re so fragmented creatively. That’s not to say that people don’t have the appetite to collaborate, but there just didn’t seem to be any (common) infrastructure, platform, or space available for them to do so organically (and across disciplines).” explains Hwee En.

Hit their Instagram account (@sgcommunityradio) and there are a multitude of Singapore personalities, creatives, outfits and institutions featured. There are weekly podcasts, live talks, video shows and interviews produced not only by the core team but also collaborators such as art historical platform Object Lessons Space and experimental music label Evening Chants, among others.

The music shows cover anything from indie rock and death metal to jazz and future bass and the team makes it a point to field an expansive slate of guests. “We try to invite DJs of different stripes for our ongoing Guest Mix series; we aren’t trying to be comprehensive — we’re just widening the field for people to explore,” says Peters.

Ultimately, the end goal is to provide a centralised space to spotlight and make accessible a diverse range of Singapore content. “It takes a huge amount of energy and time to (sift) through (content on social media), and most people we know (including ourselves) can’t afford both in this economy,” says Peters.  “We wanted SGCR to make things easier for that access, and within a domestic setting — where we feel it matters the most.”

Pictured: Singapore Community Radio team members (from left) Darren Tan, Daniel Peters and Hwee En Tan

The high-profile global cases of racial and class inequalities during the first wave of the pandemic last year saw ravers in different countries embracing the video conferencing service Zoom, using its customisable virtual background feature to showcase artworks in order to show solidarity with marginalised groups.

Similarly, virtual party series Endless Return was borne out of this period as a creative means to release pent-up frustrations with existing societal inequalities. Started last August by artist XUE (she declined to have her full name published), Endless Return bills itself as a “regenerative rave experiment”.

It takes place primarily on Zoom and there have been four iterations so far. Each edition (free and open to all) features works and sets by different hosts of collaborating artists and creatives. When asked how she looks for people to collaborate with, XUE says the organising process is more communal rather than curatorial; Endless Return is intended to be a platform to showcase and support video art by fellow artists, enjoy guest DJ sets by friends – as well as to contribute back to society.

There are numerous links on Endless Return’s Instagram page (@3ndlessreturn) to various social causes one can donate or lend help to. “All over the world, inequality that exists within countries due to racial and class divisions is a longstanding issue and there is no end to the reparations owed,” explains XUE. “Putting together a list of organizations and causes was honestly the least we could do – a drop in the ocean, but hopefully impactful nonetheless.”

And while independent rave parties have been on the rise here in recent years, more can only mean the betterment of the small and intimate scene. “(It helps) to affirm that things like this do happen in Singapore. I think with the amount of labour that goes into throwing raves, it is unsustainable for the same organisers to constantly be throwing them,” says XUE. “We see it as being part of the interchangeable underground community. I like the idea that we can take turns creating opportunities for fun.”

Pictured: Endless Return organiser XUE (second from right) and her collaborators

Zaran Vachha and his events agency Collective Minds are always cooking up something. Together, they bring into Singapore and Asia some of the most critically acclaimed musicians globally – think Stormzy, Kamasi Washington, Yaeji, Ari Lennox, and Kelsey Lu in recent years. Uusally they put on some 150 – 200 concerts BC – before Covid.

The live music industry was one of the worst hit by the pandemic, but even so, the agile Collective Minds staged Back To Live – billed as the biggest live music show since last year’s circuit breaker in December at Marina Bay Sands. There’s also the stylish new Analogue Room at Straits Clan, where Collective Minds curated the music programming: more than 1,200 vintage records that cover everything from Bupi Larry to the Beatles, with a ’60s analogue sound system to match. “Last year has been so stressful; we wanted a place where people can relax, unwind and listen to the sounds of yesterday,” says Vachha.

Bringing people together in the name of fun, culture and good music has always been a Collective Minds ethos. A key milestone in that effort is 222 Arts Club – a sprawling 5,000 sq ft space on Queen Street that represented Collective Minds’ first physical events space. It was intended to be a community center where local musicians and creatives could hone and showcase their works.

Opening just before the pandemic hit saw Vachha and his team quickly re-positioning the space into a multi-platform production studio where musicians and brands could explore new modes of story-telling such as live-streaming of performances. More recently, 222 Arts Club also hosted an exhibition by artist Justin Lee during Singapore Art Week.

Vachha says the re-positioning of 222 Arts Club is only meant to be a temporary solution until the music returns. “We just want people to experience good music, have a good time. We try not to bring anything too serious,” says Vachha. “We also love to bring in bands or artists at the very start of their careers. Something new and something unexpected – we want to hear people going, ‘I can’t believe xxx is in Singapore.”

Pictured: A scene from 222 Arts Club’s launch party last year