My Perfect Weekend with radio DJ and singer Joshua Simon

Who: Better known to his listeners as Josh, the 34-year-old is a radio deejay who hosts Kiss92’s The Owls With Joshua Simon, which airs on weekdays from 8pm to midnight. The Owls – which comprise Juliana Yeow, Nat Koh, Shawnrick Hu, Yumiko Kayahara and Shawnia Seah – take turns co-presenting the show with him.

Simon also hosts Kiss92’s Sunday Afternoons With Joshua Simon on Sundays from 1 to 3pm.

The Singaporean singer-songwriter released his debut album Filthy in 2019, as well as singles such as We Are Done (2021).

“The perfect weekend for me would be in Tokyo, Japan, crate-digging at record stores, checking out thrift shops, doing a lot of walking with my headphones on and just blending in with the crowd.

I’m that Singaporean who, the moment he has saved up enough and is allowed to take leave from work, is on a plane to Tokyo. I went three times in 2024.

But on most weekends in Singapore, I’m living my “auntie fantasy” instead – at a wet market buying fresh vegetables, tofu and poultry.

The Whampoa and Pek Kio markets are close to where I live. It is nostalgic for me – it is how I spent my early years with my grandmothers.

I have been trying to cook like them – dishes such as steamed egg with minced meat, stir-fried kai lan, chicken wings with sweet soya sauce and rice wine. I make a killer fried rice, a really hearty one with lap cheong and shrimp.

I enjoy hosting gatherings at home, where I’ll cook up a storm for friends or do a potluck.

When I decide to go out, I will visit record shops at The Adelphi shopping centre. When I started buying records, the goal was to find every album I’ve ever loved, so it was the whole Madonna collection, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson and Bjork. I’ve spent about $20,000 to $30,000 over a couple of years just building my dream library.

But lately, I’ve been picking up records I would actually play on my turntable.

I went down the rabbit hole of Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto recently, scouring the internet to find original pressings of Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence (1983), BTTB (1999) and curated collections of his work on piano.

I also got Germany-born British composer-pianist Max Richter’s iconic album The Blue Notebooks (2004) from Tower Records in Tokyo recently.

I listen to a lot of modern, ambient, classical music – these are the records I find myself putting on while I read or journal.”