As we get set to hit the road to Singapore for the annual Music Matters conference and festival, we caught up with one of the artists set to play the event, Kevin Lester aka “TheLionCityBoy” to talk about it, the Singapore music scene, being a part of TEDxSingapore, his recent jaunt to SXSW and much more…
An obvious question to introduce you to the Australian audience here, but how did you get the name “TheLionCityBoy”?
It started of as a tag line i used to represent the city i’m from. But as soon as I started to travel more it began to take on a bigger meaning. Here is this kid from a tiny red dot on the globe, making his way around to europe and north america – the audience there loved it. It’s this idea that hip hop has crossed boundaries and borders. I’m evidence of that. It became my calling card for people outside of Singapore, and to the people back home, they appreciate that i represent them out there.
I’m proud of where i’m from. It is difficult to be an established artist, let alone in Singapore but my journey shows that with the right people with you and your utmost dedication, there is a space for all our dreams to come true.
You’ve been busy jetsetting the globe of late, and you were a part of the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas. How did those shows go and what was your overall SXSW experience like?
It was amazing! The vibe out there is nothing like i’ve experienced. It’s like a giant party. With “Everything You Love, You Hate” being distributed by VMG, an independent label with Sony RED Distribution, I got the chance to showcase my music at the Hangar Lounge for the Sony City Showcase. It was like a mini festival within a festival. They booked out two buildings – the acts would play one after the other on the rooftop venue. Once one stage on one building was done, the opposite stage on the other building would take over the night.
And while I was performed, they projected my set on a 3 storey building. It was intense!
The crowd seemed to vibe with the music too! I’m really grateful for that day. I also had the chance to showcase the International Hip Hop party. There were acts from Mexico, Greece and Australia too! As an artist, it can be difficult to stand out in the midst of all the “noise” from the 1000+ bands out there but that’s the nature of the beast. It’s exciting to me that way to be honest.
What do you think can come out of SXSW for an artist? What have you noticed personally?
It firstly makes you aware and respect that there is an immense amount of talent that are trying to break just like you. We all believe we’re special, we all believe that we offer something different but SXSW will remind you that it’s not easy.
In the day, try to download as much as you can from all the panels on offer at the conference. Every panel is filled with carefully curated panelists discussing topics that are relevant and thought provoking. SXSW is a great party, no doubt but as much as it looked fun, most of the artists were on work mode, trying to hustle for more fans and pitching their music at the panels. It’s a great environment.
At night, there’s tons of opportunities to catch your favorite acts. My stand out act of SXSW was Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. I went in there curious about the hype and a fan of their hit song “Thrift Shop” but was blown away by his over live performance. It was engaging, fun and so turnt up! Study these acts and see what’s best for your show. That’s my advice to anyone going to any festival.
Any highlights of other performances you saw?
The boys and I made our way to catch Kendrick Lamar on the last day before we flew off to Toronto for CMW. That was pretty dope, it was a star studded cast before him too, all the new kids that were set to blow like A$AP Ferg and Rockie Fresh. It was cool to catch Pusha T too, i’ve been a fan of his stuff since the Clipse. He’s an extremely underrated rapper. He gets mad love in the states but everyone should recognize that he’s an amazing lyricist.
Did you see Grumpy Cat?
Nope. She was busy, I was busy. Schedules man, schedules.
You recently performed at TEDxSingapore – can you tell us a little bit about that experience and how you became a part of it?
TEDxSingapore sent me a nice emails acknowledging my work as a music activist and advocate in Singapore and how well i’ve exported my music out. It was a topic that of interest in time for their next show which also coincided with their 4th Anniversary, “Our future, We will make”.
I’m a huge fan of TED by the way. It’s one of the ways that I try to keep my mind open to things outside of Singapore. It’s a great place to push your imagination by getting inspired from others who have.
This speech of mine needed to be more than good, it needed to be great. Pressure was definitely in the buidling. I’ve performed for thousands, no issue but this was different. Somehow I got through, the topic, the timer running down ( I overran by a little 🙂 ) and that video camera that’s recording you to document and put you in TED’s online family. Overall I think it went well, there were laughs, applause and cheers. Everything you can hope for when making a speech.
What did you take away from the day of talks?
That life has so much to offer. One of my favorites was by photographer Bob Lee, he told a beautiful story of how his student, a blind man, fell in love with photography. How he made the art adapt to his student’s disability.
Music Matters is just around the corner, what can we expect from your performance there?
As always you can expect a damn good time. I like to tell stories in my shows, let them get to know me better while we party. Expect some throwbacks, some heavy tunes from “Everything You Love You Hate” and even some new stuff i’ve been working on. It’s been great traveling from shows but I love to perform at home ground. It’s always great to vibe with a crowd but it’s so much sweeter when you’re rocking with your people when they’re where you’re from.
The event has become an integral part of the music and digital calendar not just in Singapore but around the world. What does an event like this mean to you, and what have your experiences been like with it in the past?
