My Perfect Weekend with singer, songwriter and musician Kelvin Tan

Who: Kelvin Tan, singer, songwriter, author and member of pioneering indie band The Oddfellows. In August, he released 60 Years From The Outside, a set of six new solo albums that comprises 60 songs in total, to mark his 60th birthday.

The music traverses genres from experimental and rock to blues and folk. The albums include No Beginning, No End, in which he reads from his two novels – All Broken Up And Dancing (1992) and The Nether(r);R (2001) – as well as The Pleomorphic Adenoma Chronicles, a musical document of his experiences before and after he went for surgery to remove a lump.

“‘The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.’ – Marcel Proust

I’m a firm believer in the idea that the extraordinary lies in the ordinary. That there’s beauty and meaning in simplicity.

I wake up as and when I do, on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, and TV-browse while deciding where to eat for lunch. Spotify will be on in the background and music from new bands will be playing, just to stimulate the senses.

I’m an avid walker and an amateur taker of photographs. Whether on my walks along the nature corridors, park connectors or the streets of Serangoon, I’m busy snapping photos on my phone camera and posting them on social media.

I live my life through a stream of long bus journeys and hawker centres.

Tekka, ABC, Henderson, Maxwell and Amoy Street are some of my favourites, as are Taman Jurong, Jalan Berseh and Circuit Road.

Buses 7, 74, 61, 145 and 48 are the ones I take most of the time. Long bus rides inspire me to think about my life and help me figure out creative ideas for new songs or albums, or potential ideas for films or scripts. I love observing people and places from atop a double-decker.

Usually before I leave for lunch, I would spend some time messing about on my electric guitar.

These days, I’m a fan of vegetarian food and, most of the time, that’s what I will have for lunch or dinner, though I’m not a vegetarian.

My latest pastime is going to Arab Street and getting great bargains at the thrift shops and walking around Muscat Street. There’s a beautiful vibe in the area on Friday and Saturday afternoons.

I’m usually browsing around malls like VivoCity, 313@Somerset and Plaza Singapura.

Sunday mornings are reserved for church at Kampong Kapor Methodist Church. I feel lucky to be a member of a church situated in the heart of Little India, a place I consider to be the most authentic and soulful part of Singapore. I never tire of the place. I usually head to Tekka after service to get my tea fix. Tea, for me, is a must. Ginger tea, with evaporated milk.

Sunday afternoons are spent on long walks, usually around the Bukit Timah or one-north area, leading to dinner with my friend Deborah Soh and Jacq Tan, the woman in my life.

I usually spend my weekends alone as I love the solitude, but sometimes, I spend them with my best friend, Pillay Krishnan. We drive off in his car and discover new lunch or dinner places. Occasionally, I will have a meal and hang out with my buddy, Fiona Cheong.

I haven’t travelled in over 15 years. I feel very comfortable and self-sufficient here, and I don’t feel this need to get out of the country for now.

I don’t find Singapore small or limited. There’s always something new to discover here and, like the Proust quote states, it’s all about ‘having new eyes’.

I usually doze off in the night to podcast interviews revolving around political, philosophical or existential issues, with vague melodies for potential songs buzzing in my head, maybe turning into songs, come Monday.”