This will be the 3rd year i’ve been part of Music Matters actually. Previously, i’ve shared this venue with my band SIXX. This will be the first time, Music Matters will get a taste of my own works. I’m stoked. I’ve always managed to meet amazing people at Music Matters. Bob Ezrin, Chis Craker and Ralph Simon were just amazing to my journey, sharing advice and even connects to better my career. I urge everyone to try to be part of MM. It’s done wonders for my career. I got introduced the to person from VMG who would later sign me at Music Matters.
How does a performance for you differ from an industry event like what we’ve spoken about to now, and your normal shows?
It’s mostly the same but at industry events you’ve got to consider more variables like who’s going to be there and what kind of event it is. This really only affects my set list to be honest. We’re always ready to rock but 15mins with your fans and 15mins with a industry crowd is a lot difference. Maybe the industry crowd are filled with music supervisors, and film people, I probably would skew the set list to be more dramatic in hope that they might place my music in their work. It varies, I guess.
Regardless, the performance should always be genuine, any crowd can smell bullshit if it’s fake. At one of the panels at SXSW, Young Guru, Jay-Z personal engineer gave a great piece of advice. That we should never copy what’s hot. If you want to be Jay-Z or Kanye, you should be the Jay-Z or Kanye version of you. You always need to be YOU.
You just released your international EP debut EVERYTHING YOU LOVE YOU HATE, can you tell us a little about it: how did you decide what would go on this release?
This EP is deeply personal and was heavily designed around feel. Together with the help of VMG and Sony RED Distribution, “Everything You Love You Hate” (EYLYH) is my introduction to the global audience. I wanted it to be focused. There was no way, I was going to throw in 14 tracks and hope that people would get a sense of me. That’s why I decide to create a 2-part EP. The first, EYLYH, because it was laced with heartbreak, difficulty and written during tragedy, I would introduce the “darker side” of me. I tend to describe EYLYH as that spot when walking to the end of a tunnel, where you’re two steps to and from the light, just before it’s darkness.
So I kept the songs that would be stay true to this idea. It couldn’t be too upbeat or too mellow. I hope my idea translated well. haha.
Over how long a period do the songs go back?
Some of the songs have been around forever. Cartoons & Heroes is a remake of an old song I wrote 3 or 4 years ago. Then there are others that were never completed but while creating this EP found its fruition. Of course there are some like “Everything You Love, You Hate” – we put down in two days. It’s crazy how creativity flows through you.
That’s the nature of songs to me. You can’t rush them, it’s a very natural process.
You have some special guests on the record I understand? How did they get involved?
Bani Haykal, Sezairi Sezali and Aarika Lee. All artists that I admire and respect with all my heart. Some of the tracks couldn’t be told just by me, it needed a separate voice to play a character. I have no problems reaching and asking for advice and help on songs. I want the best for the tracks. It needs to be perfect and these guys were absolutely instrumental in taking the songs to the next level.
Before writing parts or tracking vocals I made sure everyone understood the idea of the album. Where I was when writing it, or where I am now. Some times it would get quiet after i’m done telling stories but that’s the conviction I wanted from each voice.
Who do you work with production wise? Or do you do it all yourself?
Most of the production work was done by Trytoplay. He’s an amazing young producer that scored all my stories. I sat in every session, creating the beats from scratch with him but it was his fingers on the keys that had the final say. We work really well together and have a good understanding.
There were times we we would make a beat, scrap it do it over and throw it away again. It wasn’t easy making “Everything You Love, You Hate” but it was really worth the hours locked away in the studio.
Can you tell us a bit about the Singapore scene – is there much hip hop emerging out of the music scene there now?
There’s a recent surge of Hip Hop coming back up to compete against mainstream pop which still dominates local radio but now more than ever there’s a chance for new music to peak it’s head out.
How has the overall music scene developed over the last decade?
Back then when asked what the Singapore music scene consisted off, they would’ve just pointed you to an indie band. Now there’s no lines around anything. A label like Syndicate have a great following, they’re a collective of electronic beat makers, vocalists and visual artists. There’s folk rock with Nick Chim, soulful cats like Charlie Lim & Sezairi Sezali have been making a name for themselves. There’s been great progress.
Our artists have become well versed with using social media to our advantage, spreading the music further than we could ever have 10 years ago. Acts like Monster Cat playing in Germany, Inch Chua in LA and the The Sam Willows was in North America with me as well.
The Singapore government agencies have also increased their support. They’re looking at creating better grants for artists to aid in the financial burden of touring. We’ve still got some way to go as a scene but there’s been great progress. It’s our duty as artists to keep the fight going, so that we can even open bigger doors for the next generation of musicians.
What’s next for “TheLionCityBoy”?
I’m back in the studio working on new music, for Part 2 and some fun collaborations! There’s Music Matters to prepare for, shows in Malaysia, i’m back at the Esplanade for Y Fest in June 22, and the Singapore F1 season is coming close so we’re in talks about rocking one of the festivals happening then. Just keepin busy. 🙂
Will we see you in Australia anytime soon?
Actually, i’ll be in Perth in August for a wedding!
I’d love to be part of a show there! Let’s talk!
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Head to http://www.facebook.com/thelioncityboy for more information about this artist. Head to http://www.allthatmatters.asia/ for more information about Music Matters in Singapore!
